Celebrating two decades of groundbreaking design concepts

2025 holds special significance for Red Dot, as it marks two decades since the Red Dot Award: Design Concept began. It has become a stage that attracts the boldest, most forward-thinking minds from around the world, inviting designers, studios, and companies to present their research, in-progress ideas, and prototypes to set new benchmarks for design excellence and innovation.

“Designing is more than just forming. It is an attitude, a process, an experiment, and ultimately a response to the challenges of our time using accessible and appropriate tools”, explains Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and CEO of Red Dot. “Our award has evolved dynamically in recent years. Initially conceived as a platform for visionary design concepts, it has become a seismograph for design ideas, social concerns, and technological developments.”

Red Dot: Peter Zec Prize for the Best Projects by Designers Below 30

Specifically for young designers under the age of 30, Red Dot: Next Gen Award ensures a more precise evaluation of their work, considering the different circumstances of young designers versus professional teams. The award serves to identify the next generation of emerging designers, whether students from universities, or young professionals in studios and companies. The most convincing design concept in the Red Dot: Next Gen Award is honoured with the Red Dot: Peter Zec Prize, which is the counterpart of the Red Dot: Luminary. This prestigious distinction comes with a prize of 10,000 Singapore Dollars.

Four Projects Nominated for Red Dot: Peter Zec Prize

Projects created by young designers demonstrate the innovative potential and creativity of the next generation, marking these young winners as talents to watch in the future. Among these are several noteworthy projects. From Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, there is Enlightening Star, a remote Braille learning system for blind children that consists of an online learning platform and a hardware display and writing device. Another project, ViWipe, from Imperial College London, explores the medical potential of menstrual blood and applies advanced biotech to a simple, intuitive format inspired by daily toilet paper use. Young designer Hong Jeongyeon's project, Daize, is both a creative tool and a striking interior object that seamlessly merges the tactile charm of analogue interfaces with the innovation of generative AI, empowering users to remix, recompose, and personalise music. Finally, The Audion, by young designers Nipun Saxena and Thomas Nelson-Smith, offers a bold alternative: an AI-driven companion that liberates users from traditional smartphone constraints.

Four Projects Nominated for Red Dot: Luminary

The Red Dot: Luminary is the highest recognition accorded at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept. Selected among the Red Dot: Best of the Best works, four projects have been nominated, representing some of the most exciting developments globally and exemplify the pinnacle of professional design work. Among the nominees are Strutt ev¹, by a company incorporated in Singapore, Strutt, which combines contemporary design with state-of-the-art automotive technology to deliver a new world of smart mobility. Sports Bra Design Platform, by Sweden’s Above Agency, which pushes the frontiers of future wearables and material experiences through a platform which incorporates body-scanning, real-time adjustments, and customisation within an intuitive interface, and also translates seamlessly into textile and production programming. From American Honda Motor in the United States, there is Honda’s Fastport eQuad, which offers a transformative solution for urban mobility by shuttling cargo in challenging, high-congestion zones. Finally, Silver Arrow, an architectural project by DKFS.io from the United Kingdom and Schüßler-Plan from Germany, is a modern bridge structure that blends seamlessly with its surroundings, drawing formal inspiration from the flowing terrain and the convergence of a river, floodplain, and a canal.

Award Ceremony at the Capitol Theatre in Singapore

Winning designers and professional teams from around the world travelled to Singapore once again on 15 October to celebrate their achievements. This year's Red Dot: Luminary was awarded to Strutt ev¹, a compact and beautifully designed smart personal transport system. It's the first time advanced automotive technology has been introduced to the personal mobility sector. Prof. Dr. Peter Zec and Mr. Ken Koo presented the Red Dot: Luminary trophy to the Strutt design team on stage at the award ceremony. The Red Dot: Peter Zec Prize was awarded to Enlightening Star, a remote braille learning system for blind children in less accessible regions. The system enables teachers to manage courses online and includes a braille display and writing device for students, which improves their learning and independence. The award ceremony concluded with the presentation of the Red Dot Award: Design Concept winners’ exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum, which overlooks the waterfront promenade of Singapore’s Marina Bay.

Reference to the best in design

All winners of the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2025 can be found in the Winners Section at www.red-dot.org. The online exhibition serves as a reference to the best in design, providing detailed descriptions of the winning works and information on the designers. Both the exhibitions and the yearbook are long-standing traditions of the Red Dot Design Award, offering designers a valuable reference for excellence in their field.