The Better Design Award 2026 is an international design competition recognising innovative products, original concepts and projects that improve industrial systems. Now in its third edition, the competition is based in China's Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and focuses on practical applications of design, from everyday consumer products to advanced manufacturing. The 2026 edition has two main categories: Product Design and Design for Industry.
Product Design is divided into three groups. Industrial Foundation covers fields such as robotics, intelligent equipment, renewable energy, transport and public infrastructure. Better Life focuses on consumer products, including electronics, home appliances, household goods and sports equipment. Future Design is for concepts that have yet to enter mass production or reach the market, with separate sections for professional designers, students and emerging design teams.
Design for Industry looks beyond individual products to projects that rethink how industries work. Entries may explore manufacturing processes, supply chains, resource management, service models or design-led research. The judging process begins with an online assessment, followed by physical product or model evaluations and final presentations where required. Applications must include information in both Chinese and English, and shortlisted entrants may need to supply working prototypes or physical models for subsequent evaluation stages.
Entry fee: Free to enter in all categories, with no registration or submission fees. Entrants are responsible for any applicable shipping, insurance, customs, travel and accommodation costs.
Eligibility
Open to individuals, professional designers, students, design teams, companies, universities and research institutions worldwide submitting original, rights-cleared work, with category-specific conditions including product launches after September 2024, uncommercialised concepts, two-year limits for recent graduates and emerging teams in their respective sections, and restrictions on previously submitted entries.
Prize
The Better Design Award 2026 has a total cash prize pool of RMB 4.1 million (approx USD $615,000), distributed across 26 cash awards. Ten Product Grand Awards offer RMB 200,000 each, six Concept Grand Awards offer RMB 100,000 each, and ten Design for Industry Awards carry RMB 150,000 each. A further 200 Product Design Awards and 100 Concept Design Awards are available without cash prizes, bringing the total to 326 awards. Recognition includes certificates and trophies, along with opportunities for winning projects to appear in exhibitions, promotional activities and the official BDA yearbook. Winners may also use the BDA award logo under the organiser's conditions. Cash prizes are subject to applicable taxes and award requirements, including attendance or representation at the awards ceremony and, for certain cash-winning entries, conditions relating to the donation of the awarded work.