ONLINE SUBMISSION
The DDA Awards consist of online submissions; materials must be submitted by:
Professional categories by June 7th, 2026.
Student categories by May 17, 2026.
Once the deadline has passed no further submissions can be uploaded.
ENTRY COMPLETION
Create your member account .
- Select the category you wish to enter, and submit your information according to the specifications for the category
- All supporting materials listed are required. For questions or concerns, contact our office
- Include electronic copy of current corporate logo for production (PDF's)
- Do not reference your name, company name or school name in any part of the written submission including design statements, drawings and photos, and ensure that there are no logos visible in any part of your submissions.
- Entries will be saved in your member account, and can be edited up until the entry deadlines listed above.
- If you require assistance with submissions, email Awards at awards@ddacanada.com, contact our office at (416) 231-6202 or office@ddacanada.com
- Accuracy of submitted materials is the responsibility of the applicant. Information given on the entry form will be used exactly as submitted in the award ceremony through production, presentation, and recognition in the media.
ENTRY DETAILS - Professional
- Entrants may enter unlimited number of projects.
- Each may be entered into any category it is eligible for.
- There is no specific project completion timeline requirement; projects completed in any year may be entered.
- Projects that have been entered in the competition in the past, but that have not won, can be submitted again.
- See https://ddacanada.com/awards/d... for more information
ENTRY DETAILS - Students
Who is eligible?
The competition is open to students recently enrolled in or graduated from any DDA-recognized decorating and design program. To participate in the competition, entrants must provide proof of the following:
- Enrollment within a DAD-recognized program within the last 2 years, or
- Graduation from a DAD-recognized program within the last 2 years.
- Entrants may enter an unlimited number of entries.
- Yet only one (1) entry per award category.
- Each project may only be entered into a single award category.
- Projects that have been entered in the competition but have yet to win can be submitted again if the student is still in a recognized DDA program or graduated within the past 12 months of the competition's open date.
Entry Requirements
The competition recognizes the future of decorating and design in Canada through student concept projects.
For the student competition, the following elements are required:
Design Statement
- Project information including project title
- Description outlining the requirements of the concept as well as any challenges and how they were solved.
Digital Presentation Board (in lieu of project image)
- One (1) 24″ x 36″ digital presentation board in PDF format containing the following:
- Product images for furniture, fixtures, colour palette, finishes, equipment, etc. for the space that correlates to floor plans
- Two to four (2-4) renderings of the concept, with at least one showing the space in 3D. Rendering can be completed digitally or by hand.
- If the project is of multiple rooms, you can submit up to 3 presentation boards as a single PDF.
- All other categories should be only a single presentation board.
Your board should NOT contain your name, the institutes you are attending or any other identifying information.
Drawings
- A Single PDF document containing the following:
- One (1) dimensioned floor plan drawing to scale
- One (1) furniture plan (may be combined with dimensioned floor plant). Include legend or identified for the furniture in the space and must correlate to digital presentation board.
- Two (2) additional drawings of the space, which can be elevation, perspective, isometric, axonometric or orthographic
- The kitchen and bathroom entries require all pertinent elevations to support the floor plan – these are NOT to be rendered.
Your drawings should NOT contain your name, the institutes you are attending or any other identifying information.
Basic project information includes a head-shot, bio, and proof of enrollment/graduation.
Entries must be the principal work of the entrant submitting the entry. Entrants who worked collaboratively on a project may submit the project as a team.
Winners will be announced to the public in the Fall of 2026 at the DDA Awards Gala. Winners may be notified privately ahead of the event.
ENTRY FEES
- Entry Fees are $150 for an Accredited/Affiliate Member.
- Entry Fees are $50 for a Student Member.
- Entry Fees are $100 for a Student Non-Member.
- Student Entrants Only: Enter 3 or more entries and receive a $100 credit towards an Associate or Accredited Membership to be used within 2 years from the close of the competition.
- Accredited Members Only: 3 to 5 entries gives $100 credit to your DDA account
- Accredited Members Only: 6 and above entries gives $150 credit to your DDA account
- All entries have to be paid in full when entering. Credits to your account will be applied after the competition has closed
- Entry fees can be processed by utilizing the pay by credit option or "invoice me" button
- Payment must be received by DDA Canada before your submissions are considered eligible for competition.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE
- Online submission, including all supporting documentation and payment (arrangements), must be completed by:
- Students - by March 17,2026
- Professionals - by June 7th, 2026.
- After these deadlines, the committee reserves the right to extend the deadlines.
FINAL NOTES
- DDA Canada reserves the right to disqualify incomplete submissions without notice or refund
- Acceptance of submissions received is at the discretion of DDA Canada
- DDA Canada reserves the right to realign categories due to volume of entries. If this process should take place, entrants will be notified
- If there are fewer than two entries in any category, DDA Canada reserves the right to eliminate that category from the competition. Refunds will be given to those who have entered a cancelled category
- All entrants agree to be bound by these rules
JUDGING PROCESS
Judges will bring their professional experience and unique perspectives in deciding which companies deserve top-ranks and coveted awards in each category. Judges will review the submissions, and rate the work against provided criteria through a private, online system. Online judging will take place starting July 18, 2026
Judging criteria are listed with each category description. The judging panel is comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable and aware about the building industry. All entries are scored based on judging criteria.
