You know a design awards programme is serious business when its judging panel reads like a who's who of people who have genuinely changed what the world looks like. Dezeen has just revealed another wave of judges for its 2026 Awards, and honestly? It slaps.
The lineup
Joining the panel are architect Massimiliano Fuksas, whose buildings have a habit of making your jaw unhinge in public, and interior designer Tekla Evelina Severina. Also stepping up are fashion and textile legend Zandra Rhodes - yes, THAT Zandra Rhodes, the pink-haired goddess of print - and designer Tawanda Chiweshe. This is not your average panel of people who will nod politely and pick the safest beige option.
Dezeen Awards, running in partnership with Trimble, bills itself as a champion of the world's best architecture, interiors, and design. Given that the programme has already pulled in entries from 75 different countries, the claim is not exactly modest - but it's also not wrong.
Why this actually matters
Here's the thing about design awards that people outside the industry sometimes miss: the judges aren't just handing out trophies. They're signalling what the field should aspire to. When you put a boundary-pushing architect like Fuksas in the same room (metaphorically) as a designer like Rhodes, whose entire career has been about rejecting the boring and the conventional, you're making a statement about what kind of work deserves to be celebrated.
And with 75 countries submitting entries, this isn't a cosy little European club congratulating itself over canapés. It's a genuinely global conversation about what good design looks like right now - who's doing it, where, and why it matters beyond the pages of a very nice coffee table book.
The real question
The Dezeen Awards categories span architecture, interiors, and design, meaning everything from skyscrapers to a really good lamp could theoretically end up in the running. With a panel this eclectic, the shortlists are going to be worth watching very closely. If you've got a project in the mix, you might want to make sure it's doing something genuinely interesting - because something tells us this particular group of judges has seen enough safe choices to last several lifetimes.
Full details are available over at Dezeen.
