Australian designers praised by the Design Institute of Australia for ethical, innovative and impactful design. Emerging designers awarded for their dedication to improve people's lives and positively impact society.

Highest design accolades in Australia awarded to Andrew Rogers, ARID Industrial Design, Tonkin Zulaikha Greer, Design Health Collab (Monash University) and Deepend Group. Madeline Lester Excellence Award presented to Sandra Srun, Graduate from the University of New South Wales. 

Today, the Design Institute of Australia (DIA)—Australia's peak national design body, announced the winners of its 2023 Designers Australia Awards. The winners were selected out of a shortlist of eighty-six from across the country, highlighting the designer's ability to provide innovative and impactful design solutions, including three Category winners, a President's Award and thirty-two Merit Awards.  

The DIA also announced the winner of the Madeline Lester Excellence Award, the highest award for a graduate designer. The Graduates of the Year Awards are the flagship program for emerging designers, with winners selected from an impressive 163 design graduate entrants nominated by their academic institutions.  

The awards identify Australia's preeminent designers and studios, calling attention to the individual’s approach to practice as much as their inspirational design outcomes. Tonkin Zulaikha Greer for Campbell House, Private Offices won the 'Place' category, Design Health Collab received the winning 'Use' award for PALM - Breathing new life into asthma treatment, and Deepend Group for ReachOut - PeerChat won 'Interact'. Andrew Rogers (ARID Industrial Design) received the coveted President's Award.

Backed by the institute, the DIA's Designers Australia Awards are the benchmark for Australian design excellence. Now in their third successful year, the awards recognise the most nuanced design thinking applied across the categories of Place, Use and Interact, dissolving traditional disciplinary silos and reflecting multi-disciplinary approaches and problem-solving across the creative industry. Underpinned by the DIA’s  core values and purpose, the awards are an opportunity to support the emerging and established design community, cultivate collaboration, conversation and deep listening; and recognise a collective  commitment to Australian design and its influence on culture and society.

“For almost 80 years, the DIA has advocated and promoted both designers and design outcomes. In recent years, we have spotlighted the circular economy, diversity, and positive environmental and social impact. The winners of the DIA Awards represent leading cross-disciplinary ideas around how we design for Place, Use, and Interaction.”
– DIA President Gavin Campbell FDIA

“Participation in the Designers Australia Awards 2023 has been an inspiration. It is fantastic to see the talent, innovation and acumen of these designers across all the categories.”
– Awards juror Sophie Travers, CEO Australian Tapestry Workshop

Leading jurors representing a broad cross-section of the local design community include:
Brian Parkes, CEO Jam Factory, Emma Williamson, Co-founder of The Fulcrum Agency, Grace Lillian Lee, Founder First Nations Fashion +Design (FNFD), Gene Bawden, Head of the Department of Design at Monash University, Faculty of Art Design and Architecture and co-director of XYX Lab, Sophie Travers, CEO Australian Tapestry Workshop, and Claire Beale LFDIA, DIA Immediate Past President and Jury convener.

The Graduates of the Year Awards jury comprised of respected design industry practitioners including: 
Alena Smith, Csilla Csabai, David Smith, Evan Reeves, Harriet Sutherland, Jack Flanagan, Jan-Marie Jaillei, Jayden Lim, Kate Bednarz, Nicole Gemlitski, Paloma Hodgins, Peter Lambert, Sally Evans, Sara Horstmann, Spiroula Stathakis, and Timothy Wilkinson.

DIA Awards 2023 Recipients

• PLACE category winner
Tonkin Zulaikha Greer for Campbell House, Private Offices 

• USE category winner:
Design Health Collab for PALM - Breathing new life into asthma treatment 

• INTERACT category winner:
Deepend Group for ReachOut - PeerChat 

• President's Award recipient:
Andrew Rogers, founder of ARID Design was recognised for his ongoing commitment to advancing the value of Australian design

• Madeline Lester Excellence Award recipient:
Sandra Srun from the University of New South Wales. She was also the Place Category Winner — Higher Education, and NSW/ACT Graduate of the Year.

The DIA – Awards are proudly supported by major partners: Dulux Venetian Plaster, Stylecraft, Smeg, Wood Solutions, Brickworks, and The Australian's WISH magazine.

For further information, please visit www.awards.design.org.au.