A' Design Award opens 2026 entries for interior, retail and exhibition awards

A' Design Award & Competition has opened early entries for its 2026 A' International Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Awards, with a free first phase and an early deadline of June 30, 2026. Winners will be announced May 1, 2027, and laureates will receive a package that includes PR, marketing and publicity support.

Why it matters: - The competition gives interior, retail and exhibition designers a global platform to win recognition for projects that can influence how people experience commercial, hospitality and public spaces. - Professional laureates receive a package that combines award recognition with media exposure, which can help projects, firms and designers reach new clients and industry attention. - The program is framed as a way to promote design work that can improve built environments and produce social, cultural and economic impact.

What happened: - A' Design Award & Competition opened calls for entries for the A' International Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design Awards. - The announcement covers interior, retail and exhibition design projects from around the world. - The early entry deadline is June 30, 2026. - Winners will be announced on May 1, 2027.

The details: - Eligible entrants include interior designers, interior architects, architects, decorators, exhibition designers, architectural design offices, retail space planners, commercial space designers, hospitality designers, exhibition curators, spatial design consultants, space planners, space designers, 3D rendering artists, showroom designers, brand experience designers, pop-up store designers, visual merchandisers and interior innovation, consultancy, research and development companies. - Projects professionally created within the last 10 years are eligible. - The competition uses a two-phase process. - The first phase is free to enter and gives participants a preliminary score. - Projects that pass preliminaries can move on to nomination, which carries a nominal fee. - Entries are evaluated anonymously through peer review by an international jury of more than 300 academics, journalists, design professionals, museum curators, investors and industry experts. - Example categories include residential interiors, restaurants, hotels, offices, galleries, retail stores, showrooms and exhibition spaces. - Sub-category details are available here. - Registration is available here. - Past winners are listed here.

Between the lines: - The awards package is built to do more than hand out a trophy. - Laureates receive a Design Excellence Certificate, lifetime winner-logo rights, a yearbook of best designs, exhibition opportunities in Italy, an award trophy and an invitation to the Gala-Night. - The prize also includes translation of awarded works into foreign languages and inclusion in rankings platforms such as World Design Rankings, Designer Rankings, Interior Design Classifications and Design Legends. - Winners also receive an exclusive interview, a prepared press release and a press kit with design images, photos of the designer, logos, high-resolution visuals and portfolio previews. - The press kits are distributed to thousands of accredited press members, and dozens of press partners have already agreed to publish a selection of winning projects.

What's next: - Designers and firms can submit entries before the June 30, 2026 early deadline. - Qualified projects can advance from the free preliminary stage to nomination review. - Award results will be published on May 1, 2027. - Laureates will then receive the full A' Design Prize package and media distribution support.

The bottom line: - A' Design Award is using a free entry stage, a large jury and a media-heavy prize package to attract global submissions in interior, retail and exhibition design.