This year AZURE celebrated 25 years of publishing with a number of forward-looking initiatives, including a redesign of the magazine and a refreshed approach to its editorial content that involves delving more deeply into the creative process to explore how designers think and work. For 2011, we are reaffirming our commitment to celebrating the very best in design and architecture with the AZ Awards, an awards program to be juried by a panel of international experts.

The name, AZ Awards, represents the first two letters of our magazine’s title and reinforces our recently redesigned logo. It also embodies the broad scope of our new awards program and its quest to single out and showcase the absolute best.

This is an ideal time for AZURE to be launching an awards program. The AZURE brand has attained a strong reputation and high stature within the design world. It is recognized for its commitment to presenting the very best innovations and brightest talents in various design-related fields, including industrial design, commercial and residential architecture, interior design and landscape design. Its established presence will no doubt attract entries from around the world.

Professionals and students are invited to submit previously unawarded and unpublished works completed by December 31, 2010, in the following five categories:

Industrial Design:
furniture, furniture systems, lighting, interior products

Architecture:
residential, commercial and institutional buildings; landscapes; temporary and demonstration spaces

Interior:
residential, commercial and institutional interiors

Concepts:
unbuilt competition entries and masterplans

A+ Award:
student work