2025 Design Excellence Awards

DEA

Rules & Regulations

2025 Design Excellence Awards Competition Presented by ASID New Jersey Chapter

The 2025 DEA is sponsored by the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. By entering this competition, You – the Entrant - represent and warrant that you have read, understand, and agree to these Official Rules including but not limited to, the Competition Rules, Regulations and Eligibility Guidelines, Competition Entrant Terms and Conditions, Indemnification Requirements and Release as set forth below. These Official Rules will form a binding agreement between the Chapter and the Entrant.

Please refer to the category-specific rules and regulations in the Downloadable Files section to the right for detailed information on the following categories:

• Commercial
• Residential
• Historic Preservation
• Student
• Industry Partner

 

Key Dates and Details for the 2025 Design Excellence Awards

 

Competition Timeline

• Registration and Submission Period: January 21-April 14, 2025
• Early Bird Registration: January 21-February 25, 2025
• Judging Period: April 21-May 13, 2025
• Awards Gala: Winners announced on June 11, 2025

Entry Fees

• ASID, Allied, Associate, Affiliate, Firm Partners, and Industry Partners:
  • Early Bird Fees (January 21-February 25)
    • First entry: $125
    • Additional Entries: $100 each
  • Regular Fees:
    • First entry: $150
    • Additional Entries: $125 each
• Student Members:
  • First Entry: $25 each
  • Additional Entries: $10 each

Important Rules

• There is no waiting period between registering and submitting entries.
• All entry information must be complete and submitted by April 14, 2025.
• Entry fees are non-refundable and non-transferable.

 

Eligibility Requirements

 

Membership and Age

• Open to all ASID Members of the New Jersey Chapter who are:
  • In good standing.
  • Eighteen years or older.

Project Ownership

• If the Entrant is employed by a firm or part of a team, they must be the primary interior designer on record for the project.
• Entrants must be the lead designer on the project. This means:
  • No other designer(s), architects(s), or builder(s) can claim the project as their own.
  • Retail stores and franchises are eligible only if the Entrant is the lead designer of the original concept.
  • Exception: For IP Product Entries, an ASID NJ Industry Partner may collaborate with an ASID NJ Designer Member.

Industry Partner Requirement

• Projects must involve at least two (2) Local, Regional, or National ASID Industry Partner (IP) Members.
• Industry Partners must be current members or have been members at the time the project was completed.
• Include all Industry Partners used in the project submission.

Previous Awards

• Only projects that have not previously won an ASID NJ Design Excellence Award are eligible.

Category Assignment

• ASID NJ reserves the right to reassign a project to the appropriate category if necessary.

 

Disqualification Criteria

 

Identification of Entrant or Collaborators

• Any information identifying the Entrant’s name, logo, or collaborating party in the project description, images, or drawings will result in disqualification, except:
  • For commercial projects where the client’s logo is permitted.
  • In IP Categories where logos are allowed.

Ownership Challenges

• If another designer, architect, builder, or vendor challenges the Entrant’s ownership of the design:
  • The Chapter will investigate the claim.
  • If evidence shows the Entrant is not the lead designer, the award will be rescinded.

Industry Partner Requirement

• Entries that do not identify and utilize at least two (2) ASID Industry Partners will be disqualified.

Submission Requirements

• All entries must include:
  • A complete furniture floor plan with:
    • Architectural scale clearly identified.
    • Total square footage indicated (for submissions with multiple rooms, include the total square footage of the project).
  • Missing square footage will result in disqualification.

Prohibited Submissions

• Computer-rendered images, elevations, or sketches are not allowed (except for student entries).
• Only photographs of physically installed projects are permitted.
• Submissions of previously winning entries or images from past ASID NJ Design Excellence Awards will not be considered.

Image Restrictions

• The same image may not appear in more than two categories.

 

Prizes/Scoring

 

Award Levels

• Gold Award: Minimum score of 93.
• Silver Award: Minimum score of 85.
• Bronze Award: Minimum score of 77.

Winners per Category

• One winner per level in each category, except in the case of a numerical tie.

Score Range

• Scores for each submission range from 0 to 100 points.
• Projects must meet the minimum score in their category to qualify for an award.

Judges’ Decisions

• All decisions made by the judges are final and binding.

Award Announcements

• Winners will be announced at the Design Excellence Awards event on June 11, 2025.

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Additional Rules

1. All federal, state, and local laws apply. If any rule contained in these Official Rules is declared illegal or invalid, the remaining rules shall remain in full force and effect.
2. Chapter reserves the right to disqualify any entries that do not comply with this Agreement.
3. Entry fees are not refundable or transferable.
4. Personal information provided in connection with this Competition and/or this Agreement will be collected by the Chapter and used in accordance with the Chapter’s online privacy policy. In addition, to the extent you provide the Chapter with personally identifying information via any third-party, you may also be subject to the terms and conditions of such third-party’s Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.
5. No failure by Chapter to take any action or assert any right hereunder shall be deemed a waiver of such right. No waiver of any right shall be deemed a waiver of any succeeding breach of the same or any other provision hereof.
6. It is the sole responsibility of the entrant to follow all terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules. Any entry which does not adhere to these Official Rules will be subject to disqualification.
7. If any dispute arises out of or relating to this Competition and/or these Official Rules, the parties will first attempt to settle the dispute by internal discussions. If internal negotiations do not resolve the dispute within 60 days, the claim shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. All arbitration decisions are binding on both parties.

COMPETITION ENTRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INDEMNIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND RELEASE

By entering the 2025 Design Excellence Competition, Entrant represents and warrants as follows:

1. Entrant understands and agrees that by entering, these OFFICIAL RULES (including but not limited to the COMPETITION RULES, REGULATIONS & ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES and THE COMPETITION ENTRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INDEMNIFICATION AND RELEASE) shall become a binding agreement between the Entrant and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers. The Chapter strongly suggests that you, the Entrant, review this agreement with your attorney before you enter.
2. Entrant is the designer of this project. Entrant agrees that no other person or entity may claim this design as their own, and that Entrant has not submitted this design on behalf of anyone else.
3. Entrant agrees to abide by the judge’s decision as final. Entrant understands that any false or misleading information provided by the Entrant will result in disqualification from this Competition.
4. Chapter is not responsible for:
   1. Late, lost, or incomplete entries.
   2. Any telephone, electronic hardware or software program, network, internet or computer malfunctions, failures, or difficulties.
   3. Any errors in transmission.
   4. Any condition caused by events beyond the control of Chapter that may cause the Competition to be disrupted or corrupted.
   5. Any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from acceptance of any prize, or from participation in the Competition.
   6. Any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Competition.
   All materials submitted by the Entrant become the property of the Chapter and will not be returned.
5. Should Entrant’s design be chosen as a prize-winning award, Entrant agrees to allow (and to cause the property owner where the project is located to allow) professional photography of the winning project to be used for future marketing, promotional, public relations, or educational purposes. In addition, and except where prohibited by law, Entrant’s entry constitutes permission from Entrant to allow the Chapter, the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc., and their respective media and agency partners to use, without additional compensation, Entrant’s name(s), workplace/business information, biographical data, and likenesses for:
   1. Publication on a Competition winner’s list.
   2. Use in any Competition-related advertising and publicity.
6. By entering, the Entrant, to the fullest extent permitted by law:
   1. Agrees to be bound by this Agreement.
   2. Represents that Entrant holds all original copyrights to the materials submitted pursuant to this Agreement (or that Entrant has obtained written permission from the copyright owner to submit these materials).
   3. Represents that the submitted materials do not infringe on the copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, moral rights, rights of privacy/publicity, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights of any third-party.
   4. Grants the New Jersey Chapter of the American Society of Interior Designers, the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc., and their respective media and agency partners a non-exclusive, perpetual, transferable, royalty-free right and license to copy, reproduce, perform, display, prepare derivative works from, and distribute publicly all of Entrant’s submitted materials in both print and digital format for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, use of such materials on third-party websites, social media, and other publications without additional compensation.
   5. Agrees to indemnify and hold the American Society of Interior Designers, Inc., and Chapter and their respective officers, directors, and employees (collectively “Indemnified Parties”) harmless from and against any and all losses, claims, injuries, demands, suits, costs, expenses, and damages (including reasonable attorney fees and expenses) that the Indemnified Parties may incur by reason of or arising out of any breach of any of my representations, my provision of false information, use of my submitted materials and/or my license grant, except to the extent that such Claim is caused by the gross negligence of the Indemnified Parties.
7. BY PARTICIPATING IN THIS COMPETITION AND/OR ACCEPTING ANY PRIZE, ENTRANT AGREES TO RELEASE AND HOLD HARMLESS CHAPTER, THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS, INC., AND EACH OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES AND EMPLOYEES (COLLECTIVELY “RELEASED PARTIES”) FROM AND AGAINST ANY AND ALL ACTIONS, CLAIMS, INJURIES, LOSSES, DAMAGES, LIABILITIES, EXPENSES OR CAUSES OF ACTION OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, AS WELL AS ANY AND ALL CLAIMS BASED ON DEFAMATION, PUBLICITY RIGHTS, AND/OR INVASION OF PRIVACY ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY MANNER, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY RELATING TO ENTRANT’S PARTICIPATION IN THE DESIGN COMPETITION, SUBMISSION OF COMPETITION MATERIALS, AND/OR ACCEPTANCE OR USE OR MISUSE OF ANY PRIZE.

By entering, I certify that I have read, understand, and agree to each and every term set forth in these OFFICIAL RULES OF COMPETITION PARTICIPATION, including but not limited to those set forth in the COMPETITION RULES, REGULATIONS & ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES, and in the COMPETITION ENTRANT TERMS AND CONDITIONS, INDEMNIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND RELEASE.

 

2025 NJ ASID DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARD (DEA)

Submission period is January 21 to April 14, 2025.