Design Excellence Awards 2025

NEW THIS YEAR!

The 2025 ASID WASHINGTON METRO CHAPTER Design Excellence Awards is open to all qualified design professionals in the chapter area to promote unity of the robust design community.

ASID Washington Metro recognizes and honors the Design Community for its outstanding design achievements that go above and beyond serving the needs of its clients. We are seeking projects that exhibit innovation, problem-solving, and creative leadership and demonstrate how “Design Impacts Lives.” 

We have provided ten categories, nine of which are for projects designed, developed, and completed. The category “Adaptive Reuse of Buildings” is open for both residential and commercial solutions.  The final category, “Student Conceptual Design” allows recognition for a student member. 

Key Dates:  

• April 14, 2025, Midnight EDT: Site opens for entries
• May 16, 2025, Midnight EDT: Early bird deadline
•  Note if you start the entry during the “Early Bird” period, it can be accessed for completion until the final deadline
• July 18, 2025, Midnight EDT: Final submission deadline for both Early Bird and Standard Submissions.
• September 27, 2025: Winners will be presented at the ASID Gala Celebration and Awards Ceremony

Entry Fees:   

• Early Bird: $150 Members, $175 Non-Members per entry
• Standard Entry: $200 Members, $225 Non-Members per entry  
• Student Member Category: $25 per entry.

Eligibility Requirements: 

• Project submissions are open to Interior Design Professionals working in the Washington Metro ASID Chapter area. (Washington DC; Northern Virginia, Maryland) 
• Must belong to a professional Interior Design organization listed, have a CID or License in the chapter area
  • ASID American Society of Interior Design
  • AIA American Institute of Architects
  • BID Black Interior Designers
  • DCDC Design Collective DC
  • IIDA International Interior Design Association
  • Maryland Certified Interior Designers
  • MDCID Maryland Coalition for Interior Designers
  • NEWH The Network of Executive Women in Hospitality
  • NKBA National Kitchen + Bath Association
  • Virginia Certified Interior Designer
  • Washington DC License Holder

 

• Student project is open to ASID student members enrolled in a local Interior Design Program listed below
• Students must provide their student membership number 
  • Anne Arundel Community College
  • The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus
  • The George Washington University
  • Howard University
  • Marymount University
  • Morgan State University
  • Montgomery College
  • Northern Virginia Community College

Details:

 

• Projects must have been completed after January 31, 2023.
• There are no restrictions on project location
• Persons submitting the entry must have been actively involved on the project.
• Each project must only be submitted for one category. 
• Projects previously honored by an award in this program are not eligible for entry.
• All entries must have permission from the photographer(s) and client(s) allowing photographs to be published.
• Winning entries will be published on the Washington Metro Chapter of ASID’s website and social media platforms.
• Residential winners will be published and online in Home & Design magazine. Commercial winners will be online in Home & Design.
• All entries shall be submitted via the online website platform. No hard copies will be accepted. Late entries will not be accepted.
• It is the entrant’s responsibility to ensure that the materials submitted and the project being considered meet the rules, regulations, category, and eligibility requirements of the awards program. Failure to comply with these specifications will result in the disqualification of entry and forfeiture of entry fees.
• Any errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the entrant. The Washington Metro Chapter of ASID will not be responsible for any incorrect information supplied.
• Entrants agree to follow publicity guidelines as established by the Washington Metro Chapter of ASID to use any materials submitted for marketing and publicity purposes in perpetuity. 

 

Submission Identification Information:

No identifying information for designer(s), design firm(s), or other involved parties should appear in the written submissions, drawings, or photos. Submissions will be reviewed by the judges, and need to maintain the anonymity of the entrant(s). Drawings, photos, and written submissions that do not maintain anonymity will be disqualified and the entrant will forfeit the entry fee.
Exception: Project photography shall exclude the client name(s), but the logo/branding shown in photos is acceptable. 

Required: All entries shall submit the following completed forms:

• ASID Project Entry/Publicity Release form - must check the box on ASID Project Entry
• Project Information for Blind Judging form
• IP vendor checklist form

Blind Judging Includes:

• Required: ASID Project Entry and Publicity Release
• Required: Project Information Form
• Required: All entries shall submit a minimum of two (2) and a maximum of six (6) high-resolution photographs of the completed project (600ppi, JPEG format). Photographs lower than 300ppi in resolution will not be accepted. 
• Required: All entries shall submit a concept statement of 2-3 sentences.
• Required: All entries shall submit bullet points highlighting project details, goals and objectives, sustainable strategies, significant features, special needs, design constraints, etc., no longer than one (1) page in length.
• Optional: Up to three (3) “before” photos may also be submitted.
• Optional: Anonymous, supportive drawings are not required but are highly encouraged to be included in the project submission. Drawings include, but are not limited to: space/floor plans, elevations, 3D renderings, shop drawings, sketches, diagrams, etc. (JPEG or PDF format)

Submission Guidelines: 

• Upon creating an account on the CPJAM online platform, applicants may go back to edit entries, photos, and/or documents as many times as necessary during the submission period. 
• Please consider all category options and select the one you feel is most appropriate. If a project is submitted in an inappropriate category, the competition administrator reserves the right to place it in a different, more appropriate category.
• The competition administrator is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate transcription of entry information. It is the responsibility of the entrant to provide all the correct information for the project submission. If an error is found, please contact the competition administrator as soon as possible to correct the error.
• If the entry submission is incomplete by the contest deadline, the entrant forfeits the entry fee.

Judging Criteria: (Please see the Judging Criteria breakdown HERE) 

Projects will be evaluated by judges from around the country, representing various sectors of ASID’s diverse, multi-disciplinary membership makeup.

Judges will use the following nine categories and score projects on a 1 to 10 scale. 1 is low, and 10 is high. The Aesthetics category will be doubled to 20 points.
Example: 1 is poor representation; 5 is average; 10 means outstanding. The maximum number of points is 100.

Honorable mentions will be awarded at the discretion of the judges.

A minimum score must be met for a winner to be declared in a category.

For all questions regarding contest rules and fees, please contact:

Annette Phillips
annette.phillips@cox.net
(703) 819-1071

Terry Parker Duane

asid@riversorg.com

(585) 576-4797

 

 Design Excellence Awards Program Dates: April 14, 2025, to July 18, 2025 11:59PM EDT