Where Great Work Meets
the People Who Commission It
Design Authority began as a platform connecting Singapore's most discerning property owners with interior designers, architects, and makers who deserve to be found. Our awards span the full spectrum of the designed world — from architecture and interiors to fashion, leather goods, jewellery, and watches.
This is not a programme created by the industry to recognise itself. It is recognition decided by the public who live with, wear, and commission exceptional design every day.
Recognition means most when it comes from the people who live inside the work — not only those who made it.
An Audience That Commissions
The Design Authority platform reaches property owners who are actively making decisions, not passively browsing. When they see a DA Awards badge, they are seeing a signal from a platform they already trust — that this studio does work worth paying attention to.
Content That Has Graced Singapore's Finest
Design Authority's editorial publications have been placed in the lobbies, suites, and residences of Singapore's most prestigious hospitality addresses. The same audience that reads our content is the audience that votes in our awards — and hires the studios they find there.
Not All Recognition Is Created Equal
Most design awards are judged by the industry, for the industry. The Design Authority Awards are different in three ways that matter.
Voted by the Public
Winners are determined by public vote from an audience of property owners and design enthusiasts with real skin in the game. Their endorsement carries commercial weight that a panel of peers simply cannot replicate.
Rooted in the Client Community
Design Authority is not a trade publication. We are a platform built for the people who hire designers. Our audience is the same audience your studio needs to reach — and the awards live within that ecosystem.
Open on Merit Alone
No nominations by invitation, no minimum fee thresholds, and no advantage for larger studios. Every practice competes on the strength of one project. The best work — as judged by the public — wins.
How the Awards Work
From submission to announcement — a transparent, straightforward process designed to put great work in front of the right people.
Submit
Enter your strongest project into the most relevant category. Include a project description and portfolio link.
Review
Our team reviews all entries for eligibility. Accepted submissions are listed on the public voting platform.
Vote
Public voting opens 10 August. The Design Authority audience browses, evaluates, and casts their votes.
Shortlist
Top-voted entries in each category are announced as finalists before the close of the voting period.
Win
Winners announced 1 October 2026. Digital emblem, editorial profile, and Winners Directory listing.
Closing the Gap Between Great Work and the People Who Need It
Too much exceptional design goes unrecognised outside the profession. A firm may win the admiration of its peers and still struggle to reach the clients whose projects would allow it to grow. We believe that gap is a problem worth solving.
The Design Authority Awards exists to surface the practices that deserve to be found — and to put them in front of an audience that is already looking. Every entry, every shortlisting, every win is an opportunity for a studio's work to reach someone who might commission the next great project.
That is the recognition that matters. Not a certificate on a wall — but a client on the phone.
Deserves to Be Seen
Submissions open 15 May 2026. Early Bird pricing ends 30 June.