Eligibility

If you are an Industry

If you are an Academica / Research Institution

Objective

The CII Design Excellence Awards, acknowledge and celebrate Indian design and innovation. They strive to create new paradigms of design in India while promoting the unique amalgamation of traditional with contemporary design.

About the awards

In its endeavour to establish design as a tool for national competitiveness, CII initiated the "CII Design Excellence Awards" in 2011.

CII Design Excellence Awards, endorsed by India Design Council, is a perfect opportunity for Indian design practitioners to showcase their competencies and also for the users as champions of good design to present themselves as design led organisations.

Award CATEGORIES

(12 Categories)

Communication Design

Identity and Brand Design: Includes corporate identity design, branding or rebranding projects, logo, trademark, visual identity implementation across organization

Packaging Design: Includes sales packaging, gift packaging, display and promotion packaging, transport and logistics packaging, labels, fasteners and other packaging accessories, packaging graphics, packaging materials, environmentally friendly and recyclable designs, etc.

Publication and Print Design: Includes book design, corporate publishing, poster design, merchandising, annual reports, magazine design, brochure design, direct mailing campaigns, print advertisements, catalogues, journals, currency and coin design, stamps, etc.

Campaigns and Advertisement Design: Includes print or digital individual ads or entire campaigns including banners, direct marketing materials, mailings, newsletters, posters, product and advertising brochures, POS advertising, content marketing, out-of-home advertising and more.

Typography Design: Includes pictograms, signets, signage, symbols, typography, wayfinding and orientation systems, etc.

Application and Software Design: Includes business application software, city guides, games, informational software, mobile and stationary application software, online and offline applications, shopping applications, social media and more.

Motion Graphic Design: Includes movie clips, trailers, commercials, title sequences, etc., designed using elements like typography, illustration, animations, VFX, etc.

Product Design

Consumer Appliance Design: Includes televisions, media players, computers, refrigerators, microwave oven, portable and domestic and industrial vacuum cleaners, dish washers, wet scrubbers, floor cleaners, air quality improvement devices, alternate / renewable energy appliance, filtering devices, safety and security devices, office appliances, mobile devices, digital cameras, electronic accessories, cameras, camcorders, entertainment devices, entertainment accessories, etc.

Furniture: Includes indoor / outdoor furniture, including commercial furniture and workstation.

Lighting Design: All indoor and outdoor lighting including emergency lights, therapeutic lights, intelligent lights, reactive lights, decorative lights, portable lights, etc.

Household Product Design: Includes household equipment, aids and machines including home & decorative accessories, household tools, cutlery & kitchenware, tools for cooking & cleaning, utensils, tableware, baby products, garden decoration, tools and equipment, pet products, safety and security products, etc.

Lifestyle Product Design: Includes fashion products, jewellery, accessories, leather products, watches, optical products and accessories, bags, luggage, backpacks, cases, eyeglasses, helmets, other wearables and personal items.

Communication Product Design: Includes hardware like computers, electronics and entertainment products, audio and visual equipment, electronic consumer goods, phones, navigation devices, earpieces and handsets, portable devices and display screens, USB, charging devices, etc.

Productivity Tools: Includes productivity tools, writing instruments, stationary, office equipment.

Leisure Products: Includes sporting goods, activity tracking devices, hobby goods, DIY kits and tools, novelty goods and gifts, toys and games, playground equipment, toys, equipment, musical instruments, games, computer games and consoles.

GenNext Product Design: Includes all intelligent product that uniquely leverages on IoT, AI, virtual or augmented reality to deliver innovative games, teaching aids, navigation assistance, reduce human effort, reduce exposure of human beings to hazardous conditions, disaster recovery devices, training simulations, diagnostics, exploration, etc.

Scientific Equipment Design: Includes all scientific and laboratory tools and equipment.

Health Care and Medical Equipment: Includes all kind of care aids, communication aids, daily living aids, electronic aids, furnishings, hearing aids, measuring devices, mobility aids, orthopaedic aids, orthoses, prostheses, rehabilitation, sleep and respiratory care, veterinary care, etc.

Wellness and Personal care: Includes all self-care products, beauty and grooming, body care devices, exercising devices – treadmills, cross trainers, outdoor mechanical gyms, etc.

Capital Goods: Includes industrial machinery and tools, agricultural machinery and tools, construction machines and tools.

Machine Tools, Equipment & Gauges: Includes Tools, work gear, gauges and measuring devices, test equipment, machining equipment, visual devices, industrial robots, alternate / renewable energy devices, , charging infrastructure, etc.

Automobile Accessory Design: Includes navigation system, dash cam, car audio system, car stopper, child seat, car speaker system, helmet, glove, riding Gear maintenance and service equipment, etc.

Mobility Design

Two Wheeler Motorised Vehicle

Four-wheeler Passenger Vehicle

Four-wheeler Commercial Vehicle

Special Purpose Vehicle

Non Motorised Vehicle

Service Design

Commercial Service: Includes systems and services designed for Indian industry and public sector Organizations

Education Service: Includes systems and services designed for the education sector

Spatial Design

Environment Design: Includes all kinds of private, commercial spaces, urban design and planning, public space, playground, recreational, entertainment space and interior design

Experience Design: Includes experiential spaces that incorporate visual and sensory elements

Transient Space Design: Includes creative and commercial installations, trade shows, exhibition design, retail display design, etc.

Design for Social Impact (Special Awards)

Includes anything Product / Mobility / Space / Solution / Service Design designed to create social impact. The key criteria are the designs impact on reducing carbon footprint and building a sustainable future. A step towards achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nation.

Engineering Design

Engineering Innovation and Design (EID) is an intensive, experiential, and project-based program for talented high school students who want to deepen their understanding of engineering disciplines while building a toolbox of technical skills to set themselves apart from their peers.

Includes Highway Design, Bridge Design, Traffic Signal Design, Reverse Engineering, Part Innovation, Advanced Materials and Manufacturing, processors, controllers, sensors, IOT, circuits, etc.

Architecture Design

Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings or other structures. Includes Interior Architecture including Trade Fairs, Exhibitions, Cultural Exhibitions, retail interiors and hospitality interiors, Public Architecture like Civic centers, community buildings, cultural buildings, monuments, police & fire stations, town halls, museums, theatres, libraries, concert halls, schools, universities, training centers, conference centers, hospitals, nursing homes, religious buildings, infrastructure, roads, bridges, parking facilities, airports, bus stations, port facilities, railway stations, sports facilities, stadiums, arenas, Residential and office architecture

Textile & Apparel Design

Textile design, also known as textile geometry, is the creative and technical process by which thread or yarn fibers are interlaced to form a piece of cloth or fabric, which is subsequently printed upon, or otherwise adorned. Textile design is further broken down into three major disciplines: printed textile design, woven textile design, and mixed media textile design. Each uses different methods to produce a fabric for variable uses and markets. Textile design as an industry is involved in other disciplines such as fashion, interior design, and fine arts.

Design for Circularity (Special Award)

Circular design is the practice of creating durable, reusable, repairable and recyclable products that generate zero waste to support a circular economy.

Design for Deep Tech/ Emerging Tech (AI, ML, AR, VR) (Special Award)

Deep technology is a classification of organization, or more typically startup company, with the expressed objective of providing technology solutions based on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. They present challenges requiring lengthy research and development, and large capital investment before successful commercialization. Their primary risk is technical risk, while market risk is often significantly lower due to the clear potential value of the solution to society. The underlying scientific or engineering problems being solved by deep tech and hard tech companies generate valuable intellectual property and are hard to reproduce.

Toy Category

Toy design involves combining work with the concept of ‘play’ and developing a ‘play-centric’ approach to tackle the evolving needs, challenges, and opportunities for innovation in the realms of education, entertainment, and human development. Its transdisciplinary essence, which integrates knowledge from both within and outside the realm of design, provides a platform for crafting design interventions imbued with a playful essence.

WHO CAN APPLY / ELIGIBILITY

The entry submitted for the CII Design Excellence Award must fulfil any two of the following three criteria

Designed in India

Made in India

Made for / Marketed in India

Designs may be entered in multiple categories, but each entry must be submitted and paid for separately.

Product / Project submitted should be launched in the market between January 2020 till Dec 2024.

Entries must comply with any applicable standards of safety or quality certification (only if required)

Designs can be resubmitted, provided that the previous submission did not win an award and or has been through upgrades in terms of functionality, introduction of new / ‘smart’ elements and over all structural changes to address new customer requirements, or earlier limitation.

*The jury reserve the right to assess the extent of upgrades that make the product eligible for an award.

WHY TO APPLY / BENEFITS

All the applicants and especially winners of CII Design Excellence Awards will benefit in multiple ways. The awards, conferred by CII, the leading industry organization of national and global repute are the recognition of best design competency and ability in India. The following are the benefits offered:

To Winners:

Award Insignia – Winners will get Award insignia to brand their product/service, which can be added in promotional material, embedded on the product and on the product packaging.

Exhibition – Participants will get a complimentary space for virtually exhibiting the (Virtual / Physical) product/design during the 25th CII India Design Summit.

Publicity – The organizers will promote the Design Excellence Awards and winning entries through CII social media platform.

Online – Winners will be featured on the CII Design Portal.

Award Ceremony – Winners will be presented the awards in the India Design Summit.

Certificate & Trophy – Winners will be awarded a certificate and a trophy and will be encouraged to use this prestigious award in their marketing material.

Design Summit – One free delegate pass for the India Design Summit.

To All Applicants:

Design Summit – One free delegate pass for the 25th India Design Summit.

Exhibition – 10% discount on exhibition fee at the 25th India Design Summit.

Whoever applies for 5 entries would get 1 free entry in CII Golden Pin Design Awards.

*Based on current affairs, CII will decide whether the events will be conducted digitally or in person.

TIMELINES

Launch Date 20 February, 2025
Last date for Submission 20 April, 2025
First Jury Evaluation 10 – 20 June, 2025
Grand Jury Evaluation 20 – 30 July, 2025
Awards Announcement October, 2025

* the dates are subject to current affairs and may change accordingly. CII Secretariat will share important notification / updates on the www.ciidesign.in website and over mail.


GRAND JURY DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2024

  • Mr. Srini Srinivasan (Grand Jury Chairman)


    Grand Jury Chairman & Senator
    WDO

  • Mr. Thomas Garvey (Grand Jury Co-Chairman)


    President
    WDO


  • Mr. T J Kim


    Vice President
    Digital Customer Experience at Coupang

  • Prof. Uday Kumar


    Coin maker
    IIT Guwahati

  • Mr. Eray Sertac Ersayin


    President
    President/VP, Industrial Designers Society of Turkey


  • Prof. G V Sreekumar


    Professor and former Head
    IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

  • Prof. Dr Ken Nah


    Professor
    International Design School for Advanced Studies (IDAS), Hongik University

  • Prof. Peer Sathikh


    Associate Chair (Academic)
    Nanyang Technological University


  • Mr. Oliver Linn


    Vice President
    Taiwan Design Research Institute

  • Mr. Vincenzo Iavicoli


    Advisor
    University of Tokyo

  • Mr. Hari Nair


    CEO and Chief Design Officer
    Design For Winning


  • Mr. Michele Straniero


    Senior Consultant - Asia Pacific Operations, VP International Business Development
    Sealance, Italy

  • Ms. Leticia Castro


    Superintendent Director
    Centro Brasil Design

  • Prof. Vanita Ahuja


    Professor
    Amity University


  • Prof. Pier Paolo Peruccio


    Architect and Associate Professor of Design
    Politecnico di Torino (Italy)

  • Prof. Dhiraj Kumar


    Director - Academics
    United World Institute of Design(UID)

  • Dr. Madhura Yadav


    Dean
    Manipal University


  • Mr. Vanja Garaj


    Visiting Academic
    University of Cambridge

  • Mr. Prabhat Ranjan


    Vice Chancellor
    D Y Patil International University

  • Mr. Prasanna Liyanage


    Professor
    University of Moratuwa

  • Mr. Sithumini Rathnamalala


    Lecturer
    University of Moratuwa

  • Dr. Toolika Gupta


    Director
    Indian Institute of Craft and Design, Jaipur


  • Dr. Amitoj Singh


    Managing Director & Partner
    Boston Consulting Group (BCG)


Expert Panel 2024

  • Prof. Aneesha Sharma


    Associate Professor, Department of Design
    IIT Delhi

  • Dr. Aparna Surve


    Dean
    DY Patil

  • Mr. Arindam Das


    Director
    Srishti Manipal Institute of Art & Design & Technology


  • Prof. Ashish Nar


    Professor
    UID

  • Mr. Bhaskar Bhatt


    Associate Professor and Head of Product Design/M.Des(IPD);
    Anant National University

  • Mr. Brijesh Dhiman


    Professor and Associate Director, Department of Industrial Design
    Karnavati University

  • Mr. Debashish Mazumder


    Professor
    UPES - Transportation

  • Prof. Deepak John Mathew


    Professor and Head - Department of Design
    IIT Hyderabad


  • Dr. Ekta Singh


    Founding Dean School of Design
    DIT University


  • Mr. Fenil Shah


    Director Design Lab
    Ahmedabad University

  • Mr. Gopal Meena


    Director
    Chitkara Education


  • Dr. Guruprasad Rao


    Professor & Dean, School of Design
    NMIMS School of Design

  • Prof. Jitendra S Rajput


    Associate Sr, Faculty, Strategic Design Management
    NID Ahmedabad

  • Dr. Kakoli Biswas


    Professor
    UID

  • Dr. Kishori Dalwadi


    Head of Department
    UID

  • Prof. Manas Mishra


    Professor
    UID

  • Prof. Manisha Mohan


    Director - Design (APAC & India)
    Emeritus

  • Prof. P V Madhusudhan Rao


    Professor of Mechanical Engineering & Design; Dean Alumni Relations
    IIT Delhi


  • Mr. Prakash Unakal


    Dean - Business Design
    WeSchool - Welingkar Institute

  • Prof. Pravinsinh Solanki


    Associate Senior Faculty
    NID, Ahmedabad

  • Mr. Ravi Mokashi Punekar


    Professor
    Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati


  • Mr. Sumer Singh


    Director
    IIT Delhi

  • Mr. Thomas Dal


    Director
    STRATE School of Design


  • Prof. Sambit Pradhan


    Head of Department, Visual Communication
    UID

  • Mrs. Sangita Shroff


    Director & Dean, Institute of Design
    NIRMA University


  • Prof. Sundar Mahalingam


    Professor
    UID

  • Dr. Vibha


    Professor
    UID

  • Mr. Vipul Vinzuda


    Activity Vice-Chairperson, Knowledge Management Centre, Discipline Lead, Transportation & Automobile Design
    NID Ahmedabad