iF DESIGN AWARD Jury: A Look Behind the Scenes
With the first jury round of the iF DESIGN AWARD 2025 - the iF Online Preselection - we are already excited for the Final Jury in February in Hamburg! Take a closer look with us: What makes our jurors so special and what requirements do they have to fulfill?
For more than seven decades, iF Design has invited high profile design experts from all over the world to be part of the jury of the iF DESIGN AWARD. A total of 132 jurors from more than 20 countries will be part of the jury for the iF DESIGN AWARD 2025. Read below, why this is especially important.
What does it take to be a member of the iF Jury?
Our jurors have to understand which cultural influences stand for certain design criteria. They need the ability to distinguish it and have to have an intercultural understanding: A coffee mashine from Turkey might fulfill other design criteria than from the US. Usually, this is why we look for designers, who have international experience and worked in different regions or for companies all over the world.
It's all in the Details
They need a special eye for the smallest detail that makes a product an innovation and should be able to appreciate and award a future-driven design despite some weaknesses in its presentation. Apart from that, fairness in combination with respect for the work of colleagues is a major aspect. The ability for a responsible handling of each entry is a key characteristic as well.
Where to find these Jurors?
Great jurors who understand all above mentioned aspects of jury work, accept them and take part with curiosity, fun and fairness, are actually hard to find. The jury members have to reflect the countries, where the entries are coming from and be a mix of young and experienced.
iF Design does an intensive scouting by monitoring different media, visiting companies, studios and events as well as by asking former jurors for their recommendations. This is something we do right after the jury sessions because it's really important to us. After all, they know best what it takes to be a great juror and where to find them.
Profound Feedback: iF Scorecard makes it measurable
In hopes of providing a more detailed feedback for the participants, iF Design worked closely together with various design professionals to develop the iF Scorecard. Already used in 2021, it was the first time, the jurors had to deal with it at a physical jury round. And what a success it was! Because of the evaluation being divided into five different criteria (idea, form, function, differentiation, impact), it urged the jurors to have an even closer look at the entries, which led to some heated but productive discussions!