Proof of Achievement in Design: 3,070 Entries from 23 Countries Worldwide

Recognized as one of Asia’s top three design awards, the K-Design Award has unveiled its 2025 Online Exhibition. This year, a total of 3,070 works from 23 countries were submitted, evaluated by an international jury of 37 members through a fair and systematic judging process. Ultimately, 344 works—approximately 11% of the entries—were honored as winners, proving their creative excellence and value on the global design stage. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the designers and companies who have achieved this distinguished honor.

The Most Fair Design Evaluation System

The K-Design Award upholds fairness as its most fundamental value, operating one of the most rigorous and professional judging systems in the world.

a Blind Review system is strictly applied. During the judging process, all personal information such as designer name, affiliation, and nationality is kept strictly anonymous, ensuring that evaluation is based solely on the creativity and completeness of the work itself. This guarantees a competition environment free from bias of reputation or background.

the first-round and second-round juries are completely separated. The first-round jury conducts preliminary evaluations in blind conditions, screening works for creativity, execution, and potential. The second-round jury, composed of a separate group of experts, makes the final selections. This system prevents the same juror from reviewing the same work twice, thereby minimizing bias.

an automated allocation algorithm randomly assigns works to jurors, preventing concentration of submissions from a specific country or designer to a specific judge. This strengthens objectivity and balance in evaluation.

a jury matching percentage system has been introduced to enhance the depth and focus of evaluations. This system prevents negligence that can sometimes occur in blind online reviews, ensuring that every work is reviewed fairly and thoroughly.

In addition, the K-Design Award has introduced a unique re-evaluation system for non-winning works, allowing them to be reconsidered once the following year at no additional cost. This reflects not only the process of selecting winners, but also a respect for the challenge and effort of all entrants, giving every designer another opportunity to compete globally. Such a professional and systematic structure is what positions the K-Design Award as one of the most transparent and trustworthy design awards worldwide. The authority and credibility of its results are rooted in this uncompromising commitment to fairness.

KUDOS TO THE BEST 2025

This year’s highest honor, KUDOS TO THE BEST, has been awarded to China’s “aigo H1.” The work redefines the mobile workflow through its innovative magnetic design. By combining a 4000MB/s SSD storage with multifunctional ports (SD/TF/HDMI/PD/Audio), it eliminates the inconvenience of carrying multiple accessories. Its stable magnetic attachment prevents drops and unreliable connections, while enabling direct external storage of iPhone ProRes video recordings, fundamentally overcoming capacity limitations. Notably, it replaces the bulky cage-mounted setups traditionally used, allowing creators to shoot steadily with just one hand. Recognized as a compact all-in-one solution, the aigo H1 delivers professional speed and reliability, earning high praise from the jury.

Concluding this year’s judging, Professor Nah Ken, Chairman of the Jury, shared the following remarks:

“The K-Design Award 2025 has been a meaningful occasion to evaluate a wide spectrum of creative and innovative design ideas from around the world. The submissions ranged from products with strong commercial potential to works offering powerful visual and emotional inspiration, as well as highly original and groundbreaking concepts. Through this, we were able to reaffirm that design goes beyond aesthetic value and can evolve into successful business opportunities. I look forward to seeing the K-Design Award continue to discover and nurture talented designers who will shape the future of our society on the global stage. I hope this award serves as a stepping stone to open new horizons for all participants.”

Professor Na also emphasized that “the judging process rigorously evaluated both the essence of design and its market value by reflecting the perspectives of global experts.” He highlighted that the K-Design Award will become an important foundation for advancing the global design industry and broadening its reach.

Beyond Achievement, Proving Value

Under the slogan “KUDOS FOR YOUR DESIGN,” the K-Design Award is committed to verifying the achievements of designers in the fairest and most honorable way, and extending those achievements into global careers and brand value. Winning the award goes beyond recognition; it serves as decisive proof of a design’s commercial value and acts as a powerful reference that creates real business opportunities. As a platform that provides global marketing solutions, the K-Design Award offers its winners prestigious trophies, a hardcover yearbook, international exposure, and a premium award package—delivering opportunities to connect with the world.

With fairness and transparency as its highest values, the K-Design Award continues to establish itself as Asia’s premier premium design award, proving the credibility of a designer’s career and brand equity. Building on this year’s achievements, next year’s K-Design Award will further elevate the value of designers and brands through an even more authoritative judging process and a world-class award ceremony.

K-Design Award 2025 Online Exhibition

Doyoung Kim