iF Design Award 2027

The iF Design Award 2027 is one of the oldest and best-known design competitions in the world. Organised by iF International Forum Design in Hanover, Germany, it has been running for more than 70 years, and its red iF label is recognised by clients, retailers and consumers far beyond the design world.

The award covers almost every kind of design: physical products, packaging, branding and communication, websites and apps, user experience and interfaces, services, interiors, architecture and unbuilt concepts. A large international jury reviews every entry in two stages, and the best of the year's winners receive the iF Gold Award at a ceremony in Berlin.

For graphic designers and illustrators, the Branding & Communication Design discipline is the most relevant. It includes categories for corporate identity, campaigns, websites, publications, typography and illustration, and data visualisation. The iF Design Award 2027 is now in its last-chance registration period, which closes on 4 November 2026.

Who Can Enter the iF Design Award 2027?

The competition is open to anyone with a qualifying project: independent designers, design studios and agencies, in-house teams, manufacturers, brands, architects and interior architects, from start-ups to global companies.

It is particularly relevant to:

• Branding and communication design studios
• Illustrators and type designers working on commercial projects
• Product and industrial designers
• Packaging designers
• UX and UI designers and digital agencies
• Architects and interior architects

What Can You Enter?

Entries must be less than two years old at registration, or be launched, published or realised in the award year. Future-oriented concepts and studies can be entered in the Concepts discipline.

The award has nine disciplines.

Product Design

From furniture, lighting and tableware to bicycles, medical devices and consumer electronics, across 27 categories.

Packaging Design

Packaging for drinks, food, beauty, medicine, electronics, consumer products and business-to-business goods.

Branding & Communication Design

Company, public and product branding; campaigns and advertising; websites; apps and software; film, video and animation; sound and music; digital and print publications; typography, signage and illustration, including editorial and children's book illustration; data visualisation; event branding; and writing for design.

Interior Architecture

Residential, office, hospitality, retail, healthcare, educational and cultural interiors, as well as trade fair stands.

Concepts

Experimental and conceptual designs, unpublished commissions, studies and research projects whose implementation is not planned before 2027.

Service, System & Process Design

Projects that design or improve services, systems and processes, in areas such as retail, transport, finance, education, healthcare and government.

Architecture

Public, mixed-use, landscape, residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, healthcare, educational and sports architecture.

User Experience (UX)

The experience of products, vehicles, entertainment, health, retail, workplace and education tools.

User Interface (UI)

Interfaces for physical products and for digital media such as websites, apps and software.

Entry Fees

Registration Fees

• Early bird (until 26 June 2026): €300 per entry
• Regular (until 18 September 2026): €400 per entry
• Last chance (until 4 November 2026): €500 per entry

Jury Fee

• €300 per entry, for every entry that qualifies for the final jury

Winner Fees

• Product Design and Packaging Design: €3,300 per winning entry
• All other disciplines: €2,900 per winning entry

What Do Selected Entrants Receive?

• The right to use the iF Design Award label in marketing, on packaging and in communication
• Presentation of the project in the iF Design online showcase and the winner ranking
• Written feedback: every juror's assessment is collected in the iF Digital Jury Tool and shared with all participants as a feedback chart
• The iF Gold Award for the very best entries

Submission Requirements

Entries are registered online through a free "my iF" account. For each entry you need:

• Basic details: entry name, type, discipline and category
• Media: at least four images, one of them in portrait format, as JPG or PNG, RGB, up to 5 MB and 15 megapixels each; an optional PDF, video or web link
• Description: a design statement of up to 650 characters, plus five short texts of up to 650 characters each, one for each judging criterion
• Details: target group, market region, development time and launch date
• Credits: at least one design company and one client or manufacturer

If you are unsure which category fits, you can choose "to be decided" and the iF team will help. The team may also move an entry to a more suitable category during screening.

Important Rules

• Entries must be less than two years old at registration, or launched in the award year.
• Concepts that are not yet planned for implementation go in the Concepts discipline.
• Registration, jury and winner fees are charged per entry.
• No new entries are accepted after 4 November 2026.

When Will Entrants Be Notified?

Judging takes place in two stages. An online preselection from 30 November to 3 December 2026 removes about half of all entries. The remaining entries go to the physical final jury in Hamburg from 16 to 18 February 2027, which decides the winners.

All entries are judged on five criteria: Idea (task, relevance, fit for purpose), Form (emotional appeal, execution, aesthetics), Function (usability, efficiency, user benefit), Differentiation (innovation, brand fit) and Sustainability (social benefit, sustainability). Winners are presented at the iF Design Award Night in Berlin on 26 April 2027.

Things to Consider

• Budget for the full cost. On top of the €500 registration fee, shortlisted entries pay a €300 jury fee, and winners pay €2,900 or €3,300 to use the label.
• Write to the five criteria. You have 650 characters for each criterion; use them to explain the idea, the form, the function, the innovation and the sustainability of your design.
• Show the design in use. Four images is the minimum; include context, details and a portrait-format image.
• Choose the right category. Illustration and typography have their own category in Branding & Communication Design.
• Join the free webinar. iF runs a live session on 8 October 2026 on how to create a strong submission.

Enter the Competition

Interested in submitting your work?

Enter the iF Design Award 2027

For the complete conditions, category descriptions and the registration form, visit the official iF Design Award website.

Looking for more open calls? Browse all competitions and opportunities on Good Stuff Weekly.

Last verified: October 2, 2026