Join us in applauding our future designers
Each year we celebrate the incredible creativity, innovation and hard work of our graduating students with a series of special awards. These awards not only honour outstanding individual achievements but also highlight emerging talent across various disciplines within the School of Design and Creative Arts.
Our 2026 Degree Show Awards
- Excellence in Graphic Design Innovation Award – awarded to projects with great commercial potential
- Excellence in Fine Art Innovation Award – awarded to projects with great commercial potential
- Excellence in Product Design Innovation Award – awarded to projects with great commercial potential
- Excellence in Textile Design Innovation Award – awarded to projects that explore innovation in materials, application or user engagement
- Commercial Application in Textiles Award – awarded to projects that successfully articulate design for a commercial customer
- Sustainable Approach in Textiles Award – awarded to projects that engage strongly with sustainable design principles
- Excellence in Digital Experience Design – awarded to a project displaying strong digital experience that must be clear and user‑centred, creatively innovative, and executed with cohesive, high‑quality design
- Excellence in Physical Experience Design – awarded to a project displaying successful physical design delivering a thoughtful human experience, uses materials intelligently, and communicates its purpose with clarity and impact
- Excellence in Service Experience Design – awarded to a project with strong service design that clearly frames the problem through insight, delivers seamless end‑to‑end journeys, and proves its real‑world value and feasibility
- Excellence in Spatial Experience Design – awarded to a project with compelling spatial design shaping how people feel and move, responds intelligently to its context, and tells a clear, immersive story through well‑crafted spatial decisions
- Excellence in Climate Change & Net Zero Design Award – awarded to a strong environmentally responsible project that shows real climate understanding, applies sustainable strategies with intent, and demonstrates scalable, ethical impact
- Innovative Prototyping Award – awarded to projects that has recognised effectiveness in design evaluation, materials, energy, sustainability, and related technologies (a combination of)
- Excellence in Manufacturable Product Design – awarded to a project designed to be produced reliably, at scale, and without unnecessary cost
- Excellence in Sustainable Product Design – awarded to a project designed to minimise environmental harm and maximise environmental benefit
- Excellence in Innovative Industrial Design – awarded to a project designed as a new or transformed product with potential to realise or redistribute value
- Excellence in Manufacturable Industrial Design – awarded to a project designed to be produced reliably, at scale, and without unnecessary cost
- Excellence in Beautiful Industrial Design – awarded to a project designed to create beauty for the senses
- Excellence in Sustainable Industrial Design – awarded to a project designed to minimise environmental harm and maximise environmental benefit
- Graphic Design for Social Value Award – awarded to projects that are most clearly responding to mitigating a key societal issue of the future
- Excellence in Image Making Award – awarded to projects that are clearly excelling in animation, illustration and graphic design
- Excellence in Film & Animation Award – awarded to projects that show excellent film and animation skills
- Edward Sharp Prize – student’s work is purchased through the prize fund and will become part of the University’s collection and be displayed around the University campus as agreed with the Vice-Chancellor’s Office
- Yanina Temple Colour Award – Yanina Temple was an Art & Design Foundation Tutor who specialised in Textiles & Fashion for 30 years, she was an enthusiastic supporter of the mixing, exploration and use of colour, she never wore black and loved colour in all its forms. She retired in September 2020. This award is in her honour and those chosen for this award demonstrate her same passion for colour
- John Mack Materials Award – awarded for creative experimentation and engagement with diverse materials and workshop processes
- Diverse Voices in Textiles – this award pays tribute to distinguished textile practitioners who have otherwise been under-represented within curriculums and the history of textiles. This award serves to recognise an individual textile design finalist who is Black, Asian or from another racialised minority; someone who identifies with the LGBTQI+ community; a person living with a disability, or individuals who are tackling broader social and cultural contexts of the discipline through a critical approach to textiles practice.
- Rosy-Chetwyn Award – awarded in memory of Rosy, one of our Textiles technicians who sadly passed away too young. This award honours someone who reflects her values of joy, positivity and colour
Our Sponsored Awards
- Potclays Award – awarded for innovative use of materials, exemplary design and planning skills originality of final work
- Leicester Print Workshop Award – an award that supports and recognises graduating printmakers
- Modern Painters New Decorators Award – an award that recognises innovation and creativity and exceptional artwork
- Birmingham Design Festival Award – an award that recognises work that is championing, supporting or inspiring the creative community
- GF Smith Award – an award that recognises projects that show innovative use of paper alongside print
- Ken Eason Human Centered Design Award – awarded to strong projects that are holistically framed, grounded in early user involvement, guided by sound design principles, evaluated rigorously, and results in a practical, effective outcome for real users. In memory of Professor Ken Eason
- The Conran Award for Design Improving the Quality of ALL Life – awarded by Professor Sebastian Conran of the Conran Foundation to projects whose standout design is original, aspirational yet accessible, genuinely useful, and responsibly impactful for people and the wider world
Congratulations to our award winners
Graphic Design BA (Hons)
Thank you to Bulletproof Design Agency, The One Off, Some Bright Spark and Of a Kind, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following awards:
Design for Social Value Award: Abby Mackelworth
Excellence in Image Making Award: Mae Low
Innovation Award for Graphic Design: Holly Waterhouse
Film & Animation Award: Joseph Smith
Birmingham Design Festival Award Winners – Finn Mayhew & Holly Hudson
GF Smith Award Winner – Kitty Jewson
Design BA (Hons)
Thank you to Sainsbury’s, Priestman Goode, NEC Digital Studios and Howdens, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following awards:
Excellence in Digital Experience Design – Alisha Howard
Excellence in Physical Experience Design – Eleanor Capeling
Excellence in Climate Change & Net Zero Design Award – Diani Flower
Excellence in Service Experience Design – Thea Hunt
Excellence in Spatial Experience Design – Imogen Taylor
Industrial Design BA (Hons)
Thank you to Joseph Joseph, FSW, Royal College of Art and DCA Design, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following awards:
Excellence in Innovative Industrial Design – Tom Llewellyn
Excellence in Manufacturable Industrial Design – Alev Giray
Excellence in Beautiful Industrial Design – Anthony Peche
Excellence in Sustainable Industrial Design – Millie Hart
Product Design & Technology BSc
Thank you to Dyson, Cambridge Research Systems, JLR and P&G Gilette, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following awards:
Excellence in Innovative Prototyping – Luke Gregorian
Excellence in Product Design Innovation – Naseema Malik
Excellence in Manufacturable Product Design – Gargi Agrawalla
Excellence in Sustainable Product Design – Rosanne Roberts
The Conran Award for Design Improving the Quality of ALL Life Winners
Ken Eason Human Centered Design Award Winners
Textile Design BA (Hons)
Thank you to A.W.Hainsworth, Priestman Goode and Anstey Wallpaper, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following awards:
Excellence in Textile Design Innovation Award – Hannah Bennison
Commercial Application in Textiles Award – Alice Taylor
Sustainable Approach in Textiles Award – Neve Mills
Diverse Voices in Textiles Award Winners
Diverse Voices (Highly Commended)
Edward Sharp Prize Winner – Amelia Dittmann
Rosy Chetwynd-Appleton Award Winner – Lola Bate
Potclays Highly Commended – Sian Brewin
Fine Art BA (Hons)
Thank you to CVAN East Midlands, Charnwood Arts and Phil Hackett, who contributed towards choosing the nominees for the following award:
Excellence in Fine Art Innovation Award – Elise Symes
Leicester Print Workshop Award Winner – Edie Sturrock
Modern Painters, New Decorators Award Winner – Kaela Galliford
Potclays Award Winner – Tayla Harding
Potclays Highly Commended – Katie Turner
Edward Sharp Prize Winner – Zarah Mangera
Access Group Award Winner – Lottie Hughes
Art and Design Foundation Studies
Yanina Temple Colour Award Winners
John Mack Materials Award Winners
Foundation Award 2026 Winner – Asmi Bhatia
Explore our design programmes and discover how you can become a part of our vibrant community of future designers by visiting our website.
We look forward to celebrating with you again next year!