UX Design Awards – Spring 2027 ~ UXness: Insights & Inspiration on UX, Visual, and Product Design

UX Design Awards – Spring 2027 call for entree

Published on 22 Oct 2026

International competition seeks outstanding experience designs

Good experiences don't happen by accident. Whether it's an app, a smart-home solution, a service process or a physical product: when design makes a noticeable difference in people's everyday lives, it deserves attention. That is exactly what the UX Design Awards – Spring 2027 stand for. The Internationales Design Zentrum Berlin (IDZ) is once again calling for entries, and the competition is regarded in the industry as one of the most important addresses for user experience design.

The submission phase has been running since September 1, 2026. Until November 15, 2026, companies, agencies, design professionals and young designers can still submit their best work. The call is aimed worldwide at UX, product and service designers, from both the digital and the physical product space. Those who followed the previous round can find a look back at the last call for entries in the article on the UX Design Awards Autumn 2026.

Three categories for professionals and young talent

The competition is divided into three categories. This gives market-ready solutions, visionary ideas and graduation projects alike a place that suits them.

Product

This category is intended for market-ready or newly launched products, services and experience environments. Solutions that are already in use and have an effect in real-world application contexts can be submitted. What matters, then, is how well an offering actually works in everyday use.

Concept

This is where prototypes, service concepts, conceptual environments, advanced design studies and research projects belong. The category honors visionary approaches that help shape the experience design of tomorrow, even if they are not yet on the market.

New Talent

Students and graduates are invited to submit their bachelor's and master's theses. This gives young designers an international stage and valuable visibility for their first projects. Especially for starting a career, a platform like this can open many doors.

Focus on people and impact

Ake Rudolf, Strategic Director of the Internationales Design Zentrum Berlin, describes the competition's aspiration as follows:

"We honor innovative and positive experience design across all industries. An important part of our mission is to give visibility to the people responsible for the award-winning solutions – the designers!"

This attitude runs through the entire competition. Not only the result is in the spotlight, but also the people behind it. This sets the award apart from pure product prizes and makes it interesting for creatives at every career stage.

Selection process and awards

From all submissions, an expert jury of renowned specialists nominates a limited number of projects. In a second step, the winners are chosen from among them. In each category, one project can be awarded the UX Design Award | Gold as "Best of the Best."

In addition, an international online community presents the UX Design Award | Public Choice. Users around the world vote for their favorite project. For all participants, this means an additional showcase, because projects thereby also reach an audience outside the professional world.

Why participating is worthwhile

Experience design combines design, technology and psychology. Ideally, good solutions hardly get noticed because they feel self-evident. That is precisely why it is hard to make their value visible to the outside world. A competition with international reach can help here: a nomination or award proves the quality of a piece of work to clients, employers and a professional audience.

There is also the open access. Large companies compete with small agencies, solo practitioners and students for the same awards. What counts is the quality of the idea and its execution, not the size of the sender. The mix of digital and physical work is also a plus, as it reflects how closely intertwined online and offline have long since become in everyday life.

Who is behind the UX Design Awards

The UX Design Awards are a globally recognized competition based in Berlin, held twice a year as a Spring and an Autumn edition by the Internationales Design Zentrum Berlin (IDZ). The list of past winners reads like a who's who of the industry. The award is organized by IDZ Designpartner Berlin GmbH on behalf of IDZ e. V., which for over 50 years has been promoting design as a driver of innovation in business and society as a leading independent institution.

Submit now

If you have a project that delights people, simplifies things or opens up new paths, you should keep an eye on the deadline. All details, terms of participation and deadlines are on the official website: uxdesign-awards.com/enter

Make it count! The submission deadline ends on November 15, 2026.

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