Hasta La Ideas

As of the beginning of the month, the IDSA International Design Excellence Awards is open for submissions for its 32nd consecutive year. “With its storied history, impartial jurying process, international pool of exceptional entrants, impartial expert jurors, breadth of categories, and forward thinking criteria, IDEA 2012 is uniquely positioned to shine a spotlight on design genius.”

The brief is as timely and relevant as ever:

We live in a global community with unique challenges and opportunities in which great design is uniquely positioned to improve daily life and experiences. Design touches people every minute of every day. It shapes the world, experience and daily lives. Great design envisions reinvents and creates the future we want rather than the one we are handed.

To that end, the IDSA is calling for designers the world over to submit the best of the best: exceptional design that epitomizes quality across design mediums and platforms. Given that IDEA has maintained and honed its reputation as the preeminent international design competition, it should come as no surprise that it is also known as the “Oscars of Design.”

Of course, just as the very definition of design continues to grow at an ever-increasing pace, the awards program has evolved over the past three decades, and 2012 is no exception. IDEA2012 features several new categories: Digital Design; Service Design; Social Impact Design; Bathrooms, Spas and Wellness; Gardens & Outdoor; Kitchens; and Living Room and Bedroom. (See the full list of categories here.)

Check out some of our favs from 2011—bronze, silver and gold—for inspiration or head over to the IDEA2012 website for more details and to enter! The deadline for submissions is February 17, 2012.

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