Design Excellence Awards 2025 Competition

ASID FLORIDA SOUTH CHAPTER

Presents

"Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence: The Golden Legacy"

The 2025 DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS COMPETITION 

ASID Florida South Design Excellence Awards are one of the longest-running design competition in the chapter's history. This competition recognizes projects by ASID Florida South Chapter members as well as the greater South Florida design community who embody excellence in interior design.

The ASID Florida South Chapter is proud to present this year's theme, "Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence: The Golden Legacy" as the focus of our Design Excellence Awards. As designers, we have a responsibility to create spaces that are not only aesthetically pleasing, but also promote wellness and sustainability. We can create spaces that have a positive impact on both the environment and the people who inhabit them. 

COMPETITION OPEN TO ALL DESIGNERS (ASID & NON-ASID MEMBERS) INDUSTRY PARTNERS & INTERIOR DESIGN STUDENTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA

 

ENTRY ELIGIBILITY & PARTICIPATION

INTERIOR DESIGNERS / PROFESSIONAL DESIGN PRACTITIONERS

• ASID Design Practitioners (Professional, Allied, Architect and Associate) members in good standing with ASID Florida South Chapter.
• AIA members, IIDA members, NKBA members, ASLA members, IFDA members and the unaffiliated design community living within the ASID Florida South Chapter area (from Vero Beach to the Keys and from Fort Myers to Puerto Rico). 
• Practicing Interior Design Professionals (Non-ASID Florida South Chapter Member) within the Florida South Chapter area.
• No seated Chapter President, President-elect, Awards Chair or Awards Committee members may enter awards competition.
• May only enter Residential, Commercial, and Miscellaneous Categories.

EMERGING INTERIOR DESIGN PROFESSIONALS

• ASID Florida South Chapter design practitioner.
• Graduation from a (2 or 4) year Interior Design Education program.
• Required to have graduated after May 1, 2019. Should supply graduation verification to avoid disqualification.
• May only enter Emerging Professional Categories.

INDUSTRY PARTNERS

• ASID Florida South Chapter Industry Partners, and non-member Industry Partners. 
• Employees of these businesses may name the creator of the project with the stipulation that they must be an employee of the business and be the designated ASID Florida South Industry Partner.
• May only enter Industry Partner Categories.

STUDENTS

• ASID Florida South Chapter Student members in good standing.
• Interior Design Students currently enrolled in a 2 or 4+ year interior design program.
• May only enter Student Category.

 

ENTRY FEES

Entry fees are non-refundable. Each individual entry requires a separate fee. All entry fees must be submitted and paid online through CPJ Association Management (Independent 3^rd party awards management platform for ASID Florida South Chapter).

• Interior Design Practitioners           Early Bird: $155.00   >>>>>>>> Regular: $190
• Industry Partners                              Early Bird: $155.00  >>>>>>>> Regular: $190
• Emerging Professionals                  Early Bird: $75.00  >>>>>>>> Regular: $110
• Students                                            $0.00 (No Entry Fee)

• Interior Design Practitioners            Early Bird: $250.00  >>>>>>>> Regular: $285
• Industry Firms & Professionals       Early Bird: $250.00 >>>>>>>> Regular: $285
• Emerging Professionals                 Early Bird: $100.00 >>>>>>>> Regular: $140
• Students                                             $00.00 (No Entry Fee)

ENTRY RULES

1. 2025 DEA Competition through CPJ association management platform is open from Monday, May 15, 2025 @ 12:00am EDT thru Sunday, June 29, 2025 @ 11:59 PM. Early Bird ends @ 11:59PM on May 31, 2025. Regular Pricing is from 12:00AM on June 1, 2025 - June 29, 2025 @ 11:59PM. Members: Please be sure to select member pricing at checkout. We’re unable to offer refunds for entries purchased at non-member rates.
2. Completed entries and payments must be received by: June 29, 2025 @ 11:59 PM EDT. All deadlines are final. Exceptions to the deadline, eligibility or requirements will not be made. 
3. Failure to include the required information and documentation will result in disqualification.
4. All entries must be actual, physically installed projects unless otherwise noted.
5. Each individual entry requires an entry fee.
6. All entries must be in the electronic format outlined below.
7. Each entry must fall under one of the listed categories.
8. Projects may be entered in multiple categories, using different rooms from the same project.
9. Eligible projects must be no older than three years.
10. Projects entered in earlier 2023 and 2024 Competitions may be re-entered as long as they were not winners.
11. Entries will be weighted individually and in competition with other entrants in same category.
12. All images and documents must be submitted as JPG or PNG files. No PowerPoint uploads.
13. A minimum of (2) and a maximum of (10) professional level photographs are required for each project. High quality photography is important, as winning entries may be published in one or more of South Florida’s Premier Design Lifestyle Magazines.
14. ASID reserves the right, at any time, to verify the validity of entries and of applicant and awardees and to disqualify any participant or entry deemed not in compliance with and ASID is not required to provide a reason for its determination. ASID FS also reserves the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with the application. 
15. Required photography permission documents must be completed, for each project entry submission. 
16. Owner/Client Release - Letter of consent by owner of project to submit project to competition. 
17. Photographer Release for all photography - Letter of consent by photographer of project to submit project to competition. 
18. NO identifying information of yourself, company, clients, school, or other involved parties may be included on the Design Category Form in written description or photos. This includes, but not limited to company descriptions, addresses/stamps, and photos. Business logos may be included in photos if they are integral to the actual built design in Commercial installed projects.
19. NO identifying information of yourself, company, clients, or school may appear on CAD files, floor plans, elevations, 3D renderings. This is an immediate disqualification except for Commercial installed projects.
20. All entry fees are non-refundable
21. CONSENT AND CONDITIONS:
    1. Applicants consent that all information supplied in the online application form is accurate and truthful.
    2. Applicants agree to have their name and likenesses used for ASID Marketing/Promotional Purposes.
    3. The prize amounts may be adjusted at any time at the sole discretion of ASID FS.
    4. The number of prizes issued annually is up to the sole discretion of ASID FS.

 

JUDGING CRITERIA

• All judging is online ANONYMOUSLY via CPJ Association Management Entry System.
• Judging is on a points-based system, by experienced ASID chapter design practitioners, in good standing within the ASID organization, throughout the country.
• Judges will not know which entries are submitted by ASID members and which entries are submitted by non-members.

 

JUDGING CRITERIA

RESIDENTIAL - COMMERCIAL - EMERGING PROFESSIONALS - STUDENTS

20 POSSIBLE POINTS: DESIGN INTENT

• 10: Effective Explanation of Design Criteria and Goals
• 10: Quality of and Clarity of Presentation (easy to understand, complete & concise, proper grammar & spelling, and high-quality photography)

80 POSSIBLE POINTS: DESIGN EXECUTION & DESIGN BASICS

• 10: Solutions Appropriate to the Design Statement
• 20: Creative Use of Space and Innovation
• 10: Effective Space Planning to achieve functional objective 
• 20: Scale and Proportion of Elements, Color Composition, Relationships of the Materials, their Textures, and Patterns
• 10: Effective use of Lighting
• 10: Overall quality of project

20 POSSIBLE POINTS: USE OF MATERIALS AND COLOR

• 10: Color Scheme and Composition
• 10: Functional Use of Materials

120 TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE

 

JUDGING CRITERIA

PRODUCTS & ELEMENTS (IP CATEGORIES)

20 POSSIBLE POINTS: DESIGN INTENT

• 10: Effective Explanation of Design Criteria and Goals
• 10: Effective Explanation of Challenges

40 POSSIBLE POINTS: DESIGN EXECUTION

• 15: Overall Design Meets Stated Goals and Challenges with Solutions Appropriate to the Design Statement
• 15: Innovative Approach to Design Criteria
• 10: Originality of Details

40 POSSIBLE POINTS: DESIGN BASICS

• 10: Color Scheme and Composition
• 10: Appropriate use of Materials
• 10: Functional use of Materials
• 10: Creative use of Materials

100 TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE

 

ENTRY SUBMISSION PROCESS

All entries must be submitted electronically via CPJ Association Management entry system ASID Florida South Chapter’s Design Competition third party neutral vendor of choice.

• You may change your submittal information until the entry management system closes on Sunday, June 29, 2025 at 11:59PM. You may go back and edit your project on demand.
• Start by creating a Registration Profile above. 

SIGN IN

• Create your personal login on the website.
• IMPORTANT: Once you are logged in, please navigate to “Me” in the upper right of your screen. Select “My action panel”. Select “Edit my information”. Select “Memberships and Affiliations”.
• Please update your ASID Florida South membership status on the profile administration page as well as your personal information. Pricing may be different than expected if you do not update your membership information!

REGISTRATION PAGE

• Select the “registration page”. This is where you can select the awards categories that you want to submit a project. Select the categories of your choice. PAY the submission fees. Once you have paid the submission fees you will be redirected back to complete the Entry Page requirements. You will receive an entry link email confirmation from CPJ Association Management website.

ENTRY PAGE

• Select Entries tab.
• Upload Documents/Files – This is the step you are to upload photos and drawing.
  • • Image Size: All photographs submitted must be at least 300dpi
    • Image File Size: Minimum 2MB (4MB preferred) 10MB maximum
    • No copyrighted photos
    • A minimum of (2) photographs are needed. Maximum of (10) project photographs showing furniture placement, lighting, architectural elements, etc.
    • A maximum of (4) auxiliary documents including elevations, details, before photos, added CAD files and perspective drawings may be submitted in PDF format.
    • Floorplans submitted should not have any identifying information showing facility, company, client, or designer names. Floorplans should be submitted in PDF format.
    • Commercial installed projects photos may have the company logo if it is integral to the design.
    • Do not include selfies or photos of people.
• Design Category Form
  • • This page must be filled out completely.
    • Be sure to clearly complete the Design Project Checklist
    • Design Statement is 1000 words or less. It is a written presentation of the client’s criteria (aesthetic & function), problems or challenges and specific goals. State exactly what was done by the entrant and include details relating to furniture, finishes, lighting, flooring, architecture.

                          (See Judging Criteria).

• • • No identifying information of clients, designer(s) or other involved parties should appear on Design Statement. IMPORTANT – Design Statements are reviewed by judges and need to support the anonymity of the entrant and project. Projects that do not support anonymity will be disqualified.
    • Give each entry the best opportunity to be understood and appreciated by the judges by using careful, concise narrative and outstanding photography.

 

AWARDS

“First Place” Winning projects will be awarded at our in-person Design Excellence Awards Gala. Awards Gala location, date and time will be announced on our chapter website, eblast, social media platforms as well as CPJ Association Management System landing page. Stay tuned!

• Winning projects will be posted on ASID Florida South Website and Social Media Platforms. This will also include multiple chapter e-blasts. 
• Include your professional Headshot with each entry. This is to provide added potential marketing exposure in South Florida premier design publications with your winning project.
• Professional Headshot Requirement:  

• • Document folder will not be visible to judges 
  • Each file cannot be larger than 10MB
  • (1) Maximum file upload
  • Size: 1500x2100 pixels is ideal

• Stay tuned for announcements of more marketing opportunities to feature your winning project.

POST JUDGING

• If an entry is awarded “First Place”, the entrant agrees to release and send all related entry materials to ASID Florida South Chapter and ASID.
• Each entrant receiving an award agrees to follow publicity guidelines as set by ASID Florida South Chapter and ASID.
• Each entrant receiving an award authorizes ASID and its affiliates to use photographs and supplied content materials in publicity releases.
• Project owner/client and photographer must also agree to the publicity release terms and sign as outlined in applicable Permission Forms.
• All entries will stay the property of ASID Florida South Chapter.
• Receipt of your entry registration signifies your agreement with ASID Florida South Chapter Competition terms.