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Finalists of the National Design Award of Latvia 2025 announced

On June 3, 2025, the final jury of the National Design Award of Latvia 2025 announced this year's finalists. Out of 59 nominees, 21 entries made it to the final: six entries in the environmental design category, four entries each in the service, product, and communication design categories, and three digital solutions. The winners of each category, along with Grand Prix and the Emerging Designer Award, will be revealed at the National Design Award of Latvia 2025 awards ceremony on June 5, 2025 at 19:00, at Sporta iela 2A, Riga.

In total, 128 entries were submitted to the National Design Award of Latvia 2025. Of these, the selection jury shortlisted 59 for the second round of the competition, which were evaluated through in-depth discussions by the final jury during in-person sessions held in Riga on June 2 and 3. The final jury consisted of six experienced design professionals, including three international experts alongside Latvian representatives:

  • André Poulheim — product designer and founder of the German design studio «Noto»;
  • Maarja Mäemets — Estonian artist, designer, and curator; organiser of the Tallinn Applied Art Triennial;
  • Julius Seniūnas — Lithuanian architect and brand designer; co-founder of the studio «Praktika»;
  • Maija Rozenfelde — design director and partner at «KID Design», associate professor at the Art Academy of Latvia;
  • Reinis Leo Miķelsons — designer and architect, co-founder of the studio «Gateris Works»;
  • Ilze Grava — intellectual property expert representing the Latvian Patent Office.

Finalist evaluation will continue with their presentations on June 4, 2025 from 15:00 to 19:00 at the LIAA Representative Office of Creative Industries at Elizabetes iela 45–47 (4th floor), Riga. Afterwards, the final jury will resume discussions to determine the winners in each category, Grand Prix recipient that will be selected from among the category winners and the Emerging Designer Award winner. The competition will conclude with an awards ceremony on June 5, 2025 at 19:00 at Sporta iela 2A, Riga. Two special awards will also be presented by the Patent Office and «JCDecaux».

«The overall quality of applications was truly impressive, which led to in-depth discussions about who to include among the finalists. In evaluating the nominees, we aimed to uncover the various ways design holds power — whether through supporting culture, conveying meaningful messages to the world, or strengthening the economy. It was encouraging to see that some applications demonstrated a strong connection to cultural heritage, particularly Baltic and Latvian craft and art. We also tried to include a similar number of finalists in each category so the works could be fairly compared during the final presentations,»

commented jury expert André Poulheim.

PRODUCT DESIGN

  1. Lounger «Daydreamer». Author and contractor — «onlyonly studio».
  2. Chair for children «The Moon Chair». Author — Marks Litvjakovs. Contractor — «Wigiwama».

Emerging Designer Award

  1. Modular seating collection with hidden BDSM function «Randevú». Author Zanda Seņkova (supervisor – Ilze Gūtmane). Contractor – Riga Technical University.
  2. Ceramic Root Vegetable Containers «Džūkste». Author – Ādams Sūna. Contractor – MIKC Riga School of Design and Art.

SERVICE DESIGN

  1. Traveling Collection — Workshop «Do Cats Cry?». Authors – SIA Kolektīvs, Ilze Kalnbērziņa-Prā un Zane Zajančkauska. Contractor – Pauls Stradins Museum of the History of Medicine.
  2. Riga Street Typology Guidebook. Authors – Riga City Architect's Service in collaboration with RUUME architects, IE.LA engineers, "Reflect" and others. Contractor –Riga State City Municipality.
  3. Optimisation of the range «House Family» and communication design for Dores. Authors – «Overpriced», «Gateris Works». Contractor: Dores.

Emerging Designer Award

  1. Project «Rāndalist. Livonian Myths». Authors – Una Anna Dakne. Contractor – The Art Academy of Latvia.

COMMUNICATION DESIGN

  1. Campaign «Disease Destroys, Hope Heals!». Author – MAGIC. Contractor – Latvian Public Media (LSM).
  2. Visual Identity of the Latvian National History Museum. Author – KID Design. Contractor – The National History Museum of Latvia.
  3. Visual Identity for «Lampa–10». Authors – Ausme, Deep White, Valters Kalsers. Contractor – Conversation festival LAMPA.

Emerging Designer Award

  1. Book «The Kardashev Scale». Author – Elīza Roberta Āķīte. Contractor –The Art Academy of Latvia.

ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

  1. Audiovisual exhibition «The Living Glove». Author – Design Studio «Overpriced». Contractor – Cēsu museum, Association "Cimdu ceļš".
  2. Interactive installation-playground for children «Playground Stage». Authors – Linda Vigdorčika and Renāte Lagzdiņa. Contractor – Valmiera Regional Municipality.
  3. «Exhibition. Some Encounters Between Imagination and Matter.». Authors – Andris Eglītis, Aleksejs Beļeckis, Liene Pavlovska, Una Grants. Contractor – Organization SAVĀ VAĻĀ.
  4. Repurposing the Technical Buildings of the Tobacco Factory for the Needs of the Latvian Academy of Culture. Author – Architectural studio «NRJA». Contractor – VAS «Valsts nekustamie īpašumi», Latvian Academy of Culture.
  5. «Izstāde. Pēcnāves dzīve. Piemiņas prakses un muzejs». Authors – Rihards Funts, architectural studio «Gaiss», Kirils Kirasirovs, Kristīne Liniņa, Kaspars Vanags. Contractor – Pauls Stradins Museum of the History of Medicine.

Emerging Designer Award

  1. Three solutions for furnishing unused spaces «Vide!». Author – Pauls Rietums. Contractor – École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.

DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

  1. Riga State City Municipality Geographical Information System «Geo Riga». Authors – Geomatics Administration of the Department of Urban Development, Riga City Municipality. Contractor – Riga City Municipality Urban Development Department.
  2. Prototype of the New e-Health Citizen Portal. Authors – Asteroid, Mobilly, ZZ Dats. Contractor – National Health Service. 

    Emerging Designer Award
  3. Website «Raižplēsis». Authors – Jānis Kokarevičs and Elīna Pavlova (work director Maija Rozenfelde and Markus Rožkalns). Contractor – The Art Academy of Latvia.

Upcoming NDAL 2025 final events

LDGB 2025 Finalist Presentations

4. June, 15:00–19:00 at the Representative office of Creative industries, Elizabetes iela 45–47 (4th floor), Riga.

National Design Award of Latvia 2025 Awards Ceremony

5 June, 19:00 Advance registration is required to attend the ceremony. Register here.

Design Open Doors Day  

6 June — all day long — Design studios, agencies, and manufacturers will open their doors to visitors. 

The National Design Award of Latvia is the highest recognition in the field of design in Latvia. Its mission is to identify, evaluate, and promote the achievements of Latvian designers, encourage the use of locally created design, and foster the development of the design industry. The award was established in 2017 with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Latvia. Until June 2025, it is organised by the Latvian Design Centre. 

Latvian Design Centre is a member of the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA) and an official partner of the European Commission's New European Bauhaus Initiative. Latvian Design Centre is involved in design policy making, research and education, and initiates cooperation and strategic partnerships with other design organizations, designers, companies and design users. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, Latvian Design Centre maintains the creative industry communication platform FOLD.

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