The Africa International Design Awards (AIDA Awards) has officially opened entries for its 2027 edition, inviting architects, interior designers, product designers, fashion designers, and communication designers from across Africa and the diaspora to submit their work.
Following a successful inaugural edition — which recognised standout work including the Architectural Design of the Year – Bidi Bidi Performing Arts Centre by Localworks, Product Design of the Year – Stitched, a story of our home by Tracy Lynch and Cebo Mvubu of Clout/SA, Communication Design of the Year – UE au Sénégal – Baie de Hann by Ag Partners Publicis Africa Group, and Fashion Design of the Year – The Rowe by Charles Johnson, World Shoe, Inc., among many others — the 2027 edition continues AIDA’s mission to give African design a stage of its own, recognising the depth and diversity of the continent’s creative practice. All winners from the first edition will be honoured together at the Awards Ceremony in Cotonou at the end of July.
The jury behind that first edition included voices like Bibi Seck, Founder of Birsel + Seck, Jean Servais Somian, Managing Director and Artistic Director at Jean Servais SOMIAN Design, Beatrace Oola the Founder of Fashion Africa Now and CEO at APYA Productions, Garreth van Niekerk and Alan Hayward, Executive Creative Directors of Decorex Africa & 100% Design Africa; Titi Ogufere, Group CEO of Africa Design Network, Luc-Emmanuel Koutouan Aboussou, Group Creative Director at Publicis Groupe Africa and Juliet Kavishe, Executive Board Member of the Pan Afrikan Design Institute (PADI) … to name only a few… spanning expertise from architecture, fashion, product to communication design — the Awards programme continues it’s developement in partnership with the Africa Design School.
As Astrid Hébert, Director of 3C Awards Group and Co-Founder of AIDA Awards, put it: “Our first edition brought in over 300 submissions from 40 countries, and what we received surpassed every expectation we had going in. It confirmed our ambition: to build an international platform that showcases the richness and diversity of African design; to connect talents across disciplines; to encourage collaboration; and to bring African creativity to the global stage.”
AIDA Awards welcome architects, designers, and creatives across disciplines — architecture, interior design, product and furniture design, fashion, graphics, and innovation — to share their work and be part of a growing celebration of African design. Submit your project at africainternationaldesignawards.com and help shape the future of design across the continent and beyond.
The first edition was just the beginning. The movement continues!