ABOUT
Loved by the design industry since its inception in 2015, the [d]arc awards celebrate global lighting design excellence.
Organised by [d]arc media, publishers of arc magazine, the [d]arc awards are built on the publication’s long-standing reputation as the world’s most respected and widely read lighting design magazine.
For more than a decade, the [d]arc awards have recognised outstanding lighting design across commercial, hospitality, residential, arts, public realm and other sectors. From high-profile, high-budget projects to smaller schemes, the awards are designed to give every entry a fair chance of being recognised.
At the heart of the [d]arc awards is our peer-to-peer voting system, with all entries voted for by fellow independent lighting designers and design industry professionals. It’s an approach that puts the industry at the centre of the awards, creating a platform that is open, engaging and, above all, fair.
And it’s not just the awards themselves that have become a highlight of the design calendar. Working alongside creative consultants Light Collective, over the past decade we’ve created an awards night that is as much about bringing the industry together as it is about recognising its achievements - a night filled with inspiration, celebration, creativity and plenty of fun.
THE CATEGORIES
The [d]arc awards features 9 project categories and 4 product categories, ensuring all areas of lighting design and specification are covered.
For the next chapter of the [d]arc awards we have revised our project categories, with the aim of offering even more opportunities for design studios to enter and projects to be judged on an even fairer platform. And for products, we have four categories covering all areas of design.
PROJECTS
Focus: Environments designed for comfort, entertainment and relaxation.
Sectors: Hotels, bars, restaurants, nightclubs, spas, wellness centres, private houses, residential towers.
Focus: Spaces built around product presentation, consumer experience and brand storytelling.
Sectors: Retail stores, shopping malls, showrooms, brand experience centres.
Focus: Indoor spaces balancing human wellness, focus, flexible collaboration and circadian health.
Sectors: Commercial offices, corporate headquarters, co-working spaces, student campuses, libraries.
Focus: Sensitive, conservation-grade illumination for historic architecture and art preservation.
Sectors: Museums, public art galleries, historic monuments, cathedrals, temples, heritage landmarks.
Focus: Municipal and transit environments requiring intense wayfinding and industrial durability.
Sectors: Airports, train stations, subways, transport hubs.
PRODUCTS
Focus: Outdoor public spaces designed to balance human night-time safety, pedestrian scale and ecological night sky preservation.
Sectors: Public parks, municipal plazas, civic squares, pedestrian streets, boulevards, botanical gardens.
Focus: Permanent structural shells, engineering marvels and exterior canvases that use light for urban storytelling.
Sectors: Skyscraper facades, sports stadia, bridges, integrated dynamic media screens.
Focus: Permanent or temporary installations or artistic concepts where light is the primary material used to craft a narrative.
Sectors: Festivals of light, guerrilla lighting, workshops, light art installations, bespoke light sculptures.
Focus: High-impact lighting schemes achieved under severe financial constraints, emphasising creative resourcefulness, minimalist fixture counts and recycled or low-cost materials.
Sectors: Community-led neighbourhood installations, independent local storefronts, grassroots gallery spaces, low budget architectural facade enhancements.
• Projects and Products must have completed / launched between 1st January and 31st December 2026.
• Projects can only be entered into one of the 9 new categories. Once all entries have been submitted, voters will compare like-for-like categories when making their final selections.
• Entries must include a description and supporting images / video content.
For full requirements head to our dedicated entry page and upload your projects and products today!
ENTERING THE AWARDS
The [d]arc awards are open to all. Anyone involved in a project or product can enter. Once the entry period closes, the independent design community vote for their favourites to pick their winners!
The [d]arc awards are now open for entries until 17 January 2027. Once all entries have been checked and verified, it's over to the design community to cast their votes.
All independent lighting designers, architects, interior designers, and product designers are eligible to vote for their favourite projects and products.
All votes are verified and removed if necessary; we are passionate about upholding our position as the only peer-to-peer lighting design awards in the world. Cost to Enter£200 + VAT per entry - early-bird rate ends 12 November£250 + VAT per entry 13 November onwards Full entry criteria below.
1 OCTOBER
17 JANUARY
5 FEBRUARY
19 FEBRUARY
24 MARCH
1 OCTOBER
17 JANUARY
5 FEBRUARY
19 FEBRUARY
24 MARCH
• Projects and Products must have completed / launched between 1st January and 31st December 2026.
• Projects can only be entered into one of the 9 new categories. Once all entries have been submitted, voters will compare like-for-like categories when making their final selections.
• Entries must include a description and supporting images / video content.
For full requirements head to our dedicated entry page and upload your projects and products today!
AWARDS NIGHT
Join us for the[d]arc awards on Wednesday 24 March 2027 at Old Billingsgate in London.
Following the peer-to-peer voting process, we will reveal all the [d]arc awards winners at Old Billingsgate, London.
[d]arc awards is an annual gathering of the international lighting and design community at an iconic venue in London and one not to be missed.
HOW TO ATTEND
SUPPLIERSTo attend the [d]arc awards you must buy a table (seats 10) or an individual ticket.
DESIGNERSAttend as a guest of a supplier or buy an individual ticket.
