Australian Design Award

The Australian International Design Awards is an industry body established by the Industrial Design Council of Australia (IDCA), founded in 1958. The awards are Australia's only national design awards for industrial design. Since 1991, the Australian International Design Awards has been a division of Standards Australia.

In 2007 the Australian Design Awards expanded its entry criteria to include all professionally designed products on the Australian market, including products designed in Australia. From 2007, the Australian Design Awards became known as the Australian International Design Awards to reflect the global nature of the awards.

The Australian International Design Awards has been recognised by the Commonwealth Government and the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design as a promotional body for the Australian design industry.

There are three types of accolades issued by the Australian International Design Awards, they are:

Special Awards include:

In 1958 the Industrial Design Council of Australia (IDCA) was established funded by the Commonwealth Government. The goal was to educate manufacturers and consumers on the value of design, encourage and promote high standards of design in manufactured goods.

From 1964 Good Design Labels began to appear on products and the Australian Design Index became a register of the best designed products in Australia. A panel of experts reviewed items for inclusion in the Index. Products meeting the criteria received the Good Design Labeland other manufacturers were given constructive criticism on how to improve their products.

In 1964, the IDCA opened the first Australian Design Centre in Melbourne with a special exhibition of selected products from the Australian Design Index. Federal and state government funding helped establish a new Design Centre in Sydney, with more centres to follow in other cities.

In 1967 the Prince Philip Prize for Australian Design was set up, supported by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with the aim of promoting greater awareness of good design in Australian engineering. The inaugural Prince Philip Prize was awarded in 1968. Over 90 entries were received and the winning entry was a self-propelled grain header, designed by Kenneth Gibson. The Prince Philip Prize continued for 10 years.

The IDCA faced funding difficulties in the mid-1970s and was forced to close temporarily in 1976. A new funding injection from the Commonwealth Government helped the Council reopen and a new 'innovation' recognition program was introduced.

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