The European Design Awards, also known as the ED-Awards, are annual

awards An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

presented to European

designers A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exper ...

for outstanding work in the

communication design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is concerned with developing the message and aesthetics in media. It also crea ...

field. The ED-Awards is a joint initiative of design magazines from across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and endorsed by the International Council of Design. The ED-Awards are judged by a panel of representatives (journalists and design critics) from fifteen European design magazines, while the winning submissions are featured in the ED-Awards Catalogue.

Model

The ED-Awards is different from other design awards schemes in that the jury is not made up of designers, but of design journalists and critics – people who see and judge work for a living. Furthermore, since the ED-Awards organisation is made up of design magazines, it provides an opportunity for everyone submitting work, to have it featured in a number of these media. A lot of stories and articles are created through the submitted work every year.

Jury

Originally, the ED-Awards jury was composed exclusively of journalists from leading graphic design magazines across Europe, including Germany's Novum (Zeitschrift), UK's ''Eye'', and France's étapes:, among others. However, in recent years, the ED-Awards has broadened its jury composition to incorporate a more diverse range of expertise within the communication design field. This evolution reflects a strategic decision to include not only journalists but also critics, curators, academics, and content creators (always linked with the realm of communication design)

European Design Agency of the year

The top accolade in the ED-Awards is every time, the distinction bestowed upon the most (creatively) successful studio of the continent. This title has so far been awarded to: *2008 Beetroot Design Group, Greece *2010 Lava Design, the Netherlands *2011 Les Graphiquants, France *201
Silo
the Netherlands *201
Jaeger & Jaeger
Germany *201
R2
Portugal *201
Ermolaev Bureau
Russia *201
Raffinerie AG für Gestaltung
Switzerland *201
Silo
the Netherlands *201
Vruchtvlees
the Netherlands *201
Kind
Norway *202
ANTI
Norway *202
WePlayDesign
Switzerland *202
Verve
the Netherlands *2023 Studio Dumbar, the Netherlands *202
Studio Airport
the Netherlands *202
Clever°Franke
the Netherlands

Host cities

Each year's results are announced during a ceremony which is hosted in a different European city. So far, the European Design Awards ceremonies (and accompanying events) have been hosted by: *

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece (2007) *

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden (2008) *

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Switzerland (2009) *

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, the Netherlands (2010) *

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, Lithuania (2011) *

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland (2012) *

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Serbia (2013) *

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany (2014) *

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey (2015) *

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria (2016) *

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

, Portugal (2017) *

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway (2018) *

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Poland (2019) * The 2020 and 2021 events that were scheduled to take place in Valencia, Spain had to be cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

, Estonia (2022) *

Luxembourg city Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, Luxembourg (2023) *

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy (2024) * {{flagicon, SLO

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, Slovenia (2025) European Design Festival 2025 in Ljubljana from 5 to 8 June
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References

External links

Official European Design Awards site2013 Winners
Communication design Design awards

Design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

Graphic design