K-Design Award: A Prism That Twists Into Its Own Logo

Since 2012, the K-Design Award has recognized industrial, communication and spatial design projects. It is run by DESIGNSORI, a Korean design portal, and its ceremony takes place in Seoul.

The award secretariat created a new trophy together with 250 Design, a design studio founded in 2011. The studio's work ranges from product design to prototype production. The brief, which DESIGNSORI detailed when presenting the trophy, started from one idea: every design begins with a basic geometric shape.

Building on that idea, this article looks at how the trophy's form translates it into volume and what the winner gains. It then sets out lessons for brands that want to design their own trophy.

K-Design Award Trophy Design and Materials: From Prism to Logo

The secretariat sums up the concept in three ideas: formal beauty, a sense of weight and diversity. In the trophy, a square surface curves until it becomes the award's logo. That transformation reflects how the K-Design Award judges: every design is viewed from several perspectives, not from a single side.

The trophy is a vertical prism with a square cross-section, flat faces and sharp edges at the base. Above that, the faces spiral in a helix and narrow the silhouette at mid-height, so that from the side it traces an S. Seen from above, the top ends in V-shaped notches that draw the award's logo: three right triangles staggered diagonally.

The engraving, in black, sits on the front face of the base. It combines the logo with the name of the award and its level, set in an uppercase sans-serif typeface.

The finish is golden and satin. Light glides over the faces of the twist and leaves bands of shadow between them, marking each turn of the silhouette.

The helical twist is the design's main geometric operation. It leads the square cross-section of the base up to a top that reproduces the logo, and the profile changes with the point of view.

Winning the K-Design Award Trophy: Jury Criteria and Benefits

The jury assesses three criteria: aesthetics, originality and practicality. The award accepts both products already on the market and designs at concept stage. In 2025 it received 3,070 entries from 23 countries, evaluated by 37 jurors.

The table below lists the award's four levels and the number of winners at each in 2025.

In total, 346 of the 3,070 entries earned a level, roughly one in nine.

Benefits for winners include:

• Online exposure: each project is published with its level, designer and company, and any visitor can browse it. For the winner, it is an open showcase where clients and collaborators can see who is behind the design.
• Winner logo licence: allows the winner to display the level achieved alongside the project. That external reference supports the work with clients who have not assessed the studio before.
• The award's own typeface: lets winners use the award's graphic identity in their materials. The recognition is thus identified at once in presentations and communication pieces.
• Certificate and yearbook: the certificate attests the level obtained in writing and the yearbook provides a publication from the award. Both give the team materials to back up the recognition in meetings and dossiers.
• Trophy: Grand Prize winners who attend the ceremony receive it. As a physical object, it keeps the recognition visible in the studio for the team and visitors.

From Announcement to Press: Publicity for the K-Design Award Trophy

DESIGNSORI publishes the winners of each edition on its channels and in the online exhibition. To this is added earned media: coverage that media outlets publish on their own initiative. Winners that have obtained it include:

• Guri City Council (2025): Herald Economy reported on its communication Grand Prize for a graphic guide that visualizes 18 symbolic elements of the city. The story put the project in front of readers of a business daily, an audience different from that of design publications.
• Miracle Cruise (2026): Asia Economy devoted an article to this cruise brand sailing between Busan and Osaka, which integrates booking, boarding and the onboard experience into a single flow. The outlet presented the K-Design Award as its second international design award of 2026, reinforcing the image of a brand that keeps adding recognitions.

In both cases, the award appears next to the project's name in a medium independent of the organizer. That public reference can be reused in the winner's portfolio and communication.

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Lessons from the K-Design Award Trophy for Brands Designing Their Awards

When a trophy's volume is born from the logo, the award's identity does not depend on text or an added plaque. In the K-Design Award, the square cross-section of the base is transformed until the top reproduces the logo. The silhouette alone is enough to recognize the trophy even if the text isn't read, and every image a winner publishes spreads the award.

In turn, the trophy's concept is reinforced when it matches the idea of the award. In the K-Design Award, the helical twist carries the multi-angle evaluation into volume, and the object explains the jury's criterion without text. That coherence gives the award value: the winner can explain in one sentence why the trophy has that shape.

Overall, a single formal decision can sustain an award's identity and concept. Here, that decision is the twist that joins the square base to the logo top.

K-Design Award 2026: Key Dates

The 2026 calendar runs from the opening of entries to the dispatch of the winners' package, and the K-Design Award terms detail every milestone.

• 3 April to 30 June: entry period, closing at 24:00 (Korean time).
• 10 July: finalists announced.
• 30 July: winners announced.
• 18 August: online exhibition opens, with 1 Kudos to the Best, 12 Grand Prize, 32 Gold Winner and 289 Winner.
• 16 October, at 17:00: ceremony in the Grand Ballroom of the Signiel Seoul.
• 31 October: winners' package dispatched.

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The K-Design Award Trophy: Square, Twist and Logo

The K-Design Award trophy comes down to three elements: a square surface, a helical twist and the award's logo. Each answers a part of the concept: the geometric origin, evaluation from several angles and graphic identity.

At Sustain Awards we design custom trophies whose form alone expresses the concept of your award.

K-Design Award Trophy FAQs