About Awards
Each year, the DesignBlok Awards (formerly known as the Editors-in-Chief Awards) are presented as part of the festival. The awards honour the best concepts, innovations, new products, and presentations, as selected by an independent international jury composed of journalists, designers, curators, and other professionals from the fields of design and architecture.
The aim of the DesignBlok Awards is not only to highlight outstanding products and presentations among hundreds of exhibitors, but above all to draw attention to innovative, sustainable, and socially responsible approaches with the potential to influence both the wider public and the professional design community.
Since 2022, the winners have been selected by a five-member international jury chaired by the President of the Designblok Awards. Previous Presidents include French journalist and design critic Anne-France Berthelon (2022), Dutch designer and professor Ineke Hans (2023), Ben Hobson, co-CEO of Dezeen and media consultant (2024), and Curator and China Editor of Wallpaper magazine, Yoko Choy (2025). The President of the DesignBlok Awards 2026 is Max Fraser, Editorial Director of Dezeen.
Jury of the 28th Edition
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Jury PresidentMax Fraser (GBR)
Editorial Director, Dezeen ■ Former Deputy Director, London Design Festival
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Tom Lloyd (GBR)
Co-founder, Pearson Lloyd ■ Royal Designer for Industry
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Judith van Vliet (ESP)
Founder, The Color Authority ■ Expert in Color Strategy and CMF Design
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Hanna Nova Beatrice (SWE)
Founder, The New Era Magazine ■ Former Director, Stockholm Furniture Fair and Stockholm Design Week
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Laurids Gallée (NLD)
Founder, Studio Laurids Gallée ■ Designer
Award for Extraordinary Contribution to Global Design
Since 2024, the DesignBlok festival has presented the DesignBlok Award for Outstanding Contribution to Global Design. The traditional trophy takes the shape of a crystal log, referencing wood as a fundamental natural material and symbolizing togetherness. The award, designed by Moser Creative Director Jan Plecháč and hand-cut by Karlovy Vary master craftsmen, was first received in 2024 by British creator Ron Arad, followed last year by renowned Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola.
This year, the prestigious award will be personally received by the festival’s principal guest, Dutch product and interior designer Marcel Wanders. The award ceremony will take place on Thursday, 8 October, in the historic Central Hall of the Industrial Palace. Wanders, co-founder of the Moooi brand, is one of the most distinctive figures in the field. Since the 1990s, his work has successfully blurred the boundaries between craft and industrial production, bringing emotion, imagination, and human experience back to the centre of design.
Grand Prix (Prize for Outstanding Contribution)
In an unprecedented move, this year's jury awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award to all students at DesignBlok. The festival thus recognized not only an individual creative or product achievement, but also the broader importance of schools and the emerging generation of designers. “As a jury, what struck us most while walking through the presentations across the city was a rare glimmer of optimism. The winners of this award represent one of the most impressive expressions of what design can offer. They combine strong personalities with a powerful collective determination, reflect the future of making as well as the social structure that surrounds it, and offer a fresh idea of luxury built on time, care and human connection. They are generous, confident and refreshingly free of cynicism. They convincingly show where design can be heading – and what remarkable talent is still to come,” says Max Fraser, President of the international jury of the DesignBlok Awards 2026.
