Seoul Design Award 2025 Certifies Sustainable and Innovative Design Projects

SEOUL, South Korea, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The 'Seoul Design Award 2025,' hosted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Design Foundation, was successfully held at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) on October 24. Now in its sixth year, the Seoul Design Award is the world's only international design award specializing in social impact. The award highlights practical design solutions addressing various challenges faced by humanity in the quest for sustainable living such as the climate crisis, social inequality, and environmental destruction. The award ceremony recognized outstanding projects this year and was held as a global design award opening the door to a sustainable future.

• Four Major Themes Towards Sustainability

The Seoul Design Award is well-known for selecting designs that promote sustainable life for people and communities, rather than focusing solely on shape or technology.

This year, based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the competition focused on four themes: Health and Peace, Equal Opportunities (Universal Design), Energy and Environment (Upcycling Design), and Cities and Communities. Approximately 1,000 projects from 74 countries worldwide competed from March to June.

• Global Judging Combining Expertise and Fairness Drove Participation

This year's panel of juries was composed of 32 global design experts from 21 countries as well as design leaders from across diverse fields. Strictly abiding by principles of fairness, the juries selected a total of 60 award-winning projects (from approximately 30 countries).

Notably, the award was further distinguished as the world's only 'participatory design award' through the participation of global citizens who voted for the Grand Prize.

Top 10 awardees from 10 countries were invited to Seoul for the 'Top 10 Live Competition,' where they presented their projects in person to compete for the Grand Prize.

Over 5,500 global citizens from 48 countries participated in the online voting to help select the Grand Prize winner from among 10 projects. This online voting and the in-person selection on-site by the panel of 12 international jury members helped determine the Grand Prize Winner.

During the award ceremony, awardees received trophies, certificates, prize money totaling KRW 150 million, as well as networking opportunities with designers and international experts in the field of sustainability.