The submission of entries to the National Design Award of Latvia 2026 (NDAL) takes place on the competition website, where the application form is available. Entries may be submitted if they have been created since January 2023. These may include projects implemented in Latvia regardless of the nationality of their authors, as well as projects implemented anywhere else in the world, provided that the country of origin of the author is Latvia. Entries may be submitted either by the author or by another person associated with the work, such as its owner or commissioner. Submitters may be both natural and legal persons, including public administration institutions, municipalities, educational institutions, companies, organisations, and others.
Evaluation process
Entries submitted to the National Design Award of Latvia (NDAL) are evaluated in two rounds. In the first round the evaluation jury izvērtē attiecīgajā pieteikšanās periodā saņemtos darbus un izvirza nominantus dalībai konkursa nākošajā kārtā. Otrajā kārtā starptautiska fināla žūrija izvērtē nominantus un izvirza finālistus, kā arī lemj par katras kategorijas uzvarētāju un Latvijas Dizaina gada balvas Grand Prix un «Jaunā dizainera» titula ieguvējiem. Konkursa otrā kārta noslēgsies ar Dizaina gada balvas pasniegšanu 2026. gada 21. maijā. Precīzi norises laiki tiks laicīgi izziņoti LDGB vietnē.
Evaluation criteria
The evaluation of the entries for the National Design Award of Latvia will take into account the design objectives and action lines defined in the Latvian Design Strategy 2022-2027, as well as the values of the European Commission's New European Bauhaus initiative. The evaluation of the entries will be based on the following quality criteria:
- originality and creativity of the idea,
- the defined problem and task(s), and the chosen solutions to solve the problem,
- co-creation, stakeholder involvement and cooperation in the work process,
- functionality and technological solution,
- aesthetics and other dimensions of quality of experience,
- economic relevance, sustainability, and circularity,
- social relevance, inclusion, availability and accessibility.
Pieteikt darbu LDGB 2026 iespējams vēl līdz 5. aprīlim. Plašāka informācija par konkursu, tā nolikums un pieteikuma forma — LDGB website.
The competition application procedure foresees the possibility for authors or commissioners to submit entries in two periods — autumn and winter — thereby making the application process more convenient and structuring the evaluation. During the autumn application session, a total of 53 submissions were received, and the selection jury nominated 29 entries for the next round of the competition, including five submissions by emerging designers. The highest number of nominees — 11 in total — is in the Product Design category. This is followed by the Communication Design and Environmental Design categories, with six nominees each. Four digital solutions and two service design entries have also been advanced to the next round.
Par LDGB 2026
The National Design Award of Latvia is a national-level award in design aimed at identifying, evaluating, and promoting the most outstanding achievements of Latvian designers, thereby fostering the development of the Latvian design sector. The competition was established in 2017 with the support of the Ministry of Culture, and from 2026 to 2028 it is organised by the Latvian Design Centre.
The Latvian Design Centre is a member of the Bureau European Design Associations (BEDA) and an official partner of the European Commission's strategic initiative "A New Bauhaus for Europe". The Latvian Design Centre participates in national design policy-making, research and education by initiating cooperation and strategic partnerships with other design organisations, designers, companies and design users. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Latvian Design Centre maintains the creative industries communication platform FOLD.