Happy New Year 2022! As our first post in 2022, we’d like to let you know about updated design rankings of countries according to World Design Rankings (WDR). These rankings are based on number of design awards won at international juried design competitions and awards, A’ Design Award. It looks like China is still holding its first place as a country that won the most awards in 2020-2021 among 114 countries with 102 Platinum Design Awards won globally. United States of America won the second place, followed by Japan, Italy, Hong Kong (China), Great Britain, Taiwan, Turkey, Germany and Australia.

A bit about World Design Rankings (WDR), it’s an organization that tracks and measures design rankings to contribute to global design culture by highlighting good designs of countries worldwide. It provides data and insights to journalists, economists, and designers regarding the state-of-art in design industry. WDR highlights creative strengths, design weakness, and opportunities in each country. It would certainly make it easier for newly graduated designers to find work opportunities abroad.

“Rocking Chair” Calendar by Katsumi Tamura
Winner in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Category

LIFEWTR Series 6 Bottled Water by PepsiCo Design & Innovation
Winner in Packaging Design Category

WDR aims to become the leader in international design award and competition, just like Olympics is to sports. It encourages countries to compete to give their bests of the bests in terms of design.

Ruyi Exhibition Center by Kris Lin
Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category

Creative Wooden Creatures Wooden Toy by Hakan Gürsu
Winner in Toy, Games and Hobby Products Design Category

Yoga 730 Laptop computer by Lenovo Experience Design Group
Winner in Digital and Electronic Devices Design Category

There’s “Design Business Insights” section that offers a glimpse of ranking of countries based on diverse design fields and creative categories. It’s the section where media members or design enthusiasts can discover leading countries in specific design sectors. It’s easy to see which country is the best in fashion, technology, industrial, or interior design, and many more.

Horizon 2 27 Table PC by Lenovo
Winner in Digital and Electronic Devices Design Category

Lavazza Desea Coffee Machine by Florian Seidl
Winner in Home Appliances Design Category

Wuhan Wushang Mall Cinema 9F Cinema by Ajax Law and Virginia Lung
Winner in Interior Space and Exhibition Design Category

Carqon Electric Cargo Bike by Carqon Design Team
Winner in Vehicle, Mobility and Transportation Design Category

The Ring House & Atelier by MZ Architects
Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category

Furthermore, there are three additional tables for each country where you can see the score for strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. The “Design Strengths” table provides you with information which country is competitive and successful in certain design fields, for example you can learn if Italy is better in furniture design, fashion design, or technology design. While the “Design Weaknesses” table, just like its name suggests, it provides you with design fields that are below average in comparison to other countries. The “Design Opportunities” table provides you with specific design categories that can be further explored by each country.

It’s time to prepare and submit your work to A’ Design Award through this link.

Insect Sculptures Advertising by Chris Slabber
Winner in Photography and Photo Manipulation Design Category

Studio S Matte Black Bathroom Faucets and Accessories by American Standard
Winner in Bathroom Furniture and Sanitary Ware Design Category

ShuiFa-White Marble in the Wilderness Property Exhibition Centre by Qun Wen
Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category

Haiku Hood by Fabrizio Crisà
Winner in Home Appliances Design Category

Topography 1 Seating Sculpture by Mikyoung Kim
Winner in Street Furniture Design Category

Glasson smart phone Smart Phone by Vestel ID Team
Winner in Digital and Electronic Devices Design Category

NISSAN Calendar 2013 Calendar by E-graphics communications
Winner in Graphics, Illustration and Visual Communication Design Category

Omdesign 2016 Sustainable packaging by Omdesign
Winner in Sustainable Products, Projects and Green Design Category

Effingut Brewerkz Restaurant and Bar by Ketan Jawdekar
Winner in Hospitality, Recreation, Travel and Tourism Design Category

Cloud of Luster Wedding Chapel by Tetsuya Matsumoto
Winner in Architecture, Building and Structure Design Category