The full list of winners from the Design Institute of Australia Awards 2023 have been announced, including a standout graduate of the year.
November 14th, 2023
The Madeline Lester Excellence Award is the culmination of the Design Institute of Australia’s (DIA) flagship programme aimed at recognising emerging designers, the Graduates of the Year Awards (GOTYA) 2023. This year’s winner – chosen from a pool of 163 nominations, no less – was Sandra Srun, a student on the Bachelor of Interior Architecture (Honours) from the University of New South Wales and whose tutor was Eva Lloyd.
Srun’s recognition didn’t stop there – she was also the winner of the ‘Place’ category (Higher Education) and the NSW/ACT Graduate of the Year in the Graduates of the Year Awards. The jurors for this year’s GOTYA included Alena Smith, Csilla Csabai, David Smith, Evan Reeves, Harriet Sutherland, Jack Flanagan, Jan-Marie Jaillei, Jayden Lim, Kate Bednarz, Nicole Gemlitski, Paloma Hodgins, Peter Lambert, Sally Evans, Sara Horstmann, Spiroula Stathakis and Timothy Wilkinson.
“GOTYA is a critical programme as it connects Australia’s emerging designers and unites them with our most respected educators and designers from leading design practices. This year, we introduced three new cross-disciplinary design categories: Place, Use and Interact,” explains Jo-Ann Kellock, DIA CEO.
“The graduates presented projects with an expansive scope and ambition, spanning diverse mediums. They proposed human-centred design solutions focusing on behaviours, technology, our environment and our impact on emotional, mental and physical wellbeing. Comprehensive portfolios highlighted the dedication to leveraging design to improve people’s lives and positively impact society.”
Related: The 2023 Builder Officer Design Winner
The GOTYA was created in 2005 to support and celebrate exceptional designers from around Australia in the early stages of their careers. With real-life feedback from experienced designers and connections across the industry – including with sponsors, Stylecraft – it’s a significant point of interest for the future of Australian design.
The news of the graduates comes amidst the announcement of a raft of winners from the Designers Australia Awards 2023. They were selected out of a shortlist of 86 from across the country, including three separate category winners, a President’s Award and 32 Merit Awards.
The individual designer’s approach to practice provides a key focus at the DIA Awards alongside, of course, the actual design outcomes. Tonkin Zulaikha Greer won in the ‘Place’ category for Campbell House, Private Offices, while Design Health Collab took out the prize for the ‘Use’ award for PALM – Breathing new life into asthma treatment. Elsewhere, Deepend Group was recognised for ReachOut – PeerChat in the ‘Interact’ category and Andrew Rogers (ARID Industrial Design) received the pretigious President’s Award.
DIA Awards
https://www.awards.design.org.au
Photography
Courtesy of DIA
We think you might also like to know about the winners from the 2023 Sustainability Awards.
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The American Hardwood Export Council promotes the works of next-gen designers through Discovered Singapore exhibition happening from 16 to 22 May at Red Dot Design Museum Singapore.
Discover the manifestation of century-old techniques realised with modern technologies
Melbourne’s epic Design Week is almost upon us. I put it out to my friends and colleagues, asking what they can’t wait to see, and have collated a top 12 program highlights list for you here.
AIM Architecture has conceived a new flagship store for Lululemon and with 2024 INDE.Awards juror Wendy Saunders as joint design principal on the project, the result is, of course, outstanding.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
From a modular armchair and statement lighting, to a table crafted from coffee waste and reissued classics, these are the best new products to launch at this year’s Milan Design Week.
In Malaysia Spacemen has created a world of perfumed wonder with their latest project, Trove, where treasures abound.
The build-to-rent model stands out as one of the most prominent discussions in design and development circles, so we’ve engaged with various perspectives and case studies from industry leaders and shifters. From citymaking design practices to entrepreneurial viewpoints, these stories provide a nuanced understanding of this increasingly prevalent model.