TheEuropean Design Awards, also known as the ED-Awards, are annualawards presented to Europeandesigners for outstanding work in thecommunication design field. The ED-Awards is a joint initiative of design magazines from acrossEurope and endorsed by theInternational 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.
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.[1] 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.[2]
Originally, the ED-Awards jury was composed exclusively of journalists from leading graphic design magazines across Europe, including Germany'sNovum (Zeitschrift), UK'sEye, 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)[3]
There are 47 award categories, in nine groups,[4] covering branding, packaging, exhibition design, typography, digital design, illustration and self-promotion, among others. There are also three special distinctions: Agency of the year, Best of show and Jury prize.
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:[5]
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, Greece (2007)
Stockholm, Sweden (2008)
Zurich, Switzerland (2009)
Rotterdam, the Netherlands (2010)
Vilnius, Lithuania (2011)
Helsinki, Finland (2012)
Belgrade, Serbia (2013)
Cologne, Germany (2014)
Istanbul, Turkey (2015)
Vienna, Austria (2016)
Porto, Portugal (2017)[12]
Oslo, Norway (2018)[13]
Warsaw, Poland (2019)[14]
Tallinn, Estonia (2022)[18]
Luxembourg city, Luxembourg (2023)[19]
Naples, Italy (2024)[20]
Ljubljana, Slovenia (2025)[21]