In the more than 30 years of its existence, the annually presented Baden-Württemberg International Design Award has established itself as a constant at both national and international level and has been held under the concise label FOCUS OPEN since 2009.

The initial spark that led to the founding of the Baden-Württemberg International Design Award came in 1988 from Lothar Späth, who was Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg at the time and an active promoter of economic development. That put him on the same wavelength as the Design Center, whose intrinsic task has always been to convince companies that design’s impact is a highly relevant factor when it comes to competitiveness.

CALL FOR ENTRIES

Once again, companies and professional designers from all over the world were invited to enter their newest and most innovative design solutions for FOCUS OPEN 2026, the Baden-Württemberg International Design Award.

Never before has professional design been so important and so much a matter of course as it is today. The Baden-Württemberg state award Focus Open provides an annual and transparent roundup of what’s state of the art when it comes to design, innovation and sustainability. And in 2026, FOCUS OPEN is once again rewarding new products, services and concepts for their innovativeness and design quality.

With FOCUS OPEN, startups, newcomers and founders have the same chances of winning an award for their exciting projects as established design agencies and companies do!

Submitters of 2026 have the chance to win Gold, Silver, a Special Mention – or Meta – and a publicity boost in the form of our yearbook, exhibition and online presentation.

THE BENEFITS FOR AWARD WINNERS

MODERATE COSTS – STRAIGHTFORWARD PARTICIPATIO

FOCUS OPEN is one of the few non-commercial design awards with an international orientation in Germany. The costs for taking part are moderate – even newcomers and the smallest of companies can afford to enter their innovative products and compete at international level.
 

INDEPENDENT JURY

All members of the jury are independent – and agree not to submit any of their own works. Another special feature of the FOCUS OPEN competition is that the entries are not pre-selected on the basis of photographs prior to the judging. Wherever possible, every entry is presented to the jury for assessment in the form of the actual product.
 

BROAD-BASED PUBLICITY

The benefits for award-winners are considerable – besides feedback from the independent experts of the jury, they can also look forward to a publicity boost via the Design Center Baden-Württemberg’s numerous communication platforms: the award event, the winners’ exhibition, the international yearbook and placement in social media and networks. This has a particularly positive impact on brand communications: the FOCUS Meta, FOCUS Gold, FOCUS Silver and FOCUS Special Mention labels are a mark of quality and a valuable branding tool.

More information on the website.