The production infrastructure is getting ever stronger in Turkey, and the potential for offering new products to both local and foreign markets is increasing. Nowadays many products in the competitive global markets reflect high quality manufacturing features of Turkey. As a result of the investments made in companies’ research and development departments, technological innovation and improvements realized on the end products can be observed. On the other hand qualified manufacturing and technological innovation, can only be reflected on the end-product with the added value that industrial design can provide. Every other day it is getting clear that, to use industrial design as an effective tool grants the companies one of the biggest powers in competition.

Besides the opportunities of technology and production, design requires to analyze the needs of the society, human beings and the environment. While developing a new product idea, the industrial designer aims to maintain that the product is functional, usable and honest, to foresee that the product does not harm human health and safety and the environment, appeals to the user and responds to his/her needs, balances its cost with its benefits, and to develop appropriate design details for a qualified manufacturing. Before evaluating a design as good or not, all these aspects need to be considered.

Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards, is a design evaluation system organized with the collaboration of Undersecretariate for Foreign Trade (DTM), Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) and Industrial Designers Society of Turkey (ETMK), within the framework of TURQUALITY® programme in order to make visible the benefits that good design brings to the society and industry in Turkey, by rewarding good design which respects user needs, and provides added value and competitive advantage to the product.

Design Turkey Industrial Design Awards has two main categories:

1. Product Design Awards                                                                                                     
2. Conceptual Design Awards

Design Turkey Product Design Awards evaluates products on sectoral basis, which are manufactured and launched in the market, of which the designer, manufacturer or trade mark owner should be of Turkish citizenship. Products fulfilling, “good design” criteria receive Good Design Award, “superior design” criteria receive Superior Design Award, five outstanding designs with Turkish trademark among the superior design award owners receive TURQUALITY® Design Award. Award winning designs get the permission to use the award mark on the product and in its advertisements. Award winning designs are presented and promoted through exhibitions and publications.

In order to encourage innovative ideas that will guide the industry for future, within the framework of a specific theme determined every year, Design Turkey Conceptual Design Awards evaluate design projects which have not been scheduled for manufacture.