2025 Better Design Award – Competition Guidelines

2025 Better Design Award – Competition Guidelines

The Better Design Award (abbreviated as BDA) is an international, comprehensive design competition established under the guidance of China Media Group, Guangdong Provincial People's Government, Guangzhou Municipal People's Government, Shenzhen Municipal People's Government.

It aims to identify outstanding practices of design-driven innovation in technology, products, application scenarios, and industries. Centered around the goals of Chinese-style modernization, the competition focuses on building a modern industrial system and fostering new quality productive forces. It seeks to highlight how design empowers innovation and improves lives while leveraging the communication advantages of China’s new-generation mainstream media to build a world-class platform for Chinese design on the global stage.

The BDA consists of two main categories: Product Design and Design for Industry. The Product Design category includes a Main Competition (including 3 groups: Industrial Cornerstone Group, Better Life Group and Future Design Group) and a Special Competition.

Product Design

Main Competition

01 Industrial Cornerstone Group
Focuses on B2B, B2G products, and public facilities. It emphasizes how design can drive industrial transformation. Categories include, but are not limited to: Equipment manufacturing (e.g., aerospace and marine equipment), cutting-edge machinery (such as low-altitude aircraft, new energy equipment); General and specialized equipment; Public infrastructure; Components, materials, software, and technologies that play a pivotal role in industrial innovation.

02 Better Life Group
Targets consumer-facing products (B2C), highlighting how design enhances everyday life. Includes, but is not limited to: Products and services for travel, office, home, and other lifestyle scenarios.

03 Future Design Group
Focuses on conceptual designs not yet in mass production or on the market (as of the submission date). Emphasizes visionary and forward-thinking design.

Special Competition

This Special Competition focuses on the integration of design with AI and robotics technology.

AI Projects should demonstrate applications of artificial intelligence in areas such as intelligent manufacturing, smart healthcare, smart mobility, and smart homes, with an emphasis on real-world industrialization. Robotics Projects should reflect innovative designs and applications of robotics in fields such as industrial manufacturing, service industries, healthcare, and education/entertainment, promoting the broader adoption and commercialization of robotic technology.

Design for Industry

This category focuses on innovative industrial systems and improvement strategies. It seeks solutions that: Redesign the allocation of industrial resources; Define new industry roadmaps, market positioning, policies, security frameworks, and cultural strategies. Entries should leverage design thinking to drive innovation in user experience, services, and business models.

The emphasis is on submissions that embody: Early-stage design integration, Collaborative innovation, Shared production capacity, and Autonomous, controllable industrial and supply chains. Eligible submissions include system-level industrial model solutions, new production service models, and foundational research projects in design.

The competition offers a total prize pool of 4.2 million RMB, with 332 award slots available. The highest single award reaches up to 300,000 RMB.

The main competition includes the BDA Grand Award, Better Design Award, and BDA Design for Industry Award.

The Special Competition category is also established the AI & Robotics Design Award.

1. Product Design: The product must be launched within two years (after May 2023), or be an unpublished product that can be mass-produced before the awards ceremony, and must provide a complete functional prototype for the re-evaluation. The lead designer or design team must hold the relevant intellectual property rights, and the product must comply with national industry policies and relevant technical standards.
2. Concept Design: The work must be an original design or proposal that has not been sold or produced in the market. The physical prototype must be provided for re-evaluation and final evaluation, along with a video presenting the complete design concept. The design must show significant innovation in terms of function, structure, form, technology, materials, and low carbon impact.
3. Design for Industry: The work must be a complete project with a clear feature of "design-driven industry transformation and upgrade." It must demonstrate innovation, exemplary qualities, and industry value. The participant must submit design outcomes, promotional effects, and industry advancement results (such as economic data, industry chain development, etc.).
4. Each entry may only be submitted in one category. Works that have been submitted in previous editions cannot be re-entered.
5. All entries must be original, innovative projects with legal participation rights, with no intellectual property disputes and no infringement of third-party intellectual property, ownership, usage, or disposal rights.

The Better Design Award does not charge an entry fee; however, participants are responsible for any costs incurred related to logistics, insurance, customs clearance, and other associated expenses.

/ Detailed Requirements for Competition Application /
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1

Register an Account

Go to the official website at www.bdaward.com, and click [Register] in the upper right corner. Fill in the required information as instructed, then click [Submit] to complete the registration.
Participants who already have an account may log in with their existing credentials.

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2

Complete Applicant Information

After successfully registering an account, please fill in the basic information of the participating party as required. If you have an [Invitation Code], it must be provided; if not, you may leave it blank.

To avoid duplication of the [Invitation Code], participants who already have an account from previous years are advised to enter a new [Invitation Code] on the application page this year. The system will use the code entered on the application page as the official reference.

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3

Select Application Category

After completing the participant information, you will find two entry options in the menu on the left: [Product Design Application List] and [Design for Industry Application List].
Please select the appropriate application category and fill in the required submission details accordingly.

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4

Fill in Application Details

On the application page, complete all required fields marked with an asterisk (*) and save the form. Optional fields can be filled in according to your needs. The specific information required for submission is as follows:

Product Design Application

For the Product Design Application, the following information is required:
[Basic Information], [Multimedia Content], [Product (Work) Details], and [Team Information].

*Please note regarding the selection of the [AI & Robotics Special Competition]: If your submitted product meets the eligibility criteria for this category, you may apply for it simultaneously. We warmly encourage your participation!

Design for Industry Application

For the Design for Industry Application, the following information is required:
[Basic Information], [Multimedia Content], [Project Information], and [Project Report].

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5

Edit/Submit Application

You may return to the [Product Design Application List] or [Design for Industry Application List] to edit your submitted information or check whether your application was successfully submitted.

If your application has been saved but not submitted, you can continue editing it via the list.
Once the information is submitted, it cannot be modified. Please review all details carefully to ensure accuracy before submission.