2026 Call for entries (Early Bird)
*More information on supporting organisations and partnerships will be update
*Please ONLY select your categories in one division.
Submission Payment (Credit card)
Qualified copywriting/ proofreading service
We would like to offer entrants the opportunity to have access to a professional and qualified copywriting/ proofreading service for any written materials. Please note that this service can be used freely outside of the Sky Design Awards. The service cost will be USD 125.
*if you wish to use these services, you may submit your project description in the original language (in the word/text. file).
For your Qualified copywriting/ proofreading service,
Sky Design Awards 2026 Call for Entries (Early-Bird)
We are now accepting submissions for the 2026 Sky Design Awards. Registration is closed. Since some projects may require time to take photos, we now accept applications and payments for early bird submissions. All Files must be submitted by January 31, 2026.
Companies and individuals are invited to submit their projects for the Sky Design Awards 2026 in the relevant categories. The shortlisted entries will culminate in Tokyo's Sky Design Awards' Gala Awards Ceremony.
The competition is open to all practices in Architecture, Interior Design, Visual & Graphics Design, and Industrial Design projects completed between December 31, 2022, and December 31, 2025.
TIMELINE:
SDA Online long-listed to Shortlisted process (1): March 01 - April 15, 2026
SDA Shortlist Announcement: April 20, 2026
SDA Public Vote: June 01 - 31, 2026
SDA Ceremony/ Design Symposium (Tokyo, Japan): November 2026
SDA Exhibition (Tokyo, Japan, Hong Kong and Toronto, Canada): TBC
For projects relevant to the following four divisions:
Architecture Division
Category examples:
Commercial, Retail & Office/Hotel & Resort/ Infrastructure/Institution & Educational/ Transportation Hub/ Public Space/ Remodelled Heritage (conservation)/ Residential and Urban Design/Memorials Design/ Green & Sustainable designs
Interior Design Division
Category examples:
Commercial and Office/ Hotel and Resort/ Institution/ Retail Design/ Pop-Up/ Residential/ Leisure and wellness/ transportation hub/ Lighting Design/ Memorials Design/ Green & Sustainable designs
Visual & Design Business Division (including exhibition)
Category examples:
Pop-Up Design/Brands and Creatives included: Graphic Design/ Corporate Identity Design/ Multimedia (Exhibition Design)/ Signage Design, and Photography (Interior and Architectural).
Industrial Design Division (including furniture)
Category examples:
Home Furniture Design/ Office Furniture Design/ Lighting Design & Fixture/ Audio Design/ Household Products/ Home Decor Accessories/ Tableware/Stationery
Awards and Prizes:
Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners for each category will receive a trophy and a certificate, as well as opportunities for editorial features in Merci Magazine, international media exposure, social media posts, and a listing on the SKY Bridge business-to-business platform (Noetic). Gold, Silver and Bronze winners will have a special feature in the SKY Design Awards 2026 Almanac.
All Shortlisted entrants receive a certificate and will be showcased in the SKY Design Awards 2026 Almanac.
Special Project Prize/s: Brand collaboration, project hiring and cooperation with international companies to be announced. Merci Magazine - One Story features.
The New Black is a new award designed to discover and recognize young architects and designers, as well as small projects such as pop-up, residential, or retail shops, with project sizes up to 50m2 (540 ft²).
*The New Black entrants must be either under 38 years of age OR the project submitted must be less than 50m2 (with no age limitation).
Submissions are carefully evaluated by a Judging Panel comprised of the most esteemed architects and interior designers based on:
25%: Originality and Creativity
25%: Appearance
20%: Constructibility
20%: Commercial value
10%: Sustainability
(If your project is related to Sustainable Development Goals - ISO, please also include)
Visual & Graphics and Industrial Design
50% Originality and creativity
25% Appearance
15% Commercial value
10% Composition
Submission Guidelines:
Each entry is limited to one Award. If you would like to submit a project to multiple Awards, you will need to enter multiple times.
Please be sure to read the following guidelines.
Submission
How to apply for the Sky Design Awards 2026?
Go to the landing page for your submission
You may provide any link from any server for us to download your files.
If you wish to use We-transfer.com
Select the categories you wish to apply
Fill in the name of the contact person and the company name accordingly on the online form
Upload all the information and basic requirements on we-transfer https://wetransfer.com OR a server of your choice to send a link for download
Copy and paste the link from the WeTransfer to the online application form
Make your payment
Click Submit
Please note:
In the application, please also list any individuals or companies involved in the project
A video for judges to preview can be up to 2 minutes, and up to 1 minute for marketing collaterals. For any submitted videos, please ensure that you only include music that is not copyrighted.
We would like to offer entrants the opportunity to have access to a professional and qualified copywriting/ proofreading service for any written materials. Please note that this service can be used freely outside of the Sky Design Awards. The service cost will be USD 125.
ABOUT SKY DESIGN AWARDS
Like the limitless sky, the Sky Design Awards aims to create opportunities for designers to expand their potential and broaden their horizons. The Sky Design Awards were established by Merci Magazine, a company active in the design industry.
The SKY Design Awards celebrate achievement in design excellence for projects that deliver meaningful social impact in the areas of architecture, interior design, visual & graphic design, and industrial design.
The Sky Design Awards endeavours to create opportunities for collaboration between designers and companies in the Asia Pacific region and internationally. We strive to empower design professionals to hone their skills and creative development through our awards recognition, design dialogue and experience hub. We aim to foster creative exchange and collaborative relationships with design peers and companies worldwide.
For further information about this initiative, please contact:
Sky Design Awards: enquiries@merci-magazine.com or submission@merci-magazine.com
About the Sky Design Awards Trophy
All our trophies are handmade, done by artisans in Japan. Jon Billing is an American but has lived in Japan for three years. He has been doing woodworking since 2003 but developed an interest in traditional Japanese woodwork which led him to come to Japan. He builds furniture and also does traditional carpentry work in Japan.
As the world evolves and adapts to ever-changing circumstances, the Sky Design Awards also grows and transforms as we embark on our fourth year.
Last year we were excited to announce ‘Sky Design Bridge,’ a sourcebook of world-class architects, designers, and materials suppliers that will be newly established, making it a further upgraded DESIGN AWARDS, and will be pre-launch by the end of the first quarter in 2022. To inaugurate this milestone, we are delighted to unveil a new logo. This design was created to integrate the Sky Design Awards with our new B2B platform to connect designers and companies from different countries.
The red circle symbolizes the sun in the sky, shining a light on outstanding sustainable designs with social impact. The A for Awards is reminiscent of a bridge with a road leading the way to success by communicating with and connecting people worldwide.