IN:SENSE Design Award 2027
IN:SENSE Design Award 2027 is an international sensory-design award covering objects, interiors, environments, interactive systems and creative research. Its central question is how a design is experienced through sound, touch, scent, light and bodily perception—not only how it looks. Entries are submitted online, with separate Student and General competitive groups.
The entry fee is not the entire potential cost: shortlisted entrants face a separate finalist review charge, followed by a published winner-package charge if applicable. No cash prize or implementation contract is announced in the reviewed 2027 award information.
Brief, scope and eligibility
| Item | Published requirements |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Recognize work in which sensory experience is a deliberate part of the design. |
| Objects and interiors | The Object & Sensation category includes furniture, everyday products, appliances, tactile interfaces and assistive devices. Space & Environment includes architectural and interior design, soundscapes, exhibitions, sensory wayfinding and therapeutic environments. |
| Other categories | Interaction & AI covers sensory interaction and technology; Art & Research includes creative practice, experimental concepts and design research. |
| Entrants | Student and General groups are evaluated separately. Student applicants must provide evidence of enrollment. The reviewed award overview does not state a universal age limit or nationality restriction. |
| Location and project status | Online international submission; no single project site. This is recognition of submitted design work, including experimental work in the relevant category, rather than a commission for a specified building or manufactured product. |
Registration, submission and results
| Stage | Date announced by the organizer |
|---|---|
| Early-bird entry | 28 September–15 November 2026 |
| Regular entry and final submission | 16 November 2026–31 January 2027; no separate earlier registration cutoff is listed. |
| Online preselection | Early February 2027 |
| Final jury session | Late February–mid-March 2027 |
| Results / winner gallery | April 2027 / May 2027 |
The organizer publishes calendar dates without a closing hour or time zone. The countdown below is therefore indicative: it assumes 31 January 2027 at 23:59 UTC, not a verified official cutoff. Complete registration, upload and payment ahead of the stated closing date.
Submission requirements
| Material or step | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Representative files | 1–4 JPG or PDF files; maximum 5 MB each. |
| Image proportions | For JPG: 16:9 landscape, with 3840 × 2160 px recommended; at least 1920 × 1080 px recommended. No physical board size is specified. |
| Optional audio | Up to 3 MP3 files, maximum 2 MB each. |
| Optional supporting documents | Up to 3 files, maximum 2 MB each; PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, TXT or ZIP. |
| Optional video | One YouTube URL. |
| Text and language | Provide a detailed explanation of the sensory approach. Account registration explicitly requires English; the reviewed award guide does not separately specify a submission-text word limit or language rule. |
| Submission route | Create an account on the official platform, choose the category, complete the entry form, upload materials and pay. Enrollment evidence is needed for the student rate. |
Fees and recognition
| Charge | Student (USD) | General (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Early-bird entry | 20 | 45 |
| Regular entry | 40 | 90 |
| Finalist review | 130 | 200 |
| Winner package | 40 | 80 |
These are the organizer’s published USD amounts, checked on 16 October 2026; no currency conversion is needed. If all three applicable charges are incurred, the early-bird total is USD 190 for a student or USD 325 for a General entrant; regular-entry totals are USD 210 and USD 370. These totals are ArchUp’s arithmetic, not an additional fee.
Published benefits include certificates, documentation on the award website and online exhibition. Possible future invitations depend on confirmed programs; they are not guaranteed travel support, paid work or a manufacturing budget. The terms state that no additional VAT is charged at checkout; bank and foreign-exchange costs normally fall to the payer.
Organizer, jury and assessment
IN:SENSE identifies AUDIAS Co., Ltd. as its operator and states that the platform was founded in 2025. Its stated focus is sensory and human-centered design. Earlier completed outcomes were not independently verified for this review; the founding date should not be read as evidence of a long delivery record.
The official jury page lists the following featured members and affiliations. It describes an evolving annual panel; a category-by-category allocation for the 2027 judging is not specified.
| Featured jury member | Published field or affiliation |
|---|---|
| Guanping Zheng | Media art; director, Center for Asian Studies, Middle Tennessee State University. |
| Changbeom Shin | Industrial design, Hanbat National University. |
| Tetsui Watanabe | Media art, Takarazuka University. |
| Jared Donovan | School of Design, Queensland University of Technology. |
| Hanyoung Doh | Industrial design, Hoseo University. |
| Jianhua Yang | Media, Qingdao University of Science and Technology; Future Imaging Laboratory, Zhejiang University. |
| Wangmi Seok | Craft and industrial design, Okayama Prefectural University. |
| Qiao Li (Joe) | Arts and Creative Industries, Edinburgh Napier University. |
| Sungho Yoon | Spatial design, Kookmin University. |
| Thai Dac Nguyen | Professor and vice dean, Arts and Design, Van Lang University. |
| Jun Nito | Culture and arts, Wayo Women’s University. |
| Fonita Theresia Yoliando | Art and Design, Universitas Multimedia Nusantara. |
| Seungyon-Seny Lee | Culture technology, SangMyung University. |
| Yusuke Shigeta | Media artist and lecturer, Joshibi University of Art and Design and Nihon University College of Art. |
| Mintaek Lim | Industrial design, Hoseo University. |
Five published criteria guide evaluation: sensory experience, idea and innovation, human relevance, design quality and execution, and impact and potential. Student and General groups share these criteria but do not compete directly. The organizer explicitly notes that using more senses does not automatically improve a score.
Rights and withdrawal
Entrants retain copyright. The terms grant the organizer a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license for award promotion and archiving, including editing and adaptation, for five years. Archival display of finalists and winners may continue indefinitely; media and exhibition partners may receive sublicenses for the same purposes. The terms also include a limited non-assertion of moral rights where lawful and credit where feasible.
An entry-fee refund is available within three calendar days of payment only if screening has not begun. Finalist and winner charges become non-refundable once the relevant invoice is issued; before invoice issuance, the stated refund window is three days from payment. Duplicate charges and processing errors are refundable. Entrants remain responsible for clearing third-party rights.
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The clearest design value lies in the connection between everyday objects and spatial experience. The stated categories can accommodate furniture, interior acoustics, tactile navigation or multisensory installations. For architectural entries, a convincing submission would explain who benefits and how the proposed experience is evaluated; attractive imagery alone cannot establish accessibility or therapeutic performance.
The published panel combines industrial design, spatial design, media art and academic research. That range is relevant to the brief, although the absence of a published category allocation limits conclusions about the specialist review any individual entry will receive.
This is primarily a recognition and portfolio opportunity. The staged fees deserve as much attention as the initial discount, and the broad promotional license warrants careful reading. Applicants seeking funded fabrication, a cash award or a guaranteed commission should not treat the listed exposure and invitations as substitutes.
Source note: official 2027 award overview, featured-jury page, About page and website Terms and Conditions, reviewed 16 October 2026. Committee interpretation is distinguished from the organizer’s published terms above.
Related competitions — Editors’ selection
For other approaches to inclusive product development and spatial design, see our coverage of the Stanford Center on Longevity Design Challenge and Design Circle’s Art Gallery Competition. These are related editorial references; consult each article’s dates before assuming participation remains open.
Entry closes 31 January 2027. Indicative countdown assumes 23:59 UTC; the organizer has not published a closing time or time zone, so the actual cutoff may differ.
