SIT Furniture Design Award
Celebrating Incredible Furniture Design
Ever since someone chose a fallen branch to sit on beside a campfire, furniture has been a constant companion throughout the history of humankind.
Although needs, tastes and fashions change, a love and appreciation of strong design remain a constant; ideas are realized and concepts crafted into pieces of furniture which seem to effortlessly do their job — while still looking good.
Furniture, and how it is used, is so much more than something to sit on, eat at, or light the darkest night — it represents pieces chosen for function and beauty, decoration and assistance, potentially with us throughout our lives.
Your work is unique, it is special, and we want to reward you for your achievements. At the SIT Furniture Design Award, we believe good design deserves to be recognized, celebrated, and shared with a global audience.
SIT Furniture Design Award has also created a digital Innovation Center which will focus on a different topic every year. Each of these topics will highlight invention, examine today’s challenges, and look at ways to overcome them. The winner of the Innovation Center will receive a cash prize to help them realize a prototype, or start the production.
Accessibility design for people with disabilities is something we at the SIT Furniture Design Award are very keen to promote. With today’s advances in technology, communication, skills and training, this is a crucial part of furniture design, demonstrating exciting advances every year. If you have a design that makes furniture more accessible to persons with disabilities, you will have the opportunity to enter this for a special award, more details of which can be found during the submission process.
Our winners are selected by a panel of creative minds, each an industry leader in the design world. To learn more about our jury, read more here.
FURNITURE DESIGN OF THE YEAR – PROFESSIONAL
EMERGING FURNITURE DESIGNER OF THE YEAR — STUDENT
Across eight categories and over eighty subcategories, the SIT Furniture Design of the Year Award seeks talented professional furniture designers whose work adds something special to the subject. To find out more about what we are looking for, and for helpful submission tips, the details can be found on our categories page.
The SIT Furniture Design of the Year winner will receive the SIT Awards trophy, considerable publicity and promotion, coverage, critical acclaim, and much more. To find out how much more, have a look at our benefits page.
Students and young designers are encouraged to apply to our Emerging Furniture Designer of the Year Award, which uses the same category and subcategory titles as the professional award, with the student designs being judged in a different competition.
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SIT DESIGN AWARD – LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Launched in 2023, the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Furniture Designers, Industrial and Interior Designers, and other professionals in the Furniture Design Industry, whose contribution over their entire careers is inspirational. Dedicated to professionals with a minimum of 40 years of experience in the industry with outstanding performance, the Award will be one of the highest honours awarded in the design field. The SIT Award team will be receiving nominations from the jury members directly.
There is no fee to nominate a designer, all applications need to be completed by January 31st, 2024.
To nominate for the SIT Lifetime Achievement Award, please email info@sitaward.com with the following materials:
- Furniture or Interior Designer’s full name and contact details
- Current Company Information
- Headshot – Portrait
- Nominee Bio (400 to 500 words)
- Description of his/her career in Design (700 – 900 words)
- A list of 10 of the most significant projects the nominee has been working on.
- Series of 5-7 images of work/projects
- A list of other involvements in the industry such as academic, associative, mentorship…and more
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SUBMISSION DETAILS
Entries can be submitted as conceptual designs, in progress, or as completed projects. The only restriction is that entries or completed projects must be no more than 5 years old. Submissions can be made as a Professional or as a Student.
Winners are chosen based on a single project – not for a body of work.
ELIGIBILITY
The SIT Furniture Design Awards competition is open to anyone aged 18+ residing anywhere in the world. Professional entries will be judged against other professionals and student entries against other students.
For more information please check the FAQ page or download the SIT Award Entry Guide 2025
JUDGING CRITERIA
The evaluation process for entries to the SIT Furniture Design Award is based on various judging criteria that are constantly adapted to new technical, social, economic, space atmosphere, and ecological requirements. These criteria are not comprehensive and not all criteria apply to each product & design. They simply provide an orientation framework and basis for judging, which is complemented by each juror’s expertise and socio-cultural background.
Each member of the Jury is passionately committed to providing a fair evaluation. Jury members are assigned categories based on their specific backgrounds and expertise. All projects are viewed and judged randomly and anonymously to ensure unbiased and fair judging.
The judging criteria include the following:
- Innovation — does the product provide something new to the market or supplement/improve an existing product?
- Aesthetics — form, shape, color, texture, finishing, the material used, etc.
- Functionality — ease of use, safety, maintenance, etc.
- Ergonomics — the product’s interaction with the user
- Durability — the quality and longevity of the design
- Impact — the benefit delivered to the user and/or society by the product
- Utility — does the product meet the intended purpose and needs of the user?
- Ecological compatibility — potential environmental and/or ecological impact
- The reality of production — how realistic is it, technically and economically, to develop and market this product on a large scale?
- Emotional quotient — in addition to fulfilling its practical purpose, does the product create a sense of enjoyment and satisfaction?
SCORING BOARD
SIT Furniture Design Award uses a Scoring System between 10-100 points.
ENTRY FEES
- Professional CHF 200 ( approx: US$220) incl. Swiss VAT
Same Product in additional categories at a 50% discount - Student CHF 100 ( approx: US$110) incl. Swiss VAT
Same Product in additional categories at a 50% discount
No Further Fees: Unlike some other design awards and competitions, there are no further fees for winning the award and everything listed in the winner’s benefits will be provided free of charge.
DEADLINES 2025
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10% Early Bird discount until September 8th, 2024
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5% Extended Early Bird discount until October 31st, 2024
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Regular Deadline: January 12th, 2025
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Final Deadline: March 3rd (10% late fee applies) till April 20th, 2025
- The program will close on the 20th of April, 2025
