Earning a packaging design award offers valuable recognition for design teams, increased media visibility, and can strengthen both brand trust and identity. With numerous awards programs each year, selecting the right ones to enter requires careful consideration of the time and financial investment involved. At Zenpack, our team has experience applying for various packaging design awards, with some of our projects receiving recognition. We know it can be tricky to navigate the world of packaging design awards, so we’ve put together a list of ten prominent competitions. We’ve also included some key details about each one to help you figure out which might be the best fit for your projects. We hope it’s helpful!
Product Packaging Design Awards
- Pentaward
- Deline Award
- iF Design Award
- Red Dot Design Award
- A’ Design Award
- European Product Design Award
- International Design Award
- Core77 Design Award
- ADC Award
- crQir Award
| Design Award | 2025 Submission Deadline | Submission Fee | Last Year’s Submissions (Official) | Target Market or Region | Application Categories or Types |
| Pentawards | March 28, 2025 | Different fees for different stages | 2,000+ | Global | Packaging design |
| Dieline Awards | February 28, 2025 | Professional: Starting from $325 Concept + Student: Starting from $95 (Early bird price) | Not provided | Global | Packaging design, including sustainable solutions, luxury brands, etc. |
| iF Design Award | November 6, 2024 | Starting from about €250 | 10,800 (2024) | Global | Product, packaging, service design, and many other categories |
| Red Dot Design Award | Different submission deadlines for different categories | Different fees for different stages | Approximately 20,000 (2023) | Global | Product design, brand and communication design, design concepts, etc. |
| A’ Design Award and Competition | February 28, 2025 | Different fees for different categories and periods, minimum about €150 | 1,958 (2017) | Global | Industrial design, architectural design, product design, fashion design, and many other categories |
| European Product Design Award™ | November 8, 2024 (The date is for 2024 award) | Different fees for different categories | Not provided | Europe | Product and industrial design |
| International Design Awards™ | November 30, 2024 (The date is for 2024 award) | Different fees for different categories and stages | Not provided | Global | Architecture, interior, product, graphic, and fashion design |
| Core77 Design Awards | March 25, 2025 | Different fees for different stages, different fees for students and professionals | Not provided | Global | Covers 20 design fields, including apps and platforms, branding and identity, built environment, business and industrial equipment, consumer technology, social impact design, emerging technology, furniture and lighting, home life, interaction, lifestyle accessories, healthcare, packaging, speculative design, sports and outdoor, sustainability, tools, toys and games, transportation and mobility, visual communication, etc. |
| ADC Annual Awards | February 14, 2025 | Tiered pricing structure, discounts available for small agencies, studios, and freelancers | Not provided | Global | Advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, moving images, games, experiences and architecture, photography, illustration, and other creative fields |
| crQlr | October 28, 2024 (The date is for 2024 award) | Free | 140 (2023) | Global | Innovative design related to circular economy, etc. |
The above information is for reference only. Please refer to the official announcement for details.
Pentaward
Pentawards is recognized as the world’s leading packaging design competition, celebrating excellence in packaging across various industries. The award recognizes excellence across a wide range of packaging design, with eight categories: Beverages, Food, Body, Health & Beauty, Home, Leisure & Other Markets, Brand Identity & Connected Packaging, Sustainable Design, Professional Concepts, and Student Concepts & Brief. Known as a trendsetter in packaging design, Pentawards releases an annual award-winning trend report, considered an invaluable resource for brand owners and designers seeking inspiration and industry insights.
Explore our trend report for the latest on 2025 packaging design trends.
Deline Award
The Dieline Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in packaging design. The competition features diverse categories, including (but not limited to) Food, Beverage, Health, Beauty & Personal Care, Home, Shopping & Other Markets, Sustainable Design, and Plastic-Free packaging. Entrants may submit a single project into multiple relevant categories.
A distinguished international jury, comprised of leading experts in structural packaging, design, branding, and consumer goods, evaluates entries based on specific criteria: creativity, marketability, innovation, execution, and on-pack branding. Entries within the Visual Brand Identity Systems category are judged on memorability, marketability, adaptability, meaningfulness, and brand story. All entries are subjected to a rigorous two-stage judging process. The Dieline Awards prioritize not only design excellence but also creativity, sustainability, and brand impact. Hundreds of organizations, brands, and designers globally vie for this prestigious annual recognition.
iF Design Award
Founded in 1954, the iF Design Award is recognized as one of the three major design awards in the world, also known as the “Oscars of Design.” Every year, it receives over ten thousand entries, covering a wide range of fields from packaging design to architecture and interior design. The core mission of the iF Design Award is to “promote good design and raise public awareness of the role design plays in society.” In addition to the design itself, the judging criteria also focus on functionality, innovation, and social impact.
Red Dot Design Award
The Red Dot Design Award, established in 1955 by the renowned German design association Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, attracts nearly ten thousand entries annually. Winning entries have the opportunity to be exhibited at the Red Dot Museum in Essen, Germany, and to participate in the awards ceremony. The Red Dot Award is a major international design competition with three categories: Product Design (innovative products), Brands & Communication Design (effective branding), and Design Concept (visionary prototypes). Compared to other design awards, the Red Dot Design Award places greater emphasis on both design and business.
A’ Design Award
The A’ Design Award is one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive design competitions, held annually in Italy. Guided by its motto, “Ars Futura Cultura” (art cultivates the future), the award promotes good design for a better future, emphasizing excellence and innovation across a wide range of categories, from product design to service design. A unique feature of the A’ Design Award is its free preliminary evaluation service, which assists designers in refining their work before submission.
Another distinctive aspect is the Prestige System. Award winners receive prestige tokens, unlocking access to exclusive benefits, including participation in special events and enhanced media exposure.
European Product Design Award
The European Product Design Award (ePDA), initiated by the European Parliament, is a leading product design competition in Europe. With over 800 professional categories for designers and 149 student categories, it offers broad recognition.
The judging criteria emphasize how product design improves lives and contributes to well-being. Many European packaging designers and brands consider the ePDA a mark of approval within the European market.
International Design Award
The IDA Design Awards, established by the Farmani Group, was founded to fill the recognition gap for interdisciplinary design within the design industry. It aims to reward multidisciplinary design and emerging design talent. The award categories are extensive, covering architecture, interior design, fashion, and merchandise (including product design), among others. Winning this award represents a high level of recognition in the European and American design communities.
Core77 Design Award
The Core77 Design Award, hosted by Core77 Design Magazine, places a greater emphasis on the practical application and social impact of design compared to other design awards. For example, it has awards for professional practical design software, such as the Autodesk Prize and the KeyShot Visualization Prize. In addition to professional designers, there is also a student group specifically for students to encourage the participation of emerging designers and provide dynamic review feedback to help improve the design.
ADC Annual Award
The ADC Annual Awards is the oldest design award among the ten major awards, with a history spanning over 100 years. Its application categories cover various creative fields, including advertising, design, photography, and more. Compared to contemporary packaging awards that emphasize social impact and marketability, the ADC Annual Awards places a greater emphasis on craftsmanship and artistry. What sets it apart is its tiered fee structure for applications, designed to lower the entry barrier for small studios and freelancers, allowing more promising designers to participate and win awards.
crQlr Award
With a focus on the circular economy, the crQlr Award promotes international exchange and cooperation, offering support to bring concepts to life. Consequently, its evaluation criteria place significant emphasis on the core principles of ‘Circular, not linear,’ ‘Action, not prestige,’ and ‘Learning from global perspectives.’ Prominent award recipients include Return To The Soil and Piss Soap.
Conclusion
Winning a packaging design award offers more than just recognition—it enhances brand credibility, increases media exposure, and signals a commitment to innovation and sustainability. Participation in competitions like the Pentawards, Dieline, and Red Dot Awards highlights a brand’s creative excellence and leadership in the industry. As design trends continue to emphasize sustainability and storytelling, these awards play a crucial role in building consumer trust and driving brand value.
Explore Zenpack’s award-winning packaging projects for more ideas and case studies.
