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- Trophies and sustainability
European Product Design Award: An Ambigram That Brings Product and Design Together
Since 2016, the European Product Design Award has recognized product and industrial designers from around the world. It is run by the Farmani Group, a company founded in 1985. In 2026, the award accepted entries in more than 800 categories and brought together established brands, independent studios and students.
Hossein Farmani, the award’s founder and president, designed a trophy in 2016 made of two letters linked by a bar.
Starting from that design, this article looks at what the trophy is like, which titles the award grants and what brands that want to create their own trophy can learn from it.
Table of contents
- Design and materials of the European Product Design Award trophy
- Four main titles and what each winner receives
- How the design press spreads the word about winners
- Lessons from a trophy that applies the design it rewards
- European Product Design Award 2027: key dates
- Product design, signed with its own initials
- Frequently asked questions
Design and materials of the European Product Design Award trophy
The trophy reads as the initials of “product design,” part of the award’s name: a “p,” for “product,” at the top and, at the bottom, a “d,” for “design.” A vertical bar joins the two letters and turns them into a single piece. This composition is an ambigram: a lettering design that keeps its reading when rotated 180°.
The bar holds the loop of the “p” at the top, which extends to the right, and that of the “d” at the bottom, which extends to the left. Each loop surrounds a cutout with rounded edges that lets the background show through, and the sides of the bar form straight, sharp edges. With these shapes, the piece measures 30.5 cm high and 20.5 cm wide. Its 4 cm thickness gives each loop a profile that is visible from the side, and it weighs 3.5 kg.
The name of the award runs vertically along the bar, and a metal plate on the top face carries the winner’s details.
The trophy is made of red brushed metal: the fine, linear grain is visible on the flat faces, while the edges look darker. Excellence Trophies, an authorized supplier of the Farmani Group, makes it by hand in Thailand. Winners can order additional units for their design team or for their clients.
The cutouts let the surroundings show through each loop, and the brushing spreads the color in fine lines across the flat faces.
Four main titles and what each winner receives
The award’s jury brings together designers, clients, educators and independent editors. Each year it grants four main titles, and in 2026 they went to these entries:
| Main title | 2026 winner |
|---|---|
| Product of the Year | GALBOT S1, by Galbot |
| Design for Humanity | Incuvia, a foldable, modular infant incubator from UNU HIT Hub at Lingnan University |
| Innovation of the Year | TECNO Modular Phone, by TECNO |
| Emerging Product Designer of the Year | MX Surgical, by Fjaryl AB |
Product of the Year and Design for Humanity are awarded to professionals, and Emerging Product Designer of the Year to students. To decide, the jury considers innovation, aesthetics, ergonomics, functionality, usefulness and the impact of each design, among other criteria.
Every winner receives a package designed to put the title to commercial use, from the seal to a profile of their own on the award’s website. Its main elements include:
- Winner’s seal: it can be displayed online and in print, so the title goes with the design on the web and across its sales materials.
- Official certificate: it vouches for the distinction in front of clients and potential investors.
- Ceremony invitation: it brings the winner together with the jury, partners and other industry professionals.
- Permanent profile: a page for the design on the award’s website that stays accessible after each edition.
How the design press spreads the word about winners
In September 2022, the publication Interiors from Spain ran an article on the Spanish designers awarded that year and cited the studio Anima Design, with five awards. The text puts the winners in front of readers interested in Spanish interior design, including potential clients.
The design blog Demilked gathered twenty winning designs from the 2023 edition, among them the Infinix Zero30 5G phone. This visibility is generated by outlets independent of the award and its winners, which is known as earned media: exposure that a studio or brand obtains without producing it itself.
Each of those publications brings the award title closer to readers who did not know the studio. The winner’s permanent profile, in addition, keeps their design easy to find.
Turn your brand’s initial into a sculpture
Custom design, care in every detail
Design your custom trophyLessons from a trophy that applies the design it rewards
When a brand designs its trophy with the same language it recognizes, the object becomes a sample of that work. The European Product Design Award trophy is a product that joins, with a bar, the “p” of “product” and the “d” of “design.” That way, the recipient takes home an example of what they are being recognized for.
In turn, a symbol gains presence when it moves from flat graphic to volume, because it can be seen from several angles. 3D trophies are one way to make that move. A finish that shows the grain of the material, like the brushing on this trophy, adds to that shape a surface of fine lines without introducing more graphic elements.
A well-crafted graphic element can carry an entire trophy.
European Product Design Award 2027: key dates
Entries for 2027 are open and close on 7 May 2027. The organizer publishes the entry deadlines:
- 13 November: first entry deadline.
- 15 January: second early deadline.
- 19 March: regular deadline.
- 16 April: final deadline; later entries carry a 10% surcharge.
- 7 May 2027: end of the program.
Give your brand’s identity volume
Custom design, care in every detail
Design your custom trophyProduct design, signed with its own initials
The European Product Design Award trophy brings together the initials of “product design” on a bar of brushed metal: the “p” at the top and, at the bottom, the “d,” the same shape rotated 180°. In this way, the title the jury grants is turned into an object whose initials can be read from either end.
At Sustain Awards we design and make custom trophies, handcrafted sculptures that bring an initial, a symbol or a brand shape into volume.
