2025 Excellence in Design Awards

Call for entries and registration period:12/20/2024 at 12:00am CST – 02/20/2025 at 11:59pm CST. EXTENDED to 2/24/25.

Competition period: 12/20/2024 at 12:00am CST – 02/20/2025 at 11:59pm CST EXTENDED to 2/24/25

Approximate judging period:02/24/2025 – 03/11/2025 

Cost per entry during Early Bird Registration:$100 for first entry, $75.00 for each additional entry: 12/20/2024 - 01/20/2025 

Cost per entry after Early Bird Registration:$125 for first entry, $100.00 for each additional entry: 01/21/2025 - 02/20/2025  EXTENDED to 2/24/25

If all entry information is not completed by the deadline, at 11:59 PM CST, 02/20/2025 (EXTENDED to 2/24/25), the project will be disqualified and will not be entered into the Competition. 

The Excellence in Design Gala is scheduled for April 5, 2025, in Oxford, Mississippi. 

Entry fees are not refundable 

Entrants must provide and submit the following information with each entry: 

Brief design concept, description of challenges, designer’s scope of work, etc. 

Floor plans and/or schematics, perspectives and details scaled with scale noted in PDF format (minimum of 1, maximum of 10) 

After photos (Minimum of 2; Maximum of 15) in JPG or PNG formation 300 dpi: maximum file size of 10MB 

Before photos (optional), maximum of 10 in JPG or PNG formation 300 dpi: maximum file size of 10MB 

Square footage of project entry 

Photographer’s name/firm (professional photography is recommended) 

List of Industry Partners or Affiliate Members utilized for the project 

All ASID members of the South Central Chapter in good standing and who are eighteen years old or older may participate. If the Entrant is employed by a firm or member of a team, the primary interior designer on record for the project must be included in the entry. 

NEW THIS YEAR: Each entry must designate a contact person, who must be a member of the design team. The lead designer(s) for the submitted project must be included as a member of the design team and listed in the entry. This ensures that no other designer(s), architect(s), or builder(s) can claim the project as their own. Retail stores and Franchises are permitted only if the Entrant(s) is the lead designer(s) of the original concept. 

• We have removed the single-recognition aspect of the award. If the project was done as a collaboration within a team, all team members are eligible to be recognized as primary designers on the award, ahead of the Firm Name. Collaborators are still eligible to be recognized, below the Firm Name.

Only space(s) and images that have not previously won an ASID Design Excellence Award are eligible. However, non-winning entries qualifying for the time frame requirement below may be resubmitted. 

All entries must be actual installations completed after January 1, 2022 

A project may not have more than two (2) entries in any category. Any project exceeding two (2) entries will have only the first two counted. All others will be disqualified and no refund will be given. 

Entrant is not a member in good standing as per ASID National’s guidelines at time of payment for entry 

Information identifying Entrant’s name, design firm, architect or any other collaborating party appears in description, images or on drawings 

If any other designer, architect or builder challenges the Entrant’s ownership of the design, the project will be investigated by the Chapter. If evidence shows the lead designer is not included on the submission, the award will be rescinded.  

Submission of Entries not including floor plans scaled with scale noted 

Submission of winning Entries and images from past South Central Chapter Design Excellence Award competitions 

Submission of Entry into the wrong category  

Entrant’s failure to abide by these Official Rules 

R01 Residential Bathroom 

R02 Residential Kitchen 

R03 Single Space (part of a larger residence not including kitchen or bathroom, such as bedroom, living room, home office, home theater, outdoor space, etc.)  

R04 Multi-Family (apartment buildings, condos, townhouses, etc.) 

R05 Budget Conscious (budget of $100 per square foot for new construction or $80 per square foot for renovation; price per square foot includes all construction, finishes and furnishing)  

R06 Residence - Small (3,500 square feet and under) 

R07 Residence - Large (Over 3,500 square feet) 

R08 Custom Detail (product design or special detail such as millwork, custom drapery, detail created for a specific application, etc) 

NEW THIS YEAR: CONSOLIDATED CATEGORY  R09 Specialty/Other (model home, show home) Sustainable (comprehensive projects or singular spaces focusing on environmentally friendly products, installations and/or systems), Historic Preservation (registered as historic with the municipality and/or is 100+ years old and designer either restored to or maintained its original essence), Adaptive Reuse (renovation of existing historical structure in such a way as to re-identify or reuse space, etc.), Universal or Aging in Place  

C01 Corporate - Small (15,000 square feet and under) 

C02 Corporate - Large (Over 15,000 square feet) 

NEW THIS YEAR REVISED CATEGORY C03 Institutional (airport, church, library, museum, performance theater, etc) 

C04 Hospitality - Living (hotel, resort, bed & breakfast, senior living, etc.) 

C05 Hospitality - Service (restaurant, bar, country club, golf club, health club, spa, etc.) 

C06 Healthcare (hospital, clinic, nursing home, assisted living facility, medical office, etc) 

C07 Retail (salon, boutique, gallery, showroom, movie theater, car dealership, etc.) 

C08 Single Space (reception | waiting area, lobby, boardroom, executive office, breakroom, cafeteria, kiosk, outdoor space, etc.) 

C09 Budget Conscious (budget of $120 per square foot; price per square foot includes all construction, finishes and furnishing)  

NEW THIS YEAR CONSOLIDATED CATEGORY   C10 Specialty/Other (yacht, airplane, recreational vehicle), Sustainable (comprehensive projects or singular spaces focusing on environmentally friendly products, installations and/or systems), Historic Preservation (registered as historic with the municipality and/or is 100+ years old and designer either restored to or maintained its original essence), Universal or Aging in Place  

C11 Adaptive Reuse (renovation of existing historical structure in such a way as to re-identify or reuse space, etc.) 

C12 Custom Detail (product design or special detail such as millwork, furniture, detail created for a specific application, etc) 

NEW CATEGORY C13 Educational (school, college, locker room, etc) 

NEW CATEGORY C14 Dealer Design – Single Space -(reception | waiting area, lobby, boardroom, executive office, breakroom, cafeteria, kiosk, outdoor space, training rooms, classrooms, exam rooms, consultation room, flex/multipurpose room, school library, mother’s room etc.) 

NEW CATEGORY C15 Dealer Design – Small under 5000sf 

NEW CATEGORY C16 Dealer Design – Large over 5000sf 

NEW CATEGORY O01 Product Innovation: This category celebrates the creative and impactful use of products, showcasing applications that are either unconventional, highly inventive, or exceptionally executed. Open to all Professional, Allied, Affiliate, and Industry Partner members. 

NEW CATEGORY O02 Social Justice: nonprofits, women’s shelters, and similar organizations 

NEW CATEGORY O03 Collaboration in Design This category celebrates the power of teamwork in achieving outstanding design, recognizing projects that exemplify successful collaboration among architects, designers, contractors, vendors, and other key contributors. 

Professional members from an outside chapter of ASID compile the jury panel. All decisions made by the judges are final. The judges reserve the right not to issue an award for any category where they do not feel the quality of the work meets certain design standards. There is no guarantee that an award will be given in all categories. 

Decisions of judges are final and binding  

5 pts. Space Planning 

5 pts. Effective use of Lighting/Power/Items that Support Technology 

5 pts. Materials and Finishes 

5 pts. Color Composition  

5 pts. Scale and Proportion of Furnishings  

5 pts. Innovative and creative design solutions and materials 

5 pts. Adequately described Design Concept 

5 pts. Adequately described Client's goals for the project 

5 pts. Adequately described how the design met the Client's goals 

4 pts. Adequately described any challenges encountered 

1 pts. Adequately described their involvement within the project's team 

5 pts. Space Planning 

5 pts. Effective use of Lighting/Power/Items that Support Technology 

5 pts. Materials and Finishes 

5 pts. Color Composition 

5 pts. Furnishings 

5 pts. Innovative and creative design solutions and materials 

5 pts. Adequately described Design Concept 

4 pts. Adequately described Client's goals for the project 

5 pts. Adequately described how the design met the Client's goals 

4 pts. Adequately described any challenges encountered 

1 pts. Budget was within the constraints of the Competition Rules 

1 pts. Adequately described their involvement within the project's team 

5 pts. Space Planning 

5 pts. Effective use of Lighting/Power/Items that Support Technology 

5 pts. Materials and Finishes 

5 pts. Color Composition  

5 pts. Scale and Proportion of Furnishings  

5 pts. Innovative and creative design solutions and materials 

5 pts. Adequately described Design Concept 

5 pts. Adequately described Client's goals for the project 

5 pts. Adequately described how the design met the Client's goals 

4 pts. Adequately described any challenges encountered 

1 pts. Adequately described their involvement within the project's team 

10 pts. Application of appropriate design principles in non-traditional environments (use of Historic Preservation, Sustainable, Aging in Place principles and/or considerations for unoccupied spaces or non-fixed structures 

10 pts. Description of any challenges and what led to the selection of this product  

5 pts. Scale and Proportion 

5 pts. Color Composition  

10 pts.   Innovative and creative design solutions and materials 

5 pts. Meets end user or designers expectations 

5 pts. Cohesive with overall design aesthetic 

5 pts. Aesthetically Pleasing 

5 pts. Provides environmental, social, or economic sustainability 

5 pts. Adequately described Design Concept 

5 pts. Adequately described Client's goals for the project 

5 pts. Adequately described how the design met the Client's goals 

5 pts. Adequately described any challenges encountered 

5 pts. Adequately described their involvement within the project's team 

Names of prizes are Gold, Silver and Bronze.  

Projects must have the minimum score in each of the awards categories to qualify.  

Total scores will range from 0-75.  

Prizes will be awarded based on the following ranges: 75-69: Gold; 68-62: Silver; 61-55: Bronze 

One project from the Overall Residential Category and one from the Overall Commercial Category will be selected as an Ovation Award Winner. These represent the Judges’ choice of best in category. This award will be selected from all entries and is open to all Members unless the member selects the Emerging Professional option in the entry packet. The project must be a Gold Award Winner in order to be considered for this award. 

Allied members with 1 to 5 years experience may choose to flag their entry as an Emerging Professional. One project will be selected as a Rising Star Award Winner and represents the Judges’ choice of best in competition. The project must be a Gold Award Winner in order to be considered for this award. 

Winners will receive an email notifying them that their project has received an award. Notification will be sent to the email address provided on or around March 15, 2025. Information as to specific project or award classification (Gold, Silver, Bronze, etc.) will not be given until the Awards Gala, tentatively scheduled in Oxford, Mississippi, the evening of April 5, 2025.  

All federal, state, and local laws apply. If any rule contained in these Official Rules (including but not limited to, the competition rules, regulations & eligibility guidelines and/or the competition entrant terms and conditions, indemnification requirements and release (set forth below) is declared illegal or invalid, the remaining rules shall remain in full force and effect.  

Chapter reserves the right to disqualify any entries that do not comply with this Agreement. 

Entry fees are not refundable. 

Personal information provided in connection with this Competition and/or this Agreement will be collected by the Chapter and used in accordance with the Chapter’s online privacy policy. In addition, to the extent you provide the Chapter with personally identifying information via any third-party, including but not limited to competition web site hosts, you may also be subject to the terms and conditions of such third-party’s Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions, over which Chapter has no control. 

No failure by Chapter to take any action or assert any right hereunder shall be deemed to be a waiver of such right. No waiver of any right shall be deemed a waiver of any succeeding breach of the same or any other provision hereof. 

It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to follow all terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules. Any entry which does not adhere to these Official Rules will be subject to disqualification. 

If any dispute arises out of or relating to this Competition and/or these Official Rules the parties will first attempt to settle the dispute by internal discussions through good faith consultation and negotiation. If internal negotiations do not lead to a solution to the satisfaction of each party within 60 days of the dispute arising, the controversy or claim shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. All arbitration decision are binding on both parties. 

Entrant understands and agrees that by entering this competition they agree to these official rules (including but not limited to the competition rules, regulations & eligibility guidelines and the competition entrant terms and conditions. Indemnification and release shall become a binding agreement between the Entrant and the South Central Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers.  

Entrant is the designer of this project. Entrant agrees that no other person or entity may claim this design as his or her own, and that Entrant has not submitted this design on behalf of anyone else. 

Entrant agrees to abide by the judge’s decision as final. Entrant understands that any false or misleading information provided by the Entrant will result in disqualification from this Competition. 

Chapter is not responsible for (i) late, lost, or incomplete entries; (ii) any telephone, electronic hardware or software program, network, internet or computer malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (iii) any errors in transmission; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond the control of Chapter that may cause the Competition to be disrupted or corrupted; (v) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from acceptance of any prize, or from participation in the Competition; (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Competition. All materials submitted by the Entrant become the property of the Chapter and will not be returned.  

Should Entrant’s design be chosen as a prize-winning award, Entrant agrees to allow (and to cause the property owner where the project is located to allow) professional photography of the winning project to be used for future marketing, promotional, public relations, or educational purposes. In addition, and except where prohibited by law, Entrant’s entry constitutes permission from Entrant to allow the Chapter, the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc. and their respective media and agency partners to use, without additional compensation, Entrant’s name(s), workplace/business information, biographical data, and likenesses for (i) publication on a Competition winner’s list; and/or (ii) for use in any Competition-related advertising and publicity. 

The Entrant, to the fullest extent permitted by law, agrees to be bound by this Agreement; represents that Entrant holds all original copyrights to the materials submitted pursuant to this Agreement (or that Entrant has obtained written permission from the copyright owner to submit these materials); represents that the submitted materials do not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity or other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third-party; grants the South Central Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc. and their respective media and agency partners a non-exclusive, perpetual, transferable, royalty-free right and license to copy, reproduce, perform, display, prepare derivative works from, and distribute publicly all of Entrant’s submitted materials in both print and digital format for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, use of such materials on third-party websites, social media, and other publications without additional compensation; and agrees to indemnify and hold the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc., and Chapter and their respective officers, directors, and employees (collectively “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, injuries, demands, suits, costs, expenses and damages (including reasonable attorney fees and expenses) (collectively “Claim”) that the Indemnified Parties may incur by reason of or arising out of any breach of any of my representations, my provision of false information, use of my submitted materials and/or my license grant, except to the extent that such Claim is caused by the gross negligence of the Indemnified Parties. 

By participating in this competition and/of accepting any prize, entrant agrees to release and hold harmless Chapter, The American Society of Interior Designers, Inc. and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives and employees (collectively “released parties”) from and against any and all actions, claims, injuries, losses, damages, liabilities, expenses or causes of action of any kind, including, without limitation personal injury, death and/or property damage, as well as any and all claims based on defamation, publicity rights, and/or invasion of privacy arising out of or in any manner, directly or indirectly relating to entrant’s participation in the design competition, submission of competition materials, and/or acceptance or use or misuse of any prize.