Design Excellence Awards 2025

ASID CALIFORNIA PENINSULA CHAPTER

DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2025

COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS

 

This design competition recognizes projects executed by members of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) California Peninsula Chapter (CaPen) and that represent interior design excellence by successfully addressing client objectives, demonstrating creativity, and skillfully problem solving in diverse interior design categories. 

All CaPen ASID members are encouraged to enter for an opportunity to gain recognition for their exceptional work, to make their designs the benchmark of the industry, and to inspire a new generation of aspiring students and emerging professionals.

QUALIFYING INFORMATION

• Professional, allied, associate, designer affiliate, student and industry partner members who are active and in good standing with the California Peninsula Chapter of ASID are eligible to participate.  
• Interior design firms are eligible if the named principal designer on the project is an active member of the chapter.  Any team member/collaborator who is not a CaPen ASID member cannot be named on the entry form and will not be considered for an award and publication.
• Industry partner members may name the creator as an additional entrant if they are employees but not a CaPen ASID member.  Industry partners must have their principal place of business in California.  

ENTRY RULES

• All entrants must have active CaPen ASID membership good through September 2025.
• Projects must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2022.
• Entry fees are due at time of entry and are non-refundable.
• Projects and entry fees must be submitted digitally through this platform, CPJ Association Management (CPJam).
• All entries must be actual, physically installed projects, except in the Student and Best Use Of Product categories.
• Up to 5 Before photos and 10 After photos may be uploaded. All photos must be submitted in .jpg format with a 300 dpi resolution and a file size of min. 2 mb (4 mb preferred) and maximum 10 mb each.
• The Design Concept Statement should be maximum 300 words. 
• A Publication Statement (75 words or less) is required and must be accompanied by one image selected as the cover image.    
• Projects that have previously won an ASID CA Peninsula Chapter Design Excellence Award are ineligible for re-entry. Projects previously submitted that did not receive a Design Excellence Award are permitted, but the entry must contain new information (e.g. photos, plans, or elevations).
• Projects may be entered in more than one category (for example, Bathroom and Kitchen) or as a whole house project, but not both. Unique images are required for each entry.
• Photography Release Form and Owner Permission Form must be submitted with the project.
• Industry Partners must submit the Designer Permission Form for the Industry Partner categories.
• Submissions must not bear any logos, insignias, watermarks, writing, or any other marks that identify authorship. Failure to comply will result in disqualification and forfeiture of entry fees.
• Projects will be scored anonymously online by design professionals not belonging to the California Peninsula Chapter. Design professionals from other ASID chapters, as well as other qualified architects, builders, and educators can be judges.
• Judges will remain anonymous.
• Projects will be judged strictly on a point system based on clarity and quality of the presentation, appropriateness of the design solution, and the successful integration of design elements and principles. See the Judging Criteria for more information on scoring.
• Projects scoring in the top three in each category will receive a gold, silver, and bronze award, respectively. 
• Projects with the top three scores in a category will receive a Gold, Silver, and Bronze award, respectively.  A minimum of 75 points must be achieved to earn an award.

PROJECT SUBMISSION

Required:

• Entry fee
• Concealed Identity Form (on CPJam)
• Design Concept Statement (max. 300 words) submitted in .pdf format that includes a description of the design program, challenges, design solution, designer's scope of work, etc.
• Publication Statement (75 words or less) to accompany photograph selected as the cover photo.  
• Floor plans to scale with square footage and scale noted, submitted in .pdf format, 11" x 17"  minimum when printed
• Project photos - professional or of professional quality (student entries n/a)
• Photographer Release Form - submit in .pdf format (student entries n/a)
• Owner Permission Form - submit in .pdf format (student entries n/a)

Recommended, but not required:

• Before photos strongly encouraged
• Elevations, details and renderings
• Project Contributor Declarations Form (on CPJam).
• IP Acknowledgement Form, if applicable (on CPJam)*
• Designer Permission Form, required for Best Use of Product submissions by industry partners - submit in .pdf format

*The California Peninsula Chapter of ASID has industry partners who host CEU events, social events, etc.  If an industry partner has been helpful in a project, the IP Acknowledgement Form provides the opportunity to let them know that interior designers appreciate them! For a list of industry partners, check here:  https://capen.asid.org/chapter-sponsorships.

Entries failing to meet eligibility and/or fulfill entry requirements will result in disqualification.  No fees will be refunded.

PUBLICATION

• Entries remain the property of CaPen.
• Each entrant receiving an award agrees to follow publicity guidelines as established by ASID and authorizes ASID to use photographs and submitted content in publicity releases.
• Both client and photographer must agree to the publicity release terms and sign as indicated on the applicable permission forms.
• The publishing magazine reserves the right to substitute the selected cover photo for publication purposes.
• Receipt of the entry registration signifies agreement with the competition terms.
• Publication Statement (75 words or less) is submitted in .pdf format to accompany cover photo.  Please note that publicity statements will be published in Luxe Magazine in case of a win.

PRICING

Professional

Early Bird $175 first entry, $100 each additional entry

Regular Pricing $195 first entry, $120 each additional entry

 

Emerging Professional

Early Bird $150 first entry, $75 each additional entry

Regular $175 first entry, $100 each additional entry

 

Student 

Early Bird - $50

Regular - $75

 

The entry fees cover one (1) acrylic award per project. There is a $45 additional acrylic award fee for each additional CaPen ASID member to be recognized.

**Please note: Any additional winning design team members must also be current members of CaPen ASID in good standing with a membership through September 2025 to be recognized.

COMPETITION ENTRY TIPS

• Entries will save automatically as the information is entered.
• Judges read the design concept statements very carefully.  Any details mentioned in the design concept statement must be noted on the drawings and specifications.  
• It is recommended to use bullet points and short sentences in the design concept statement.
• Design concept statements should present design challenges and solutions with clarity of thought, continuity, and conclusive analysis.
• For kitchen and bathroom design categories, if NKBA Design Guidelines are not followed due to the client's wishes, it is recommended to note it on the floor plan or in the caption under the image.
• A “before” floor plan is optional but recommended if the design concept statement outlines major improvements to the design.
• A 150 character space under each photo to explain the design concept statement and/or to clarify the design decisions is advised. 
• It is highly recommended that every sheet be oriented the same (portrait or landscape) to avoid the need to rotate drawings when viewing.  This applies to photographs as well.
• Photographs should show every special feature discussed in the design concept statement. 
• The facility name, designer, design firm, project name or logo is not to be indicated on ANY material submitted.  It is advised to check photo filenames and submitted drawings carefully!
• All significant contributors are to be included.  For instance, if an architect was involved, their role should be explained on the Project Contributor Declarations Form. 
• Professional or professional-quality photos—300 dpi—are required. Poor quality images will not be acceptable for publication by the editors of any professional magazine.
• Complete rules and regulations are available in the downloadable files tab.