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

The Best Design 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, Public 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 2023 winners on the Best Awards site.

The Best Design Awards 2024 campaign was created by the team at Extended Whānau.

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

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

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

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

Architect and adjunct professor of architecture Rewi Thompson (Te Aitanga a Hauiti, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, 1953-2016) saw architecture as an act of imagination generated by the land, an opportunity to create post-colonial possibilities that were fundamentally connected to place.

Rewi and his work profoundly influenced a generation of architects in Aotearoa. Trained as a structural engineer in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington before he went to architecture school at the University of Auckland, Rewi was as comfortable with the pragmatics of structure as he was with the possibilities of the architectural imagination. His award-winning graduation project, the Ngāti Pōneke Marae, envisioned a building in which the traditional functions of a marae were stacked vertically in a structure that rose from the waters of Wellington Harbour and rested on the side of Tangi-te-keo Mount Victoria.

Originally trained as an engineer at Wellington Polytechnic, Rewi subsequently studied architecture at the University of Auckland before establishing his own practice in 1983. Notable projects include the Wiri State Housing precinct (1986-1989, now demolished), canopies at the Ōtara Town Centre (1987), Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington’s City to Sea Bridge (1990-1994), and Puukenga, the School of Māori Studies at Unitec in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland (1991). His own home in Tāmaki Makaurau’s Kohimarama (1985) presents a blank ply face to the street – evidence of what Rewi’s inventive vision could raise into reality, a design that still asks provocative questions about the nature of suburban land occupation.

Other drawings from Rewi’s archives at the University of Auckland feature prismatic buildings on water containing a Tyrannosaurus rex, coiled structures in the Waitematā, and totemic bridges surrounded by birds swirling through a sunset sky. These dreamscapes – imagined and real, buildable and less so – are a manifestation of architectural possibility, collectively showing how Māori design concepts should never be locked in associations with the past but can generate a vision of a positive post-colonial future.

Rewi advocated for the prioritisation and enactment of mātauranga Māori into the fields of architecture and design and acquainted a generation of students with these concepts in his teaching. He was appointed an adjunct professor at the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning in 2002, where his thinking continues to resonate today. He was also instrumental in the development of Te Pare (The Threshold), a culturally responsive curriculum.

Although sadly missed, he leaves us a kete (repository) of remarkable buildings, influential graduates and profound ideas.

He imagined a national museum reaching out into the waters of Wellington Harbour

And a vertical marae leaning on the slopes of Mt Victoria Tangi te Keo

He dreamed of giant submersible structures in the Waitematā, of bridges held aloft by giant totemic forms, of double-X skyscrapers and prismatic buildings for T Rexes

He designed a tent for an actual Pope

A school to nurture students of Te Reo Māori

And psychiatric institutions that placed cultural connection at their hearts

His work on Wellington's City to Sea Bridge played an indelible part in reshaping that city's identity.

He created a unique Pacific sense of place with his canopies in the Ōtara Town Centre

While his own home in Tāmaki spoke of the turbulence that came with the colonisation of this beautiful place. 

The late architect Rewi Thompson is the recipient of this year's Black Pin. 

As well as the incredible projects, real and imagined, that we've already mentioned, he gave a generation of Māori, Pasifika and Tauiwi students the tools to engage with Māori design principles, a legacy that continues to echo through Aotearoa today.  

Rewi died in 2016 but is far from forgotten. His many achievements are highlighted in Rewi: Ata haere, kia tere, the book we made about his work with Extended Whanau last year. 

Tonight we celebrate Rewi's work, his collaborative nature, and his far-sighted approach to the possibilities of this country's future. 

All Recipients

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

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.

Best Design Awards Annual Book 2021

The Best Design Awards Annual 2021 is here and now open for orders!

At long last we're excited to announce sales are open for the Best Awards Annual 2021, proudly presented by the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ).

Don't miss out on securing your bit of design history. The Annual 2021 proudly gives every winning project it's own page. The Best Annual 2021 proudly gives every winning project it's own page!

The Annual is specially edge-printed, and features a section-sewn lay flat binding so it opens flat and stays flat. Beautifully offset printed, and spanning 735 pages, this chunky purple book gives every medal-winning project it's own page.

This year, DINZ are selling the Annual for $75.00 NZD in order to help cover cost of the production. With a limited edition print-run, don't miss out on securing your block of design history.

Thanks Seachange 💜

Click HERE to order

Back Order Best Book 2020

If you missed out on the Best Annual 2020 edition we have a few copies available to order and add to your library. 

Click HERE to order

DINZ 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.

DINZ Podcast Series

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

D.Cast Episodes

DINZ Video Series

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.

DINZ Check-in

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

DINZ Student Council

Today’s design students are tomorrow’s industry professionals. That’s why the DINZ Student Council exists. Its twelve 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

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

DINZ Student Council Podcast

Designer Jobs & Studio Spaces

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

Gladeye/Designers

Gladeye are on the look out for designers to join their team. Here are the general things Gladeye are looking for:

Good values, high integrity, wide circle of empathy (not necessarily high-EQ) and collaborative.

A good mind for creative concepts and a careful eye for design detail, as evidenced by a strong portfolio of commercial and/or personal work that they can speak to.

This should include digital examples but doesn’t need to be exclusively digital. Enthusiasm, curiosity and openness to new things.

Energised by learning and change. Ideally they're excited about generative AI and already exploring it as a tool.

We'll consider designers who are more conceptual e.g. creative storytelling; more visual e.g. graphic, motion, design systems; or more structural, e.g. UX, digital product.

We try not to put people in boxes unless that’s where they’re most comfortable, and love people who are able to think beyond their specialty.

A determination to do world class work and the committed attitude required to achieve this. We like to empower people who want to make a positive impact on the world through their work.

Location can be flexible but strong preference for Auckland-based and expectation of 2+ days/week in our beautiful studio.

If this oppurtunity jumps out at you, please contact the team at Gladeye for further information at .

Cactuslab

Position: Junior Designer/Front-End Developer

Cactuslab’s team is growing and we are looking for a keen junior designer / front-end developer. Ideally you will have had a solid start to your career, with a portfolio of work, while being interested in growing your skills and learning new technologies.

Key responsibilities:

Visual design concepts for websites, apps and other media as appropriate;

Front-end development for websites, including HTML, CSS (and JS where possible);

CMS integration;

Maintenance tasks on older websites, including basic CMS integration changes;

Any other related duties.

Required Skills:

Good working knowledge of HTML and CSS

Skill in designing user interfaces, websites and/or apps

Familiarity with UI design tools (such as Figma or Sketch)

Experience templating for content management systems

Basic programming skills in a language such as React, JSP, PHP etc preferred

About Cactuslab

Cactuslab is an independent software development and design studio founded in 2001 in Auckland, New Zealand, specialising in full function websites and apps.

We build websites and full (or hybrid) mobile apps with the ethos that there should be no compromise between form and function. We bring to each project a long-term strategic mindset, a thorough understanding of appropriate technology, a commitment to quality, a focus on humans and a relentless eye for detail.

Located in High Street, Auckland, Cactuslab offers a warm, welcoming environment and the opportunity to work on a variety of interesting projects and technologies.

Contact tyler@cactuslab.com for more information.

IAG

Have meaningful impact as a Senior Graphic Designer.

Join the largest general insurance group in Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia.

Mō te Tūranga | About the Role

Join our vibrant internal creative team as a senior graphic designer and help our brands shine! You’ll support marketing, communications, and the wider business by creating an exceptional creative and design thinking across multiple channels including exhibition design, promotional design, OOD, Digital, EDM, Video, Social and more. Your role involves interpreting briefs, crafting high-quality concepts, and ensuring every detail is perfect.

You’ll work closely with the lead creative and the creative services team to deliver impactful designs that drive retention, growth, and enhance the customer brand experience. If you’re passionate about design and eager to make a significant impact, this is the perfect opportunity for you!

This is a permanent full-time opportunity with hybrid working conditions and is open to our IAG offices in Wellington and Auckland.

Ōu Pūkenga | About You

In order to be successful in this role, you’ll ideally meet the below criteria

- 5+ years of experience in a Designer/Senior Designer role within a creative agency or internal creative team
- Proven track record of delivering effective campaigns across digital, OOH, EDM, Web, and social channels that drive business results
- Strong time management and communication skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and work collaboratively.
- Expertise in Adobe Suite/Creative Cloud applications.
- Degree in graphic design or related fields, with knowledge of UX/UI best practices and Figma software preferred.

For more information or to apply:  https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4048769474/