The Designers Institute runs many initiatives throughout the year to celebrate the achievements of the design community. 

The Best Design Awards

Initiatives

Awards

The Best Design Awards are Australasia’s largest annual showcase of excellence across graphic, digital, motion design, product and spatial along with the Value of Design Award, Social Good Award and the Toitanga award recognise the changing nature of our design industry. Year on year, the event grows in both its size and its impact.

View all of the 2024 winners on the Best Awards site.

The Best Design Awards 2025 campaign was created by the team at Milk.

Best Design Awards History up to 1998
As recorded by Peter Haythornthwaite, ONZM, LifeDINZ

In the beginning
The 1970s saw unprecedented growth in the New Zealand design profession, not only in numbers of practitioners but in the scope and standard of work. Designforces was the pre-eminent design consultancy of the time, together with Jasmax. Design was taught at Wellington Polytechnic, Elam (the University of Auckland), Ilam (Canterbury University) and ATI (now Auckland University of Technology). Many of the leading designers had recently returned from Europe and the United States.

Communication Arts and Graphics were the two benchmark magazines of the graphic design field, and the Swiss School of Design was still relevant but its influence was waning. It was in this climate that in 1976 Stan Mauger, along with Ann Shanks, Mark Cleverley and others, proposed the first National Graphic Design Awards, the precursor of the Best New Zealand Design Awards.

John Massey, the highly respected head of the CCAs Centre for Advanced Research in Design (The Container Corporation of America later merged with JC Penny) was invited to be the head judge along with Maurice Askew (Head of Graphic Design, University of Canterbury, School of Fine Arts), Hamish Keith (Chairman of the Queen Elizabeth Arts Advisory Council), and Martin Salmond (Art Director, J Ilott Ltd, Auckland).

The National Awards attracted 300 entries (of which 130 were exhibited as finalists) in the categories of advertising, typography, corporate identity, technical literature, publicity, packaging, illustration, architectural and exhibition graphics, and pattern. Four awards were available in each category, but the judges only awarded the full four in advertising, corporate identity and packaging. Each award winner received a tile designed by Mark Cleverley (which included a cartoon by Don Hatcher) and manufactured by Crown Lynn. Bret de Thier received the Letraset Travel Award for outstanding design work and incidentally, for the best use of Letraset. Amongst other award winners, Mark Cleverly was recognised for his handsome stamp designs and ceramic pattern design. An exhibition, together with a lecture series, was held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and the first time since the early design exhibitions of the 60s this award galvanised New Zealand designers, recognising the commercial and cultural benefits of design and the strength of individual designers. It was decided that another programme would be run after a 2-year rest – but this was not to be.

Five years later
For 5 years, David Bartlett (the founder of Artspec) and Peter Haythornthwaite discussed how a new award programme could be started, and then in 1988 David, along with his partners Mike McLaughlin and Richard Hook, committed Artspec to back and manage a programme covering all categories of graphic design. It was named the Best New Zealand Design Awards. The steering committee comprised Mark Adams (President NZSID), Peter de Beer, Fraser Gardyne, Peter Haythornthwaite (Convenor), Martin Hill, Stan Mauger, Alan Sanders and Andrea Thomas, with Jane Natoli as coordinator. The judges comprised Australian design Gary Emery, Stan Mauger, Hong Kong consultant Henry Steiner, and multi disciplinary American designer Michael Vanderbyl.

As with the previous awards, great care was taken to ensure that they met the demanding ICSID and Icograda rules of fairness and consistency. Artspec as principal sponsor was supported by BJ Ball Papers, McCollam Printers, Spicer Cowan, Western Litho and Wiggins Teape (The Paper House). There were also 21 other sponsors and contributors. The awards were put together in less than 7 months with three primary objectives: to demonstrate to business and industry the advantages gained through the effective use of graphic design; to applaud designers who were making outstanding contributions in their fields; and to enable New Zealand designers to benefit from the experience and insight of internationally recognised designers. The Awards collateral was created by 7 different consultancies, with surprising synergy.

563 entries were submitted for the 21 entry categories, four special awards and a most promising student award. Winners receiving more than one category Gold or Silver Award included de Beer Design, Designworks, PeterHaythornthwaite Design, No Straight Lines (Fain Flaws), and Sanders Design. The Mayor of Auckland, Dame Cath Tizard, launched the Awards at the Regent to media, industry leaders, sponsors and designers. A number of very well attended seminars were held with the international judges as speakers. In addition to the Awards gala presentation and the exhibition, which travelled to the three main centres, a 164-page annual was produced through sponsorship.

Later each of the international judges designed a limited edition Artspec/NZSID poster. Judges Gary Emery, Michael vanderByl and Henry Steiner commented on the high standard of New Zealand design and were impressed with international standard of much of the work.

The second Best Awards
One year later, again with Artspec as the principal sponsor and 46 other supporters and sponsors (of whom BJ Ball remains a major sponsor), the 1989 Best Design Awards were held. This time, Grant Alexander was the Convenor, with a steering committee of 17 fellow professional designers. Deliberately, a very different group of judges from those selected in 1988 were invited to New Zealand, comprising internationally recognised designer Thomas Geismar of Chermayeff and Geismar Associates, New York; David Hillman, magazine designer and partner in Pentagram; and Kaoru Kasai, celebrated Japanese typographer and designer. Barry Ellis, a well-respected Wellington designer, with a broad practice background, was the New Zealand judge. 435 entries were submitted of which 16 received silver awards (no golds were given) and four special recognition awards along with one student scholarship. This time David Bartlett’s new design consultancy, Graphikos, received very high prominence along with many small and established consultancies. Kasai commented he felt a great sense of freshness and youth in the work.

David Hillman encouraged New Zealand designers to create their own identity without direct reference to overseas trends. Geismar observed that much of New Zealand’s better work had not been entered, and Ellis surmised that New Zealand with its wonderful environment and diversity of peoples has a good deal to offer, and we should ensure that this is reflected in the work we produce. The award presentation was held in Wellington and the exhibition travelled from Wellington to Auckland and then on to smaller centres. Again through generous sponsorship, a 164-page annual was produced with numerous copies sold, as in 1988, through book and stationery shops.

1991 Designers Institute of New Zealand is formed
The enormous amount of time involved in staging the Best Awards took its toll and it was not until 1992, under the spirited leadership of DINZ President Hugh Mullane, that another awards programme was held. This was the first time that awards were run by the Designers Institute of New Zealand – the new organisation formed by the merger of NZSID and NZAID. There was a new briskness to the awards. The disciplines were expanded to include graphic, interior, product, fashion and craft. Terry Stringer was commissioned to design the discipline and category gold award that was aptly named the Stringer (Terry used Leonardo da Vinci’s hand measure of man to symbolise design and Nikau Palm to express the New Zealand spirit). The broad base of advisers was put together, many of who had consistently given their time on the previous Bests.

The presentation function was held at the Auckland Town Hall; it was an energetic celebration of design – boisterous, impassioned, very audio visual and unforgettable. Eleven Stringers were awarded: graphic – Black Stump, Designworks, PeterHaythornthwaiteDesign (2), deBeer/Adams and Cheah Chuni: product – PeterHaythornthwaiteDesign and Eric van Helmond; craft – Allan Preston and PeterHaythornthwaiteDesign; interior – Inscape, Gascoigne Assoc and Noel Lane (2). Again to ensure a balanced appraisal of work, the judges comprised New Zealand and overseas designers, with Niels Different as the main product design judge.

Four - year hiatus
There followed a four-year hiatus due to too few having to commit too much time and energy to stage such comprehensive programme. However, in 1995 Fraser Gardyne, Murray Pilcher and Michael Major (along with a small committee) took on the responsibility of running the next Best Awards. The disciplines were limited to craft, graphic, interior and product design. As in previous years, it was the passion of the committee combined with the support of the sponsors that made the awards a success. John Britten was posthumously given an award, which is now called, in his honour, the John Britten Award – the highest recognition given by DINZ to an outstanding individual for leadership, vision and achievement. The presentation and exhibition were held at the Maritime Museum, downtown Auckland, and were coupled with a conference on team-based design with the main speakers being Tom Schnackenberg (America’s Cup team leader) and Michael Bryce (Australian Olympic Games bid leader). The judges comprised Michael Smythe and John Hatrick-Smith for product; Peter de Beer, Mark Adams and Lindsay Marks for graphic; and Hugh Mullane, Mark Gascoigne and Ron McKenzie for interior. Stringers were awarded to Custance Design (interior), Origin Design (graphic) and Peter Tasker Design (product).

The foundation for the Design-Led Business Award
Two years later, the 1997 Best Awards took place in Auckland, with the same entry disciplines as 1996. The committee comprised Jill Carroll, Bryn Chapple, Paola Dashwood, Peter Haythornthwaite (Chair), Bina Klose, Murray Pilcher and Kim Willis. James Coe, (former Director of Wellington Polytechnic, School of Design) was the recipient of the John Britten Award and Max Hailstone was, posthumously, given the Designers' Institute of New Zealand Outstanding Achievement Award. The foundation was established for the Design-led Business Award through the vision of Bina Klose and Bryn Chapple. The judging panel was made up of many well respected designers (NZ and Australian) and business leaders including Michael Barnett, Stuart Gardyne, Euan McKechnie, Hugh Mullane, for interior; Stephen Allan, Adam Laws, Chris Mitchell and Tony Parker for product; and David Bartlett, Dick Brunton, Annette Harcus and Alistair Lang for graphic.

The presentation evening was held in the pure architectural environment of the New Auckland Art Gallery, with the exhibition at the Auckland City Library. Only two Stringers were awarded, one to Fisher White Architecture (interior) and the other to Designworks (graphic). The evening created a surprising camaraderie amongst the attendants. Maxim designed the annual to a brief, which ensured that the sponsors’ advertisements, while individual, were in keeping with the structure of the publication.

1998
The dedication of time and the financial knife-edge meant that a 1998 award programme was unlikely. However, Gesundheit, the project management arm of AGM Publishing proposed to DINZ that it run the Best programme on a yearly basis looking after sponsorship and all of the administrative functions related to the call for entries, judging, exhibition and presentation evening.
Dave Clark, DINZ President, was the convenor supported by a small group of designers respected for their work and professional integrity. So as to ensure bipartisanship in the judging, the panel was expanded to 6 judges in each discipline. Gifford Jackson was the recipient of the John Britten Award and ECC Lighting received the inaugural Design-led Business Award. The Awards evening was held at the Auckland Town Hall along with the exhibition. As in the preceding year only two Stringers were awarded, on to Fisher and Paykel (product), and the other to PeterHaythornthwaiteDesign (graphic).

Writing such an abbreviated history has sadly meant that many of the designers and sponsors who have been critical to the success and continuity of the Awards have gone unmentioned. This omission necessitates that in the near future the history of the New Zealand Best Design Awards is comprehensively recorded with a full list of committees, sponsors and winners. These people must be recognised!

The Best Design Awards demonstrates the economic sense of design to New Zealand business, recognises outstanding design and designers’ achievements, bears witness to the cultural influence of inspired creativity, and uniquely unifies the profession. It is the responsibility of the profession to ensure that the Best Design Awards continue to be run free of bias, and serve as an accurate measure of our development and, we trust, our progress. The new years of the 21st century will reveal the extraordinary talent of young designers and encourage business to use the “extraordinary power” of design to compete and profit internationally.

As recorded by Peter Haythornthwaite,  ONZM, LifeDINZ

Black Pin Recipients

Initiatives

Black Pin

Each year, the prestigious Black Pins are awarded to individuals for outstanding achievement within the design community. In 2019 DINZ introduced the Value of Design Black Pin.

The John Britten Black Pin is awarded to a designer for their leadership, vision and achievement in putting New Zealand on the global stage.

The Designers Institute Black Pin is awarded to a Member of the Institute who has made a lasting and valuable contribution to the design profession and design culture in New Zealand.

The Value of Design Black Pin reflects a multi-million dollar investment in design of all kinds, in all sorts of organisations.
The effects driven by that investment are truly good for New Zealand

Warwick Freeman

Introduction

This year’s recipient of the Black Pin, the highest accolade of the Designers Institute of New Zealand. Tonight, for the first time in the history of these awards, the Black Pin honours a jewellery designer.

Background

Warwick Freeman’s career spans more than fifty years. In that time he has become one of the most important and influential figures in contemporary jewellery, here in Aotearoa and on the international stage. His practice has been defined by an uncompromising exploration of this place — its history, its culture, and its materials. From volcanic rock to pounamu, from shells to found objects, Warwick has transformed the essence of Aotearoa into forms that are at once minimal and complex, timeless and immediate. His works are not only to be worn, they are to be read, like characters in the visual language he has forged across decades.

Warwick’s practice is firmly rooted in place, and what it means to be a New Zealander. As a pākehā artist, his work has often navigated the terrain of identity and the complexities of our colonial past. His jewellery inhabits that space of friction and discovery, raising questions of culture, appropriation, and meaning, and in doing so, it has created room for conversations this country still urgently needs to have.

Warwick has been at the centre of almost every major development in New Zealand jewellery since the 1970s, not only as an artist but as a leader: a founding chair of Objectspace, a governor of the Arts Foundation, and a pivotal member of the Fingers cooperative that changed the course of our applied arts.

And 2025 marks a defining moment in his career. His solo exhibition at Die Neue Sammlung in Munich, the world’s leading museum of applied arts, has brought global recognition at the highest level. And now, that same exhibition has come home, to be celebrated here at Objectspace in Auckland.

Warwick Freeman is not only a great artist. He is also a husband, a father, and a grandfather, roles he considers his greatest achievement

Arch MacDonnell FDINZ

Introduction

The Designers Institute Black Pin is awarded to a member of the Institute who has made a lasting and valuable contribution to the design profession and design culture in New Zealand.

Background

Genius and generosity don’t always go hand in hand.

When they do, everybody is better off.

Tonight’s recipient of the Designers Institute Black Pin for Outstanding Achievement has spent the last few decades blending generosity with genius in a way that dissolves any boundaries between the two.

This shines through in his work. Whether it is applied to big brands or beautiful books, his approach is rigorously crafted, highly legible, grounded in classicism while always feeling fresh.

Genius and generosity are combined in his contribution to community, too.

Tonight’s Black Pin recipient is always ready to preach the virtues of good design: As a speaker, as an awards judge locally and internationally, a mentor and a board member. Service to community has been an integral part of his practice, and he’s always made it look like fun.

The Black Pin for Outstanding Achievement is granted to an individual who has made a lasting contribution to the design profession and towards design in general. 

This evening’s winner has already collected too many Gold Pins to count. So it’s a delight to see him add a different colour to this collection tonight.

The winner of the 2025 Designers Institute Black Pin for Outstanding Achievement is Arch MacDonnell.

Xero

Introduction

The Value of Design Black Pin recognises a company that has not only shown what it truly means to be design-led but critically how design can create real economic value for New Zealand. Design for them is not just in how their products look, but in how their whole business thinks, works, grows and enhances the effectiveness of others.

Background

The 2025 Value of Design Black Pin recipients, Xero,  have embedded design into the heart of their organisation. From their founding principle to “make it beautiful”, to elevating design leadership onto their executive team, they’ve built a culture where design isn’t an afterthought — it’s how they solve problems, shape strategy, and support millions of small businesses worldwide.

They’ve also applied design with incredible rigour — undertaking a full design audit across thousands of screens and customer journeys, building shared UI patterns, and introducing a single design language. Their Customer Journey Framework now unifies teams across the company, ensuring every experience feels seamless and consistent. 

And importantly, this design commitment is delivering real impact. From launching the Partner Hub for accountants and bookkeepers, to reimagining their mobile experience, to creating the AI-powered companion — they’ve shown how design can drive innovation, efficiency, and customer delight. Their data is even helping governments and small businesses understand the economy.

This is design creating measurable commercial, operational, and social value — not just for Xero, but right across the entire small business ecosystem. 
Jeremy Moon, Value of Design judge presented the Black Pin

Xero Case Study:
Xero is a small business accounting software that provides a platform on which businesses can build a fully integrated solution. Xero minimises tedious admin by automating routine tasks, delivers valuable insights when needed, and brings together business data, trusted advisors, and powerful apps in one intuitive platform. By alleviating pain points, Xero empowers small business owners to supercharge their business, simplifying the complex and freeing up time from manual admin so they can focus on what really matters to build the business theyʼve always envisaged.

Xero is committed to supporting its accounting and bookkeeping partners, who play a vital role in the success of small businesses. Together, we advocate for the millions of small businesses who are the backbone of the global economy.

Everything we do at Xero is grounded in our purpose: to make life better for people in small business, their advisors (accountants and bookkeepers), and communities around the world, from our products and technology to how we support our customers, people, and communities.

This purpose guides everything we do, from our strategy and product design to how we support our customers, people, and communities worldwide. Our customers love that Xero makes it easy to run their business and manage their finances from anywhere.

Beyond our products, we are dedicated to building a socially and environmentally responsible business. We also recognise our responsibility to help small businesses on their own path to sustainability.

Xero has 4.4 million subscribers across New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the US and more than 180 countries around the world. 

Q: How would you describe the design culture of the business? If you had to boil it down, what are the 2 biggest contributions a design mindset or practice has created over the history of Xero. 

1. Make it Beautiful
Xero was founded in 2006 in NZ with the sole purpose of simplifying small business accounting. With a vision, to create a cloud-accounting platform that was user friendly, real-time and simple to use, or what we called "beautiful business". This goes beyond aesthetics, focusing on creating seamless and delightful experiences that customers love. We challenge ourselves to fall in love with the customer's problem, innovate, and inspire our communities and each other with our best work.

This principle embodies the entire business journey for our customers, celebrating the successes and growth they achieve using the Xero platform. It's about empowering small businesses to thrive by making their financial management effortless, allowing them to focus on the milestones that matter, like making their first sale or expanding their business. Even as the industry has evolved around us, this mindset has remained a cornerstone of Xeroʼs identity.

By embedding ‘beautiful designʼ into the heart of business software, Xero has helped put Aotearoa on the global design map - showing that world-class innovation can emerge from New Zealand, and inspiring other companies to place design at the centre of their strategy.

2. Establishing Design as a Core Competitive Advantage
In February 2024, Che Douglas, our new SVP/Executive General Manager of Design established a company-wide design strategy; to make design a core competitive advantage for Xero. By directly aligning our design efforts with our product strategy, weʼve empowered our product and technology teams to deliver on key priorities more effectively.

This strategic shift integrated design into the core business operation. We also undertook a major redesign of our foundational systems, moving from a fragmented approach to building a single, unified customer experience. This effort, supported by an upgraded design operating system, has enabled us to achieve greater efficiencies and excellence across our teams, creating a massive impact that benefits not just our users, but our entire business ecosystem. Specific examples of this can be found below under Reimaging Product Design at Xero.

Che Douglas is now a key member of the Xero Executive Leadership Team (ELT).

How has the business grown by design over the years?
From our beginnings sitting around the kitchen table in a small apartment in New Zealand to serving customers in more than 180 countries today, design has been one of the core engines of our growth. Weʼve always believed that by making business beautiful, we could empower millions. Our success is a direct result of this design-led philosophy, which has evolved through three key phases.

First, we redefined an industry. When Xero launched, accounting software was complex and intimidating. Our initial design strategy focused on simplicity and clarity, creating an intuitive product that felt more like a modern app than a traditional enterprise tool. This wasnʼt just about aesthetics; it was about solving a real problem for small business owners. This user-first design approach was our most effective marketing, driving rapid early adoption and building a community of loyal customers.

Next, we scaled the ecosystem by design. We realized that to truly empower businesses, we had to connect them to a wider ecosystem. We strategically designed an open platform with a seamless API, integrating Xero with thousands of third-party apps. This created a unified "platform for business" that deepened customer engagement and solidified our position as the central hub for small businesses worldwide.

Today, design is embedded in our DNA. Itʼs a company-wide philosophy. We use human-centered design to understand and serve our global community, with teams embedded in every product area to ensure weʼre always innovating. By prioritizing empathy and a mature design system, we continue to create intuitive experiences, from AI-powered tools to enhanced mobile apps.

Xeroʼs growth has been designed, from reimagining accounting as something simple and human, to building a connected ecosystem, and now leading a global community of small businesses. This design-first philosophy has not only created a product beloved by millions, but has inspired new standards for digital product design, cementing Aotearoaʼs reputation as a world leader in design-led innovation.

Product Design & Research at Xero
Our Design team, spanning Product Design, UX Research, Service Design, Operations, and Prototyping, has scaled dramatically over the past three years to meet the demands of a global stage. We restructured compensation to attract world-class talent while enabling many to relocate back home to Aotearoa, strengthening New Zealandʼs role as a global design hub.

Our Design: Engineering ratio is deliberately high, allowing for a robust research function that informs strategy rather than just validating concepts. In FY25, we surveyed over 10,000 customers and ran 900+ in-depth interviews.

Looking ahead, our investment in research labs in NZ and AU will deepen this connection, embedding customer voices into every step of our design process and reinforcing design as the engine of growth at Xero.

Anything else you want to share that is evidence of the value of design mindset or skills and processes that have created within Xero to get to where you are today?

Across 2025, we elevated design into a core competitive advantage for Xero. By fundamentally shifting our approach, we ensured every design decision was laser-focused on solving the most critical customer problems and advancing our highest strategic goals. This transformation delivered measurable impact, creating a ripple effect of value for our customers, our partners, and the entire Xero ecosystem.

A cornerstone of this strategy was our commitment to inclusive and accessible design. We believe that building truly beautiful experiences means designing for everyone. By embedding accessibility into our core design process as a non-negotiable "must", weʼve created more intuitive and robust products for all our customers. We are also pioneering new, accessible ways for small businesses to interact with their data, from voice and touch to mobile and AI, ensuring they can run their business from anywhere, at any time.

Designing for One Experience
Design Audit
To deliver a single, unified experience, we first needed to create a comprehensive map to guide the future of design at Xero. In FY25, we prioritized 12 key customer journeys and flows, which included mapping a total of 52 user journeys, 234 user flows, and 3,759 individual screens.

UI Patterns
To build for One-Experience, we evolved our UI patterns to drive cohesion quality and reduce friction for our customers. UI patterns are reusable solutions of elements, interactions, flows, and documentation for common design problems. UI patterns ensure product cohesion and documented best practices for better usability and user satisfaction. Our design patterns create a future focussed view of our UI as we build towards the next evolution of Xeroʼs design & customer experiences.

Introduction of a single design language 
Over the past 12 months, we established a Figma-based UI toolkit that provides the elements, structures, and examples needed for our design teams to work as one. This new toolkit has been scaled and deeply embedded into our workflows, allowing us to operate as a single, unified design team.

Customer Journey Framework
To support our future growth aspirations and enable innovation and operational excellence we needed a way to unify our employees, across many teams, around a holistic customer view of their jobs and journeys. Our Service Design team built the Customer Journey Framework (CJF). Which is an end-to-end view of the jobs (JTBD) and journeys of a small business or accountant and bookkeeper, beyond their role as a Xero customer. It describes their business experiences from their own perspective.

The CJF provides a shared language and hierarchy of our customers' needs from their point of view. By creating this common taxonomy, we can all speak the same language when it comes to understanding our customers. The CJF also gives us a structured set of tools to document customer journeys, enabling our teams to design together. The power of this framework is its scale; it's rare to see a human-centered design approach embraced so widely in a SaaS company. The CJF has become one of Xeroʼs keystone documents, helping to make us a truly customer-obsessed organisation. To learn more, read our public-facing article here.

New Navigation and Homepage
Weʼve built a more intuitive navigation and insight-rich homepage. Our customers are now able to get a clearer view of business performance quickly with new widgets that highlight what needs your attention. The tailored view helps you stay focused on what matters most and take common actions directly from the page. The new homepage is currently in beta and will start rolling out to all customers globally in November.

Launch of Xero Partner Hub
Accountants and bookkeepers told us that switching between our different practice tools – Xero HQ, Practice Manager, Tax, and Workpapers – broke their flow and cost them time. We listened and worked with more than 2,000 accountants and bookkeepers to design the new Xero Partner Hub. The Xero Partner Hub brings all of our tools and data into one place. Read more here.

Just Ask Xero (JAX)
Xero is also pioneering new ways for our customers to interact with their data, from voice, to touch, to mobile, ensuring customers can stay in touch with their business and new paradigms like AI.

Our design team helped to deliver JAX “Just Ask Xeroˮ, our AI business companion and financial superagen. JAX learns how your business runs, automating tasks and workflows, and delivering actionable insights, orchestrating multiple AI agents to cut busywork and help you make smarter decisions. All of this is delivered by a trusted partner built for you, with you. Read more about the latest evolution of JAX here.

Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI)
Using data from the Xero platform, our Xero Small Business Insights (XSBI) program offers a unique perspective on the small business economy. Since 2017, the program has provided free data and analysis for New Zealand, Australia, the UK, the US and Canada – all part of our commitment to championing small businesses.

The XSBI program provides regular updates on sales, jobs, and wages by analysing aggregated and anonymized data from hundreds of thousands of Xero subscribers to track the performance of, and improve understanding about, small businesses. This data is more accurate than traditional surveys and is trusted by governments and academics. Empowering Small Businesses We also empower small businesses through the Xero Beautiful Business Fund , which was introduced in 2023. This fund is designed to back the future aspirations of small businesses across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, the US, Canada, and the UK. Eligible customers can apply for a share of the NZD $750,000 global prize pool in one of four categories: Innovating for Environmental Sustainability, Strengthening Community Connection, Trailblazing with Technology, and Upskilling for the Future.

Empowering Small Businesses
We also empower small businesses through the Xero Beautiful Business Fund , which was introduced in 2023. This fund is designed to back the future aspirations of small businesses across New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, the US, Canada, and the UK. Eligible customers can apply for a share of the NZD $750,000 global prize pool in one of four categories: Innovating for Environmental Sustainability, Strengthening Community Connection, Trailblazing with Technology, and Upskilling for the Future.

FY26 Design partnerships:
● Held Web Accessibility & Inclusive Design meetup at Xero Melbourne
● Supporting Ladies that UX Melbourne
● Supporting Figma friends community events in ANZ
● Design leaders speaking at various events like Product & Design Outlook, Miro etc.
● We are also exploring expanding our partnership with Women in Technology to include our UK region and the Design org

All Recipients

Designers Institute Black Pin John Britten Black Pin Value of Design Black Pin
2025

Arch MacDonnell FDINZ

Warwick Freeman

Xero
2024

Rewi Thompson (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga)
2023

Desna Jury LifeDINZ

Jeremy Moon
2022

Jef Wong FDINZ

Jamie McLellan PDINZ

Emirates Team New Zealand
2020

Jonathan Custance

Liz and Neville Findlay
2019

Annie Dow

Clive Fugill

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
2018

Rik Campbell and Steve Le Marquand
2017

Kent Sneddon

Dan Bernasconi
2016

Ben Corban

Danny Coster
2015

Professor Tony Parker

Kris Sowersby
2014

Mark Cleverley

Matt Holmes
2013

Cathy Veninga

Grenville Main

Kent Parker
2012

Sven Baker

Ian Athfield
2011

Fraser Gardyne

Mark Elmore
2010

Tim Hooson

Dean Poole
2009

Dave Clark

Joseph Churchward
2008

Professor Leong Yap

Laurie Davidson
2007

Brian Richards

David Trubridge
2006

Grant Alexander

Gary Paykel
2005

Hugh Mullane & Craig Horrocks

Mark Pennington
2004

Michael Smythe

Richard Taylor
2003

Ray Labone

Peter Haythornthwaite FDINZ
2002

Doug Heath

Ann Robinson
2001

Robin Beckett

Humphrey Ikin
2000

David Bartlett

Bruce Farr
1999

John Hughes

Karen Walker
1998

Not awarded

Gifford Jackson
1997

Max Hailstone

James Coe
1995

John Britten

Purple Pin Case Studies

Initiatives

Case Studies

The Best Design Awards is the annual showcase of excellence in graphic, spatial, product and interactive design. The entries judged Best in each category are awarded the Gold Pin. The very best project in each discipline is awarded the supreme, Purple Pin for work that truly raises the bar for New Zealand design.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

DINZ Interviews

Initiatives

Interviews

When the opportunity arises, DINZ interviews leading designers from here and overseas. These interviews seek to dig beneath the surface to address the common and uncommon challenges, problems and opportunities the design community faces.

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2017

2016

DINZ Podcast Series

Initiatives

Podcasts

Through the D.Cast series we bring you insights, stories and reflections from our community.

D.Cast Episodes

2025

2023

2022

2021

2020

DINZ Video Series

Initiatives

Videos

The more we talk about design, the more robust the conversation becomes.

DINZ events give access to designers at the top of their game as they share their knowledge and insights. 

The audiovisual recordings from some of these gatherings can be found under this Video category and are archived there as a reference resource to Aotearoa’s rich design history.

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

DINZ Check-in

Check In is a page where we showcase things of interest in our community.

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2015

2014

2013

DINZ Student Council

Initiatives

Student Activations

The Designers Institute established a Student Council in 2015 with students from different design schools across the motu and from different disciplines.

The founding Council felt there was a gap between studios and industry professionals. Their approach was to create a platform for mutual conversations by developing initiatives for open interaction for both students and professionals...to share & receive, to teach & learn, to play mentor & mentee.

Choosing a handshake as their gesture of mutual respect.

Today’s design students are tomorrow’s industry professionals. These national representatives work to forge stronger links between the bright minds currently studying design and the industry peers, design leaders and potential mentors who will work with them in the future.

The Student Council run several initiatives including Interviews, Folio Nights and Best of the Best Students Speak. 

Learn more about the Council

DINZ Student Council Interviews

Initiatives

Interviews

Every designer’s career journey contains valuable lessons for students looking to their own futures. Our Student Council interview leading Aotearoa New Zealand designers and gain valuable insights into how they got to where they are.

DINZ Student Council Podcast

Initiatives

Podcasts

2023

2021

2020

Designer Jobs & Studio Spaces

Initiatives

Jobs

Designer Jobs is a page to advertise or search for current designer job vacancies. 

Autex  - Design Consultant, Print Consultant

Autex are looking for another Design Consultant to join their team and also hiring for a new role, Print Consultant.

Design Consultant

Autex are looking for self-motivated team player with high standards who thrives in a fast-paced environment to join their team in Auckland. 

Purpose of the Role

The Design Consultant mission: face forward, make it possible, gather feedback, and identify niches.

Design Consultants (DCs) work alongside the Autex manufacturing team and sales team to bring designs to life. DCs work through the account managers to communicate with architects, interior designers, customers, and installers to help specify Autex product into projects and offer bespoke solutions. 

Key Result Areas

Account Manager Support
- Work with Autex account managers to design, develop, and specify Autex product and provide what is needed for each project.

Manufacturing Support
- Communicating job pre-requisites to account managers and production team including detailed instructions and context, creating accurate clear-cut files, and supporting manufacturing with cut, moulded, and print jobs, packaging requirements, and occasional quality control.

Product development
- Contributing as needed to new Autex products including engaging with the product development team when critical design issues arise, repeated bespoke requests occur, and if products under development are shared with external parties.

Quality and Environmental
- Adhere to all requirements outlined within Autex’s Environmental Policy and Quality Policy.
- Understand individual role and responsibility in the achievement of ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

 Required Skills and Qualifications

- Industrial design / architectural qualification (diploma level or above).
- Quantity surveying skills would be desirable.

Work Experience
- Industrial design experience would be looked upon favourably.
- Adobe Creative Suite (specifically Photoshop and Illustrator).
- CAD - must be able to create and manipulate DWG & DXF files. SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Revit (or similar) required
- Vector based programmes are advantageous as are digital rendering skills and experience with CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) such as CNC machines, etc.

Candidate Attributes
- Self- motivated
- Proven high work standards and problem-solving
- A results orientated focused work ethic
- Team player – someone who works well as part of a team and can take feedback onboard
- Detail orientated – reviews own work and is self-evaluating.

If you are interested, or for a full position description, please email your CV and portfolio to Autex Design Consultant Lead Ellen Sorkin - esorkin@autex.co.nz

Print Consultant

Autex are looking for a Print Consultant to join their Auckland team.

The Print Consultant is essentially the NZ print expert and must be detail orientated, organised, and have exceptional problem-solving skills with a commitment to delivering high-quality results.

Purpose of the Role
The Print Consultant is the first point of contact for all NZ print matters, reporting to the Design Consultant Lead and working closely with Autex manufacturing, scheduling, sales, and the existing print department at Autex in Australia (online).

The Print Consultant (PC) applies their graphic knowledge (regarding print files) and technical knowledge (of the printer and Autex panels) to provide guidance and answers to all print queries.

They also produce samples, drawings, quotes, Bill of Materials (BOMs), and communicate directly with the Autex sales team. The PC connects clients with our custom design and manufacturing services, creating additional value within the Autex offering.

The Print Consultant is required to print projects/samples first as their priority. The PC will also be trained as a Design Consultant in the background so that they may help the team with bespoke projects if there is no new print work to be done. The role is comprised of approximately 60% Print Consulting and 40% Design Consulting.

 Key Result Areas

 Print Consulting and Account Manager Support
- Work with Autex account managers to design, develop, and specify Autex product and provide what is needed for each project using technical expertise.

Manufacturing Support
- Work closely and collaboratively with Autex manufacturing and scheduling teams and learn the basics of the printer.
- Communicate job pre-requistes to account managers and production team.
- Create accurate and clear print/cut files: for the client to approve, for manufacturing to make, and for the internal scheduling team to understand. -
- Support manufacturing with sample organisation, trouble-shooting prints, and occasionally quality control.

Sampling Process
- Decide if/when a sample is necessary and producing simple and experimental samples as necessary.- Internal quality control
- Continually refine weekly print samples process to maximise efficiency and quality, working closely with scheduling and production.

Print Process Refinement
- Review and research ways to improve existing processes surrounding print (weekly print samples, scheduling, time/access to the printer, scalability, capacity, etc).
- Collaborate with manufacturing to minimize Cube waste and maximise Cube sheet usage
- Utilise expertise to revamp standard products as well as introduce new ranges/designs as requested by the market and the Product Development team.

Quality and Environmental
- Adhere to all requirements outlined within Autex’s Environmental Policy and Quality Policy.
- Understand individual role and responsibility in the achievement of ISO 14001 and ISO 9001.

Required Skills and Qualifications

- Graphic design, industrial design, or interior design qualification (diploma level or above).
- Previous large-format printer and/or print production experience would be desirable.

 Work Experience
- Adobe Creative Suite (specifically Photoshop and Illustrator) and other vector-based programmes.
- Intermediate computer literacy.
- Digital rendering skills.
- Experience with CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) to create and manipulate DWG & DXF files. SolidWorks, AutoCAD, Revit, etc
- Experience with CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) such as CNC machines, etc

 Candidate Attributes
- Self- motivated
- Proven high work standards and problem-solving.
- A results orientated focused work ethic.
- Team player – someone who works well as part of a team and can take feedback onboard.
- Detail orientated – reviews own work and is self-evaluating.

If you are interested, or would like a full position description, please email your CV and portfolio to Autex Design Consultant Lead Ellen Sorkin - esorkin@autex.co.nz

About Autex

 Here at Autex we have a clear vision:
“Recognised globally, we bring Kiwi ingenuity alive, in a sustainable way, to create products that inspire spaces where people come together”.

We always aim to maintain our position as industry leaders and to do this we must constantly adapt and evolve our products and our thinking. We are constantly exploring new markets and business opportunities, as well as finding creative and effective ways of adding more value to our current range of products through technical innovation.

 We create environments where success happens everyday! We do this both internally as well as externally, with our clients, suppliers, and global partners.

Connected Energy
We have high energy, we have a sense of urgency, we will be deliberate, confident, and committed in our work. We will be passionate about working hard but we will still remember to have fun, laugh loud and often, and connect with our colleagues.

 Culture of Thriving
We will continually strive for excellence. We will challenge each other, learn fast and think forward. We will ensure we are adding value to everything we do. We will bring our best and bring the best out in others.

Make it Possible
We will dream big, be bold, and be willing to find a way. We will work together and together we will not give up.

Truly Caring
Together we will support each other and genuinely look out for everyone we connect with including customers and suppliers. We will always act in kindness with empathy and sincerity. We will recognise each other’s strengths and motivators helping them to achieve their goals.