For Filipinos, having malasakit goes beyond empathy. It means helping those in need and having the ability to genuinely care for their own community.
As society shifts to purposeful design, Filipino malasakit is ever more useful.
This year, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry’s national design recognition program, The Good Design Award Philippines, highlights the value of malasakit and weaves it together with the universal ideas of form, function, and innovation. It aims to recognize outstanding works in the design disciplines of object-making, image-making, place-making, and systems/service in the Philippines’ design ecosystem.
The program recognizes design as not just for aesthetics – but rather an avenue to address “wicked problems” and foster innovations in society, all while spearheading Philippine design for the world to see.
By emphasizing the role of malasakit in good design, the Good Design Award Philippines underscores design’s impact and context — particularly its power to improve lives and advance social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Designing with malasakit means proactively addressing the challenges society faces today, as reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Good Design Award Philippines was founded in 2019 as an initiative of the Design Center of the Philippines and the Design Advisor Council with the help of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion to “inspire revolutionary design solutions that promote prosperity, sustainability, inclusivity, and diversity, while reflecting the heart and ingenuity of the Philippines.” It has placed creative talents from all over the country on the global stage – fostering a commitment to cultivate a culture that thrives on creativity and purpose-driven innovation.
It plays a part in improving the marketability of locally designed products by providing guidance to creatives all over the country.
How to join Good Design Award Philippines 2026
Interested parties may either submit or nominate an entry through the Good Design Award Philippines website. The deadline for entries is on February 15, 2026.
The Good Design Awards Philippines has six categories, namely:
- Object Making – refers to object designs that are tangible and can be utilized in everyday life.
- Image Making – refers to the discipline of creating tangible (i.e. printed) and intangible (i.e. digital) mediums for effective and compelling communication of ideas.
- Place Making – refers to places or environments designed innovatively for the improvement of people’s everyday lives.
- Systems and Service Design – refers to any system, service, or process designed to make operations more efficient and sustainable not just for the organization but most especially for the people.
- Material Innovation – refers to the development of new or existing materials with enhanced properties or functionalities that meet new needs or solve problems. This could include materials based on circular economy principles where waste is designed out and materials are re-used.
- Governance and Civic Design – refers to programs, policies, systems, and public initiatives that harness design thinking to transform governance, public services, and civic life.
The Good Design Award Philippines accepts fully-implemented works in the Philippines in the form of objects, places, images, service/systems, and materials from the following:
- Designers/Creatives from private or public institutions
- Non-PH-based Designers/Creatives with commissioned work for Philippine-registered companies or institutions
- PH-registered companies or institutions
Entries must have been launched / modified / made available in the Philippine market starting January 2023. Entries must be fully owned by its submitter. In case of dispute, Good Design Award Philippines has the discretion to disqualify such entries.
Good Design Awards has different types namely:
- Malasakit Award (Grand Prix): Judged as the highest embodiment of malasakit, the Malasakit Award distinction is selected from Gold Awardees. It is given to designs that reflect design excellence whilst making positive impact in helping a better, safer, and more sustainable world by addressing the United Nations SDGs through design.
- Gold Award: The Gold Award represents the highest level of design excellence in a category and represents the best in class design.
- Red Award: The Red Award is awarded to products, services, or projects that, in the expert opinion of the jury, strongly demonstrate the value of Good Design.
- Blue Award: The Blue Award recognizes local government units (LGUs) that champion innovative programs, policies, systems, and public initiatives applying design thinking to improve governance, public services, and civic life.
- Green Award: The Green Award is a special award given to the product, service, or project that embodies the highest level of excellence in the practice of sustainable design.
- White Award: The White Award is a new special citation given to raw materials that are new, or an improvement/innovation to existing materials.
Winners of the event will gain international exposure and access to new market opportunities. They automatically get considered for the Good Design Award Japan. As of writing, the search for the 2026 batch of award recipients is active.
Visit the official website of Design Center Philippines for more information and updates.
