Call for Entries

The Design Excellence Awards are held annually to honor those who have achieved excellence in commercial and residential interior design. Recognizing talent, hard work, and dedication, the Design Excellence Awards are a unique opportunity to highlight your work and acknowledge the work of your peers.

ASID Members: All members of the Arizona South Chapter are eligible for a member entry rate. You must have your ASID member number and be a current member in good standing to be eligible for a member entry.

Non-Members: May include interior designers, architects, landscape architects, artists, or industry partners from within southern Arizona.

Pricing & Deadlines

Early Registration: April 23rd – May 31st

•      Early ASID Member Rate per Entry: $175

•      Early Non-Member Rate per Entry: $250

Regular Registration: June 1st – June 30th

•      ASID Member Rate per Entry: $225

•      Non-Member Rate per Entry: $275

Late Registration: July 1st – July 15th

•      ASID Member Rate per Entry: $300

•      Non-Member Rate per Entry: $350

 

Official Rules and Entry Requirements

Rules

1.    It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the project meets the rules, regulations, category criteria, and eligibility requirements as outlined in this document.

2.    The ASID Design Excellence Awards Committee reserves the right to disqualify any entrant for incomplete or incorrect submissions.

3.    Entry fees are non-refundable, including in cases where an entry is disqualified or not uploaded within the given time frame.

 

NOTE – Social Media & Publication (New Rule):

To maintain the integrity of the judging process, entrants may not publicly reference or disclose the submission of a project prior to the awards announcement. This includes, but is not limited to, social media posts, advertisements, press releases, or print publications. Any public mention of a submitted project before the awards announcement may result in disqualification.

Prior to the awards gala, entrants may post photos or videos of project submissions on social media, provided that the images or media are different from those included in the official submission. Photos must be significantly different (e.g., different angles, different detail shots, etc.) from those submitted.

Projects entered must not have been previously published in any printed publication or for paid advertisements (magazines, newspapers, books, or similar print or social media) prior to submission.

 

Judging Criteria

•      Presentation (30 points): Overall impression and quality of photography.

•      Overall Originality (20 points): Creativity of the design.

•      Design Solution (20 points): Project explanation and designer intent are supported through the narrative, goals, and supporting documents. Locations of professional photography must be clearly noted on the floor plan.

•      Space Planning (15 points): Overall effectiveness of the layout and functionality. Scale and proportion are appropriate for the space.

•      Materials, Colors, Textures & Patterns (15 points): Relationships complement one another. Overall effectiveness of the color scheme.

•      Judging will be performed anonymously by volunteer members from other ASID chapters.

•      All documents, before-and-after photographs, and drawings submitted become the property of ASID Arizona South.

•      Tucson Lifestyle Home & Garden and Biz Tucson reserve the right to crop, edit, resize, and use submitted entries at their discretion unless otherwise restricted by the entrant.

•      ASID Arizona South, Tucson Lifestyle Home & Garden, and Biz Tucson reserve full discretion to utilize winners’ photographs in any publication, electronic format, or other media, unless restricted by the entrant.

•      ASID Arizona South cannot guarantee the inclusion of any or all winners’ photography or designer information in publications where editorial control is beyond ASID Arizona South’s authority.

•      Designers, design team members, clients (if disclosed), and project information will be credited at the discretion of ASID Arizona South, Tucson Lifestyle Home & Garden, and Biz Tucson.

 

Eligibility & Submission Limits

1.    Entries that have previously won an award through ASID Arizona South may not be resubmitted.

2.    Entries that have previously been entered but not awarded through ASID Arizona South may be resubmitted.

3.    The name of the designer, logo, or business on any submitted materials (unless part of a commercial project where the business name or logo appears) will disqualify an entry.

4.    A singular space or design element that is part of a larger space may be entered in one category but cannot be represented in any way in an entry of the larger space in another category.

5.    Designers may submit up to two entries per category.

6.    Names and contact information of all entrants, regardless of winning status, may appear in the publication.

7. Winners will be announced at the 2026 ASID Arizona South Design Excellence Awards Gala on Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, at La Rosa.

 

Entry Requirements

1. Professional Photography

•      Submit a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 10 professional photographs.

•      All photo files must be 300 ppi JPG format suitable for reproduction.

•      Each file must not exceed 10MB in size.

•      Add the image number in the caption section to correspond with annotations on the floorplan.

 

2. Project Drawings

•      Submit a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 3 drawings (JPG or PDF format).

•      Include only drawings relevant to the areas shown in your professional photographs.

 

Required Drawings:

•      Overall Floorplan:

o     Format plan(s) to scale.

o     Indicate the locations where professional photographs were taken (e.g., label “Photo #1” with an annotation arrow).

•      One or two additional drawings:

o     Examples include: as-built/before plan, lighting plan, elevation, detail plan, or rendering.

 

3. Before Photos (Optional but Recommended)

•      Submit up to 4 before photos.

•      Include only before photos of areas directly related to your professional photographs.

•      Before photos are optional but highly recommended for remodeled projects.

 

4. Publicity Release Forms

•      A signed photography release form must be submitted.

•      A signed client release form must be submitted.

 

5. Project Information

Submit the following:

•      Names of your top three vendors whose products or work appear in the photographs.

•      Primary Designer(s) to be credited, including full name(s) and ASID appellations (appellation required).

•      Primary Designer’s company name, email address, phone number, and website.

•      If applicable, the name(s) and ASID appellations of any additional ASID designers to be credited.

•      Other credited designer’s company name, website, and phone number.

•      Photographer’s name.

 

6. Project Narrative

Provide the following:

•      Estimated project square footage.

•      Project Narrative (maximum 300 words): Briefly describe the project.

•      Three project challenges: Identify and explain how you overcame them.

•      Three project goals or unique features: Highlight goals achieved and/or what makes the project stand out.