SEGD Global Design Awards 2026
Dezeen Competitions: the SEGD Global Design Awards 2026 invites entries for projects that shape how people interact with their surroundings through spatial, graphic and experiential design.
Submissions are open to designers, architects, museums, cultural institutions, agencies, clients and multidisciplinary teams from around the world.
This competition is now closed
Organiser: Society for Experiental Graphic Design (SEGD)
Competition: SEGD Global Design Awards 2026
Judges:
- Abigail Honor, jury chair, founding partner and creative director, Lorem Ipsum Corp
- Joanne Chan, chief executive officer, Turner Duckworth
- Peter D Cook, FAIA, NOMA, design principal, HGA
- Lucy Holmes, founder and creative director, Holmes Studio
- Donna Lawrence, founder, Donna Lawrence Productions
- Taylor Loutsis, founder and creative director, Studio Loutsis
- Neil Mendoza, artist and technologist
- Gerald Sastra, graduate student, Rhode Island School of Design
- Margaret Zivkovich, art director, Ayers Saint Gross
Submission deadline: 28 February 2026 (regular deadline), 15 March 2026 (final deadline)
Winner announcement: 23 October 2026
Prizes: an opportunity to win one of many awards as outlined below
Competition overview
The SEGD Global Design Awards is the longest-running awards programme dedicated to experiential design. Established in 1987, the awards recognise projects that connect people to place through storytelling, technology, graphics, architecture and spatial experience.
The programme honours work across several categories, including branded environments, digital experiences, exhibitions, placemaking, public installations, strategy, research and wayfinding.
Projects are evaluated by an international jury of leading designers, architects, educators and creative practitioners.
Winning projects receive global exposure and are published and promoted across SEGD’s international network. There are numerous awards to win, including The Best of Show Award, which is SEGD’s highest award.
Also included is The Sylvia Harris Award, in honour of citizen designer and advocate Sylvia Harris, which recognises designs that improve the civic experience.
The Life-Centered Design Award honours projects that create impact across people, place and planet, while the Honour Awards recognise distinction in completed experience design projects.
The Merit Awards acknowledge artful conception and creative solutions in experience design projects, and special recognition is given for other notable achievements, including the Sustainability Impact Recognition.
Winning projects will receive international exposure through SEGD’s website, social media, press coverage and industry promotion. Award recipients will also be recognised at a live celebration event and receive official award badges and certificates.
Eligibility and judging criteria
The awards are open to designers, design studios, architects, museums, cultural institutions, agencies, clients and multidisciplinary teams worldwide.
Both completed and permanent or temporary projects are eligible, provided they have been realised within the stated eligibility period.
The jury evaluates projects based on:
- Clarity of concept and narrative
- Design excellence and craft
- Innovation in approach or use of technology
- Effectiveness in connecting people to place
- Accessibility and inclusivity
- Sustainability and long-term impact
- Contribution to cultural, civic or social value
Winning projects demonstrate thoughtful integration of content, context and audience experience.
How to enter
Entrants must submit a completed online entry form, a written project description, high-resolution images, supporting materials such as drawings, plans or video (optional but encouraged) and credits for the design team and collaborators.
Projects must have been completed within the eligibility window outlined in the official guidelines.
Entries must be submitted online via the SEGD Global Design Awards portal.
Entrants will also need to upload project descriptions, images and credits directly through the submission system. Full guidelines, category details and eligibility information are available at the portal.
Details to plan your submission can be found here.
Submission deadlines
The regular deadline is 28 February 2026, and the final deadline is 15 March 2026.
The Jury review will take place in Spring 2026, with winners announced 23 October 2026 at the SEGD Global Design Awards Ceremony at the 2026 SEGD Conference Experience Kansas City.
Winners are celebrated at the SEGD Conference Experience and featured in SEGD’s global media channels.
About SEGD
SEGD is an international, non-profit organisation representing designers of experiences who connect people to place.
We are graphic and exhibition designers, fabricators and architects, media developers and creative technologists, students and educators.
Each member brings a diverse set of expertise, but we share a common motivation: to make the built environment more inclusive and intuitive, emotive and engaging, sustainable and shared.
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