Compasso d'Oro International Design Award 2027 Opens Entries

Designers, brands, and institutions participating in Expo 2027 Belgrade have until January 20, 2027 to enter the Compasso d'Oro International Design Award 2027, organized by the Association for Industrial Design (ADI) in collaboration with the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). The competition accepts projects developed between January 1, 2023 and December 31, 2026, across nine categories spanning living, lighting, food, communication, and social innovation.

The 2027 edition carries the theme 'Design for Humanity at Play.' ADI frames play as a vital mechanism for connection and speculative thinking, and the call challenges the creative community to explore how design can foster connection, participation, and resilience.

Play Through Three Lenses

The award interprets its theme through three distinct tracks. 'Power of Play' centers on individual health, wellbeing, and sustainability. 'Play for Progress' shifts focus to scientific and creative discovery, leveraging trial and error to fuel innovation. 'Play Together' treats sport and music as universal connectors that rebuild community bonds. Across all categories, ADI urges designers to anchor spatial and product solutions in shared human experience.

The initiative builds on a tradition of international Compasso d'Oro exhibitions tied to World Expos, including Milan 2015, Hangzhou 2017, and Osaka 2025. A ten-year Memorandum of Understanding between ADI and the BIE commits the platform to accompanying major Expos through 2035, offering participants global exposure.

Twenty Awards, Fifty Mentions, Three Career Prizes

Conceived by Gio Ponti in 1954 and managed by ADI since 1958, the Compasso d'Oro occupies a singular place in design culture. On May 24, 2027, an international jury will select projects representing absolute excellence, conferring 20 Compasso d'Oro awards and up to 50 honourable mentions. The ceremony will also present up to three International Career Awards to non-Italian designers, companies, institutions, and schools that have advanced global design culture.

Selected finalists will appear in a dedicated Compasso d'Oro pavilion within the Best Practices area at Expo 2027 Belgrade, running through August 15, 2027. The program includes six thematic weeks of public programming and interactive installations.

After the exposition closes, all awarded works will enter the ADI Compasso d'Oro Historical Collection at the ADI Design Museum in Milan permanently — turning contemporary recognition into an enduring legacy.

Past winners illustrate the collection's depth: Spun by Thomas Heatherwick for Magis took the Compasso d'Oro in 2014, Zoombike by Richard Sapper and Francis Ferrain for Elettromontaggi Avionic won in 1989, and Atollo by Vico Magistretti for Oluce received the prize in 1979.