aiap women in design award

An initiative of ICoD Member Aiap (the Associazione italiana della comunicazione visuale or Italian association of visual communication design), the Aiap Women in Design Award (AWDA) is an international, biennial award dedicated to professional women designers, students, researchers and teachers working in the field of visual communication design.

Originally conceived of by designer Laura Moretti, and further developed in collaboration with designers Cinzia Ferrara and Daniela Piscitelli, the aim of the Aiap Women in Design Award is to understand and promote the little-known universe of women working in visual communication design and to investigate the languages, poetics and different approaches to graphic design which otherwise would not be brought to light.

Now in its sixth edition, AWDA is a biennial international award founded in Italy in 2012 and currently addressed to women visual communication designers worldwide. It aims to explore diverse languages, poetics, and approaches to design practice, as well as to map the working conditions of women designers.

The AWDA Award is open to all individuals who identify as women, regardless of sex assigned at birth, and any transition journeys.

Eligible projects include visual communication design works produced from 2023 to the present. Projects submitted within the terms specified in the call will be selected by an international jury composed of esteemed figures in the field of design.

Since 2019, AWDA has benefited from the Institutional Partnership of ICoD – International Council of Design, which supports and promotes the award internationally, recognising its significant social and ethical value.

Among the selected works deemed worthy of publication, the jury will award the AWDA 2026 Award to the winning woman graphic designer; three Honourable Mentions, one for each category; and any Special Mentions, where applicable. In addition, since 2023, the special prize AWDA for RIGHTS! has been introduced. This award is granted to the project, among all those selected by the jury, that most effectively addresses social issues related to women’s rights and labour, and more broadly, gender inequalities across all fields.

A Lifetime Achievement Award, which may also be awarded in memoriam, will be attributed by the Prize scientific committee to a national or international designer who has distinguished herself through her professional and research career and has made an authoritative contribution to the diffusion and growth of design culture within the field of visual communication design.