Raise the curtain! World-class design museums present winners of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2021

In these times of the global COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most internationally renowned design awards has come up with a creative solution to announce its winners this year. Together in association with world-renowned design museums, the iF DESIGN AWARD will offer the award winners a digital stage on which to present their award-winning works on 10 May 2021. With almost 10,000 products and projects submitted and 1,744 award winners from 44 different countries, it is also a year of records. Never before have there been so many entries, never before have there been so many experts sitting on the jury. Among the award winners are such well-known companies as Apple, Samsung and Google, but also numerous smaller design studios with extraordinary design solutions.

Instead of the gala, which had to be cancelled for the second time in a row due to coronavirus, the iF DESIGN AWARD will, in close cooperation with outstanding design museums, present award-winning products and projects digitally for 24 hours on 10 May 2021. In addition to many international and local design industry trade media from the USA, Germany, China, Taiwan, Japan, Republic of Korea and Spain presenting the award-winning designs in media cooperative projects, the award winners will then also be shown on the websites of some of the world’s most renowned international design museums. Among them: the Vitra Design Museum (Germany), YANG Design Museum (Shanghai), the Design Museum Boston (USA), the Danish Design Museum (Denmark), the MAK – Museum for Applied Arts (Vienna) and the Design Museum Den Bosch (Netherlands). And what’s more: there’s a new iF design app that’s ready to launch. It will also serve as an exciting digital stage and is sure to be a lot of fun for the award winners and for any other app users interested in design.

The digital collaboration of design museums, design industry trade media and the iF DESIGN AWARD is a direct consequence of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which is hitting the economy and the creative industry in particular with full force. Because not only designers have to do without big events and publicity, but museums as well have suffered in these coronavirus times and are not able to show already planned exhibitions to their audiences. iF Design believes this has far-reaching consequences. “The economy depends on innovative creative achievements. When it comes to choosing a product, design often makes the difference. Outstanding design must be made known,” says Prof. Fritz Frenkler, chairman of the iF jury and board member of the iF Design Foundation.

In the context of this year’s iF DESIGN AWARDS, there is one central message that should be made clear: We need creative solutions to meet the special challenges of these times. This is why iF Design has set itself the task this year of celebrating “The CreatiFe Power of Design” and of providing all the award winners with a digital stage so that they can make their presentations to an interested audience. Uwe Cremering, Managing Director of iF Design, comments: “It was important to us to provide these outstanding creative minds with a digital stage at least to draw attention to their unique achievements, even in times of a global pandemic.”

The potential is there. 98 international, independent design experts reviewed and evaluated around 10,000 submissions. The iF DESIGN AWARD has once again set a new record for registrations. 1,744 award winners from 44 different countries were honored with an award. The 75 most outstanding design and innovation achievements were selected by the iF jury with an iF gold award 2021.

The international campaign to announce the iF DESIGN AWARD winners will start on 10 May 2021. Further information on all award-winning brands and designs can be found at www.ifworlddesignguide.com. Lists and image material are available on request.

The iF DESIGN AWARD has been a globally recognized trademark when it comes to excellent design since 1954. The iF Design brand is internationally established as a symbol of outstanding design achievements. The iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most important design prizes in the world. It honors design achievements in all disciplines: Product, Packaging, Communication and Service Design, Architecture and Interior Architecture, as well as Professional Concept, User Experience (UX) and User Interface (UI). All award-winning entries are presented in the iF WORLD DESIGN GUIDE and published in the new iF design app.