Calling all designers—the Core77 Design Awards are back and open for entry starting on Thursday, January 6, 2022! 

After over a decade of awarding excellent design work, the Core77 Design Awards continues to champion the principles of inclusivity, innovation, and excellence. Our annual collection of awarded projects have solidified the awards as a showcase of groundbreaking design over the years, granting awards to successful products such as the Google Pixel Buds, Nest Thermostat, the Biolite Stove, the Oculus Rift VR Headset and much more.

In recognition of the broad spectrum of the design field, our Awards program offers 18 distinct categories, each further broken into dedicated sections for professionals and students. Each category is judged by esteemed Jury Captains and their chosen team members, which grants designers the opportunity to present their work to the best of the best in their respective fields. Past Core77 Design Awards Jury Captains have included industry leaders such as Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia, Pentagram partner Eddie Opara OCD co-founder & 2016 Hillary for America Design Director Jennifer Kinon, Project H/Girl's Garage founder Emily Pilloton, LAYER design lead Benjamin Hubert, and many more.

Here are just a few of the projects that took home awards last year that can serve as inspiration for your entry this year:

An Affordable and Easily Assembled Ventilator

The VOX Ventilator by fuseproject, 2021's Health & Wellness Professional Winner, was developed at a time when when urgency was absolutely key for the development of COVID-related medical equipment. Their design response was to create a solution that could be deployed quickly and affordably, costs less than $1,000 to produce and can be assembled in less than 4 hours while also improving on typical ventilators' UI.

A Composting Garbage Disposal

Sepura Home, the 2021 Home & Living Professional Winner, designed by Card79 for Anvy Technologies improves on a classic appliance in order to serve a more climate conscious consumer base. Instead of sending food waste dropped into your drain into the sewage system, Sepura instead separates drain water from food waste into a collection bin within the appliance. The system is also designed with more airflow than a typical disposal or compost to detract the presence of foul odors and fruit flies.

A Game That Teaches Kids About Algorithmic Bias

In our current internet age, it's especially important to teach children media literacy and how bias plays into the algorithms feeding them information on a daily basis. The Most Likely Machine, developed by Artefact and the Professional Winner in 2021's Interaction category, is a free, open-source digital learning module that teaches pre-teens about algorithmic literacy. Children are educated using a fun, interactive game model—Artefact writes in their 2021 entry, "[The Most Likely Machine] demonstrates the possibilities for fun and meaningful digital learning experiences in the era of remote education."

A Redesigned Speculum That Addresses Women's Health Needs

The vaginal speculum is a product that has unfortunately received little to no improvements since its invention two centuries ago, but some designers are beginning to address this grossly disregarded need. Ceek Women's Health developed the Nella NuSpec reusable vaginal speculum, 2021's Commercial Equipment Professional Winner, to tackle many of the issues with the initial speculum design. The Nella NuSpec's features include a temperature-neutral material that allows it to glide in with ease as well as lateral retractors that retain vaginal sidewalls so providers have adequate visibility and access to conduct an exam or procedure.

An Exhibits That Highlights Gender Inequality in the Workplace

Sometimes the best way to deeply absorb information is to experience it visually, and a 2021 Professional Winner in both the Built Environment and Visual Communication categories called A Seat at the Table explores this concept beautifully. This exhibition developed by Dome for Drexel University's Institute for Women's Health and Leadership highlights the current state of gender inequality in America by combining custom-built furniture and large floor typography, highlighting surprising statistics around workplace demographics in the workforce.

An Agricultural Program That Helps Farmers Create a Regenerative Business Amid Climate Change

Climate change is an ever-growing threat to farmers around the world, and more and more we're discovering a key element to mitigating this danger is technology. New Seed Society, the 2021 Service Design Student Winner, is a program designed specifically for Central American farmers to aid in creating regenerative agricultural businesses. The program includes a mobile app helping regenerative farmers to connect and share regenerative strategies with each other as well as a monitoring kit allowing farmers to track key regenerative indicators like soil health, biodiversity, and crop quality over time.

A Micromobility Solution Using a Circular Economy Model

While typical micromobility solutions provide climate relief in the sense that they afford commuters less reliance on automobiles, there is the question of what these transportation alternatives are built out of to consider. Juanjo Villega's Plastic Ride electric, sustainable micromobility solution, which won in the Transportation Student category in 2021, is an optimistic look at how the issue of materials can be addressed. Plastic Ride develops scooters built with recycled materials from the automobile industry, and is designed only with essential parts to ensure maintenance and repair are as quick and simple as possible.

Mark your calendars! The awards launch on Thursday, January 6th, 2022. Learn more about the 2022 awards now at designawards.core77.com