A' Smart Living Design Awards open early entries for 2026

A' Design Award & Competition has opened early entries for its 2026 Smart Living and Home Automation Design Awards, with a June 30 deadline and winners set to be announced May 1, 2027. The competition is aimed at global smart home, IoT and automation professionals and includes a two-phase judging process, jury review and prize packages for laureates.

Why it matters: - The awards spotlight smart home and automation designs that can affect daily convenience, energy use, security and digital connectivity. - The program gives designers and technology companies a global platform to showcase products built around connected living and human-centered innovation.

What happened: - A' Design Award & Competition opened early entries for the A' International Smart Living and Home Automation Design Awards 2026. - The call for entries is open worldwide to smart living designers, home automation experts, industrial design studios, smart home brands, manufacturers, interior designers, architects, electronic engineers, software developers, UX designers, interaction designers, product designers, IoT specialists, AI developers, consultants and R&D companies. - Designs completed within the last 10 years are eligible. - The early deadline for entries is June 30, 2026. - Results will be announced on May 1, 2027.

The details: - The competition uses a two-phase format. - The first phase offers complimentary preliminary participation and a preliminary score for submitted works. - Projects that pass preliminaries can move to nomination, which carries a nominal fee. - Entries are reviewed anonymously through a peer-review process. - The jury includes more than 300 academics, journalists, design professionals, museum curators, investors and industry experts. - Eligible entries include smart thermostats, automated lighting systems, intelligent security cameras, robotic vacuum cleaners, smart door locks, voice-activated assistants, AI-enabled connected appliances and automated irrigation systems. - Sub-category descriptions are available in the category listing. - Participants can register at the entry page. - Past winners are listed at the winners page.

Between the lines: - The awards are positioned as more than a design contest, with a stated mission to advance connected technologies, intelligent automation and human-centered innovation. - The prize structure is built to extend winners' visibility through certificates, logos, yearbooks, exhibitions in Italy, a trophy, gala-night access, translations, rankings and design-legend platforms. - Laureates also receive an interview, a press release, design images and a press kit distributed to accredited media. - The package is designed to convert a competition win into broader publicity and market exposure for both designers and their clients.

What's next: - Eligible designers and companies can submit entries now ahead of the June 30, 2026 early deadline. - Winners will be announced May 1, 2027. - Professional-edition laureates will receive the A' Design Prize and related publicity tools free of charge. - More information is available at designaward.com.