Under the new banner of the Good Design Awards, Good Design Australia has also partnered with VIVID Sydney to host the annual Good Design Festival – an event dedicated to focussing the world’s attention on Australia as a leading international design destination.

Building on a heritage of more than 50 years, the Good Design Awards is regarded as one of the world’s most coveted awards in the field of design and innovation.

The 2014 Good Design Awards is now calling for entries from Australian and international businesses across 15 broad categories. The Awards cover the broadest spectrum of design accolades offered in the world – from the latest cars, cutting-edge medical equipment, furniture, heavy engineering and mining equipment, to sports gear and everyday products such as toasters, televisions and kitchen utensils. The Good Design Awards also includes rapidly expanding areas such as service design and design strategy, as well as products in the digital space.

The Good Design Awards remains at the forefront of recognising and promoting design excellence. In 2012, the program was one of the first design award programs in the world to develop a stand-alone category for Service Design, a rapidly expanding area where design thinking is now playing a key role in driving innovation and competitive advantage among business.

CEO of Good Design Australia, Dr. Brandon Gien and President of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design – the world organisation for industrial design – believes Australia is now firmlypositioned to truly leverage design and design thinking to help businesses grow and remain internationally competitive.

“In a crowded marketplace, good design gives companies their competitive edge. It separates the extraordinary from the ordinary, excellence from mediocrity and the brilliant from the boring,” Dr. Gien said.

“For more than five decades, the Good Design Awards program has promoted the very best in innovation and creativity on local turf and the global stage. From a credible, trusted independent platform, we aim to showcase superior examples of good design across a range of industries,” he said.

“Good Design Australia is committed to building a greater appreciation of the role of professional design and creative thinking in product development and service delivery for business and consumers. At the end of the day, this is about good design for better products, better services and ultimately a better world,” Dr. Gien concluded.

Each year, Good Design Australia invites renowned local and international design experts to judge entries for the Awards. This year’s Judging Panel is made up of leaders in the fields of industrial design, engineering, architecture, software and electronics design, service design, design strategy and communications design.

“We select each judge based on their area of expertise and ability to bring an individual perspective in the search for the very best in good design,” said Dr. Gien.

Applying one of the most rigorous evaluation processes in the world, the judges closely inspect all entries and critique each one according to strict design evaluation criteria that includes: Form, Function, Safety, Sustainability, Quality, Commerciality and Innovation.

Submissions to the 2014 Good Design Awards close on 31 March 2014, with winners announced on Thursday 29 May 2014 at the Good Design Awards Gala Night in Sydney.

Entry starts from $360 + GST.

More information: www.good-design.org