Help Center

IIDA hosts 12 competitions and awards — 11 annual and one (1) biannual. You can learn more about each here.

No, anyone can submit a project. IIDA members do however receive discounts on pricing, while non-members pay full price. Want to learn more about being a membership? Visit the IIDA Membership page

Anyone that meets the eligibility guidelines of a competition or award may submit their project. This can include any interior designer, architect, product designer, or other stakeholder associated with the designer of the project.

Yes. You can submit the same project to multiple competitions or awards, as long as the project meets the competition or award eligibility requirements.

Yes. You must complete your submission in full and pay in full before the competition or award close date to qualify to be considered.

If you have registered for the competition, or subscribed to the "Designed for Excellence" newsletter, you will be notified of any extensions via email. Not all competitions or awards are guaranteed to have an extension, and you should not depend on an extension to complete your submission.

IIDA accepts all major credit or debit cards (Visa, Discover, American Express, MasterCard) and Google Pay. When you start the application process, you’ll be prompted to set up a profile or account, then you’ll be prompted to pay. If you are a returning applicant or an IIDA member, you will use your login credentials to log in to your account. If you need help with your account or password, follow the links on the screen. Once you pay, you’ll receive an email to begin your submission form.

Yes. You can submit your project for any and all competitions and awards if it meets the eligibility requirements.

All design firms responsible for the interior design of the project must be given credit, even if only one firm is applying. For the showroom/booth and product design competitions, the product manufacturer's name must be included within the submission.

Yes, so long as the eligibility criteria is met, for the individual competition or award, you can resubmit.

Please refer to the Competitions & Awards page for detailed information on each competition and award timeframe, and subscribe to the "Designed for Excellence" newsletter for weekly updates.

For most project competitions, you will receive an email within four (4) weeks, and after IIDA and jurors complete their deliberations. For showrooms and booth or product competitions, projects are judged and announced on-site. IIDA will be in touch with all submitters via competitions@iida.org during the process and life cycle of the awarding period.

Finalists and winners will be sent digital assets via email, including certificates, social media badges, and more. If there is a winners’ celebration for the competition or award, IIDA will bestow and distribute physical awards and/or trophies at this time. If you are unable to make the event, trophies will be mailed, and certificates will be digitally sent.

For product awards, awardees will be presented with a physical award at the winners' celebration after deliberation.

For showroom and booth competitions, IIDA will award a physical award in person at your showroom or booth after deliberation.

The submission requirements are included in the "Competitions Guidelines" section on each submissions page — view the submissions page here. These requirements are subject to change from year to year, so it’s important to make sure you look at the current year’s application. You may be asked to include further details, including but not limited to, design problem and solution, contact information, firm information, and IIDA membership number.

No. You can only submit each project to one category in each competition. However, if you have multiple categories contained in one project, you may submit each project section to their corresponding category. For instance, if you designed an entire hotel, you may submit the hotel to the hotel category, the restaurant to the restaurant category, and the spa to the spa category, etc. Exclusions may apply.

IIDA judges are experts and design leaders from around the globe that specialize in the type of project highlighted in each competition or award.

Visit the IIDA Competitions & Awards page to learn more, and subscribe to the "Designed for Excellence" newsletter for weekly updates.