Service Design Award 2026

Stay tunned for updates! 

Submission categories:

Choose the appropriate category for your entry:

• Professional – Commercial Sector: For projects delivered to private organisations. Must be validated by an external client or, in the case of in-house work, an internal client.

• Professional – Non-profit / Public Sector: For projects for public services, NGOs, or non-profits, also validated externally.

• Student: For projects completed during academic studies. Eligible if you are a current student or graduated from 2024 onwards. Must be validated by your university, a stakeholder, or a user group.

Tip: Keep in mind that it can take time to gather relevant results from the outcomes of a service design project. Projects where results became measurable after completion are welcome — consider entering even slightly older work if impact is now proven.

Dates and Prices:

Early bird Submission Dates & Prices:  Until June 1, 2025

• Professional SDN members: 120 Euro
• Professional non-members: 200 Euro
• Student SDN members: 40 Euro
• Student non-members: 80 Euro

Regular Submission Dates & Prices: June 2–July 15, 2025

• Professional SDN members: 180 Euro
• Professional non-members: 260 Euro
• Student SDN members: 50 Euro
• Student non-members: 100 Euro

Late Submission Dates & Prices: July 16–August 10, 2025

• Professional SDN members: 200 Euro
• Professional non-members: 300 Euro

^{*There is an additional 7% VAT charge for entrants within Germany
**There is an additional 7% VAT charge for entrants in Europe, except those with a VAT number}

Find your membership discount code in your dashboard (My SDN).

What to Submit:

An entry consists of four separate parts, please use the templates provided for submission parts 1, 2 and 3.

1. Single-page summary (Download Template)for judging & media coverage with a maximum of 450 words. Save as a PDF file named 'Summary_Your Project Title'.
   
   
2. Submission report (Download Template) A maximum of 5 pages - 2.350 words.  You are allowed 1 additional A4 page only to be used for endnotes and references (if you have referenced academic articles or publications for example), these references will be excluded from the word count. Save as a single PDF file named 'Report_Your Project Title'. If the entry exceeds five pages or the word limit, this content will not be considered by the jury.
   
   
3. A single-page, signed validation to confirm your work. This will be viewed by judges in the final round of judging once finalists have been selected.
   
   1. For professional submissions, this should come from your main client (Download Template).
   2. For student submissions, this should come from an external stakeholder or professor who oversaw your work (Downlaod Template)
      
      
4. Visual document (6-15 pages) of photos or graphics about the project for judging & project promotion (high resolution, RGB, single PDF, maximum size 15MB). We strongly recommend that you supplement your written submission with photographs, graphics, and/or service design artifacts that will help the judges better understand your project. Artifacts that are helpful for the judges include, but aren’t limited to: user journeys, service blueprints, stakeholder maps, personas, or other tools or outputs employed in your work.

Ensure all documents are clearly labelled and connected with references between text and visuals.

Please note if your project is shorlisted we might ask for additional material for promotion (poster and/or short video).

Submitting your Project:

All parts of the entry must be uploaded to the entry system. Entries must be uploaded to the Service Design Award website by 23:59 CEST July 31, 2025. No physical entries or additional materials are accepted. Further details about the entry requirements below.

Questions or problems? Write to us at awards@service-design-network.org and we’ll help you!

Key Benefits of Submission

• Prestige: The Service Design Award is internationally recognised as the highest seal of excellence within the service design sector
• Media: Free publicity for your brand
• Leadership: Differentiates your business from the competition; establishes trust, credibility, and authority
• Networking: Access to a broader audience; vital connections can lead to the growth of your business
• Talent: Key branding opportunity; establishes a new pipeline to attract talent

SDN Perks and Privileges for Winners

• On-stage recognition/celebration at the Service Design Global Conference (SDGC25) in Dallas, USA
• 1 free in-person SDGC25 ticket per winner project
• Finalists exhibition and winner presentations at SDGC25
• International recognition, trophy and winner's badge
• The showcase of your project in the SDN case study library
• Discussion/interview on the Service Design Podcast regarding your project
• Feature articles in Touchpoint, the International Journal for Service Design
• One-year free membership for your team

Keep in Mind:

• The Importance of good English
  Service Design Award only accepts submissions in English. However, we would encourage professionals and students who have completed work in a language other than English to translate their project into English and submit the translated paper/project. 
  
  
• Clear Communication
  Clear, concise entries are easier to read and understand and make a stronger impression on the jury. The single-page summary is preferentially reviewed by jury members. Making this as interesting as possible increases the chances of your entry being noticed.
  
  
• Evidenced Results
  The jury is looking for evidence of what results were achieved, not why a particular approach was chosen. Prove conclusively the cause and effect between service design and the results of your submission. Provide evidence of targets set in the overview of the project being met in the impact of your work.
  
  
• Scale of Impact
  Provide an analysis of all effects, not just the primary results of the project. Often, a better customer experience also includes more satisfied employees and better financial results. However, keep in mind that all the effects must be substantiated.

Other Entry Criteria: 

• Disqualification
  Entries submitted to the Service Design Award must be true and comply with the rules. An entry that is found, subsequent to judging or the Award Ceremony, to have been based on false or fraudulent information may be disqualified and have its Award withdrawn.
  
  
• The right of the judging panel
  The jury’s decision is final. The jury has the right to reject entries that do not comply with the entry rules. The jury has the right to move an entry from one category to another, if appropriate.
  
  
• Confidential information
  Submitted materials, which contain sensitive or confidential information, must be clearly labeled as confidential. The summary poster must be devoid of any confidential information.
  
  
• Copyright
  By submitting an entry to the Service Design Award, each entrant is responsible for acquiring the approval of the client and/or consultant for submitting the work, on behalf of themselves and their clients/consultants. Furthermore, by submitting an entry to the Service Design Award, the entrant allows the Service Design Network as organiser of the Award, the right to reproduce all or part of their entry, except for that which is labeled confidential, at any time in the future. The organisers reserve the right to give permission to third parties to publish the whole or any part of the submitted material as part of the Award, Award benefits or reporting thereon. This includes publication in the Service Design Award Annual.

Entry Support

If you have any questions about the entry process, please contact the organisers by email at awards@service-design-network.org. We are very happy to help.

Usefull links:

• About
• Winners & Finalists

• A guide for Award-Winning Service Design Projects by Luis Alt

Awards Newsletter - Stay updated:

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Showcase your brilliance.

Inspire the world.

Enter the Service Design Award 2025 today.