2022 DesignTO Awards

The DesignTO Awards recognize design excellence.

We are pleased to announce the 10th annual DesignTO Awards, presented by Yabu Pushelberg, for the 2022 Festival.

The DesignTO Awards recognize design excellence at the DesignTO Festival, Canada’s leading and largest annual design festival that celebrates design as a multidisciplinary form of creative thinking and making. Presented by Yabu Pushelberg, the DesignTO Awards celebrates the talent, expression, and diversity of designers from Toronto and abroad.

Yabu Pushelberg logo

Founders’ Award

This award recognizes the jury’s selection for the project that best aligns with DesignTO's purpose to bring people together to design a better future. Prize sponsored by the DesignTO Festival Founders.

Emerging Artist/Designer Award

This award recognizes the jury’s selection for the best work by an emerging artist/designer across the festival. Prize sponsored by Artscape Launchpad.
Tracy Olan & Jess Koehn

Best Product/Object Design Award

This award recognizes the best in custom work and limited-edition collections including furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles and surface design. Prize sponsored by IDS Toronto.
Dominic Montante

Best in Festival Awards

These awards recognize the jury’s selections for the best exhibition, window installation, and event concept across the festival.
Best in Festival
Window Installation
Andreas Krätschmer AND Tracy Olan & Jess Koehn
Best in Festival
Event

People's Choice Awards

These awards are determined by public vote.
People's Choice Awards
Favourite Event
Daily Goods Design LABS, Renn Scott, Nadine Hare, Veda Adnani Chatterjee
People's Choice Awards
Favourite Exhibition
Victoria Fard, SHAKERSZSTORIES
People's Choice Awards
Favourite Window Installation
Patrick Li, Carol Wong Li, shop116 (Ivan Ilic, Sandie Mac)

Juror's Choice Awards

These awards are given by individual jurors for their favourites in any category, including events, exhibitions, window installations, and individual works in the Festival.

Selected by Anya Georgijevic

D.A.R. Proyectos (Jenny Boucher, Mauricio Navarro Aldave)
Maha Alavi

Selected by Bahar Ghaemi

Micah Adams, Joshua Augusto, Dexter Barker-Glenn, Sophie Dannin, Melissa Fisher-Rozenberg, Ryland Fortie, Lauren Goodman, Alastair Martin, Matt Nish-Lapidus, Julie Oh, Ciar O’Mahony, Pascal Paquette, Gord Peteran, Diana Lynn VanderMeulen, Meichen Waxer
Carissa Baktay
Teemu Salonen

Selected by Sylvia Lee

Selected by Samira Matan

Claudia Gutierrez with Pat Bolduc
Charlene Lam
Que Rock, Elder Whabagoon, The University of Toronto Daniels Faculty, Daniels Art Directive (DAD), StreetARToronto, M2M Signworks, Dr. Heidi Bohaker, Jill Carter, John Croutch, Jon Johnson, Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, Mariah Meawasige (@Makoose), Karl Shay, Nathan Tidridge, Maxim Batourine, Nene Brode, Hannah Brokenshire, Aidan Cowling, Sara Elhawash, Amy-Catherine George, Lily Jeon, Naveed Khan, Jeannie Kim, Melissa Montgomery, Jason Nguyen, Joseph Rogal, Mark Teo, Robin Boehlen, Kha Den De, Aliya Karmali, Andrea Kinsella, Sydney Kinzel, Christina Lin, Janet Ma, Michelle Ng, Sanjana Patel, Ava Pouralborz, Isha Sharma, Supriya Saha, Collin Tatton, Catherine Campbell, Jason Campbell, Michael Hutchinson, Carolyn Taylor, Lady Castulo, Curtiss Randolph, Geoff Taylor, Laura Taylor

How the Awards work

DesignTO recognizes design excellence in the Festival each year, in three categories: Best in Festival, Juror’s Choice, and People’s Choice, granting up to 21 DesignTO Awards. An annual jury of designers and industry experts vote for awards in two “Best in Festival” categories and for three “Juror’s Choice” each, while the public votes for three “People’s Choice” awards.

In 2022, there are three new DesignTO Awards: the ‘Founders’ Award’ which recognizes the project that best aligns with DesignTO’s purpose to bring people together to design a better future, the ‘Emerging Artist/Designer Award’ which recognizes the jury’s selection for the best work by an emerging artist/designer across the Festival, and the ‘Best Product/Object Design Award’ which recognizes the best in custom work and limited-edition collections including furniture, lighting, glass, ceramics, textiles and surface design.

Awardees are recognized and celebrated through DesignTO’s extensive network.

Eligibility Criteria

Jurors can consider any Festival project for an award.

A selection of exhibitions and installations will be visited in person on jury day. During the pandemic, the jurors will convene online.

Awards Jury

Design experts and one former awardee are invited each year to participate in jurying the Awards program.

Jurors: Anya Georgijevic (writer and designer), Bahar Ghaemi (Creative Director of Products, Yabu Pushelberg), Sylvia Lee (Creative and Executive Director, Jeff Goodman Studio), Marcia MacDonald (Senior Creative Director, Yabu Pushelberg), and Samira Matan (designer, researcher, and 2021 Award winner).