In a world where design has the power to change the way we live, work, play and grow – it is more critical than ever that design, is good design. That is, design with purpose, humanity and integrity. 

This year’s Australian Good Design Awards theme, the Design Effect, is about pushing boundaries, co-designing closely, challenging conventions and harnessing the power of imagination to positively transform the ways we live, work, interact, strategise and lead.

The Design Effect is a movement, an idea, a set of principles and a clarion call coined by design figurehead, social entrepreneur and the Patron of Good Design Australia, Dr. Jan Owen AM in her speech at last year’s Awards Ceremony.

Good Design Australia’s Managing Director, Rachel Wye commented, “Through the Australian Good Design Awards, we aim to recognise and showcase the powerful ways in which design helps to shape better outcomes, products, experiences, services, spaces and places, for people and our planet. That’s really what the Design Effect is all about – being part of the positive change, through design.”

Read the full Design Effect interview with Dr. Jan Owen AM here.

New Policy Design Category Launched

The 2024 Awards, sees the establishment of a new category for Policy Design. The main objective of the Policy Design Discipline is to uplift the role of design in the policy-making sphere and support the required changes to culture, mindsets, skills, tools and processes that support the development of well-designed policy. 

Jane MacMaster, aerospace, mechanical and systems design engineer, Good Design Ambassador and figurehead in the development of the Australian Government’s strategic policy methodology, worked closely with the Good Design Australia team to outline the transformational criteria for the new Discipline.

Jane shares her aspirations for the new Design Discipline, “I’d love for this new Discipline to contribute to raising the profile and awareness that design plays a really important role in policy, and that good policy is well-designed policy. We’re here to achieve change. Recognising that good design is an essential part of the process in achieving effective and positive change will help us all get there faster and encourage lasting and meaningful impact for a broader range of people.”

Read the full Policy Design interview with Jane MacMaster here.

New Special Accolade: Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design

New for 2024, Good Design Australia is proud to launch the Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design, in partnership with the Pataki Family. 

Named in honour of Robert Pataki OAM, recipient of the 2022 Australian Design Prize, Life Fellow of the Design Institute of Australia and industrial design pioneer, the Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design aims to inspire, recognise and support design solutions that have the potential to improve the lives of people living or working within the healthcare system.

The Award is open to students, designers, inventors and creators from Australia and New Zealand and welcomes both concepts and innovations already in use across product design, digital apps, services, policy and beyond.

This new Special Accolade responds to deficiencies in the healthcare system that have impacted the Pataki family as Robert’s health has declined over the last decade, and the need for innovation across the board, from hospitals and rehab facilities, to aged care centres. 

“We hope that this Award will stimulate and increase discussion on what solutions are really needed within the healthcare space, how they will affect the end users, and how design can improve and assist the quality of life for our most vulnerable populations,” remarked Jackie Pataki, Robert’s wife.

Read the full announcement and interview with the Pataki Family here.

New Partnership Turns Every Awards Entry into Tangible Environmental Impact

This year’s Australian Good Design Awards introduces a new partnership between Good Design Australia and AirSeed – an Australian company at the forefront of the ecosystem restoration movement. 

Good Design Australia wanted to do more in the area of sustainable and regenerative design, so this year a percentage of each entry submitted into the 2024 Australian Good Design Awards will be donated to AirSeed’s strategic regeneration efforts here in Australia to help reforest and restore habitat biodiversity in damaged ecosystems.

AirSeed’s holistic approach to environmental restoration begins with land viability analysis, terrain mapping, soil analysis and climate and ecosystem modelling. The resulting data highlights what to plant and where, and directs the creation of customised seed pods that include a biodiverse blend of tree species and nutrients suited to the area. 

ENTER THE 2024 AUSTRALIAN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS

The Awards recognise design excellence in the following categories:

• Architectural Design
• Communication Design
• Design Research
• Design Strategy
• Digital Design
• Engineering Design
• Fashion Impact
• Next Gen (Student Design)
• Policy Design
• Product Design
• Service Design
• Social Impact

Nominations for Special Accolades are open now and include:

• Good Design Award for Sustainability
• Australian Design Prize
• Australian Good Design Team of the Year Award
• Michael Bryce Patron’s Award
• Women in Design Award
• Indigenous Design Award
• Powerhouse Design Award
• Automotive Design Award (Interior + Exterior)
• Robert Pataki Award for Healthcare Design

Entries for the 2024 Australian Good Design Awards will close at midnight Friday 03 May.

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