News
2026 Design Guild Marks announced
The 2026 Design Guild Marks – our award celebrating the latest designs and the pioneering designers shaping the industry across Furniture, Interior Design Elements, and Lighting – were announced at a ceremony at the Arper UK showroom during Clerkenwell Design Week.
The Design Guild Mark is a non-profit awards programme which we established in 2008 to champion British industrial design and recognise outstanding achievement within the sector.
Entries are evaluated by a diverse panel of judges against a series of key criteria, including innovation, functionality, form, brand impact and environmental responsibility.
The ceremony was hosted by Alexander Crofts, CEO of Crofts & Assinder and chairman of the Design Guild Mark, with honorary guest Andrew Tanner, head of design at Habitat, who celebrated design excellence with the presentation of The Jonathan Hindle Prize. The accolade recognises the most innovative and creative entries from the year and was awarded to Knit One (Furniture), Pattern Play (Interior Design Elements) and the Modernist Collection (Lighting).
Alex Crofts, chairman of the Design Guild Mark, commented: “This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Design Guild Mark Awards programme – two decades dedicated to championing UK design as a leading global creative force. The calibre and diversity of this year’s entries once again demonstrate the strength of British design talent, bringing together designers at every stage of their careers through a shared commitment to excellence, innovation, and craftsmanship. As we celebrate this milestone year, each Design Guild Mark recipient should take great pride in having their work recognised as part of the gold standard for British design.”
This year’s winners were
| Furniture Name | Designer | Manufacturer |
| FLW | Samuel Wilkinson | SCP |
| Work | Matthew Hilton | SCP |
| Archer | Magnus Long | SCP |
| Levity Collection | Gaze Burvill | Gaze Burvill |
| Leandesk | Henry Swanzy | Leandesk |
| The Chanterelle Collection of low tables | Staffan Tollgård & Filippo Castellani | Giorgetti |
| Knit One | Paul Crofts of Paul Crofts Studio | Isomi |
| The Ayton Collection | Michael Mcintosh | Treske Ltd |
| The Canopy Collection | Sam Cooper & Richard Platt | The Marchmont Workshop |
| Mollu | Sophie Concadoro, Nare Manuelyan & Ross Mclean | Pineapple Contracts |
| Sail | Studio Webb | Glimarka of Sweden AB |
| Alta | Jones + Partners | Workstories |
| Sylva | Jones + Partners | Stiwood |
| Panda System | Monica Förster | Modus |
| PLC Tube | Pearson Lloyd | Modus |
| Dowel Table | Ed Carpenter & André Klauser | VG&P Ltd |
| Genie Chair | Mentsen | VG&P Ltd |
| Aarea | Pearson Lloyd | Teknion |
| Interior Elements: | ||
| The White Hart Collection | Emma Sims Hilditch and Marlborough Tiles | Marlborough Tiles |
| Fenchurch Handle Range | Zoran Matijevic | Crofts & Assinder |
| Skomer Handle Range | Zoran Matijevic | Crofts & Assinder |
| Pattern Play | Heather Lloyd | Milliken Carpets |
| Lighting: | ||
| The Modernist Collection | Joe Armitage | Joe Armitage |
Alex added: “One of the defining strengths of the Design Guild Mark Awards is the opportunity for British designers and their work to be recognised by such a distinguished and diverse judging panel. To be selected for the Jonathan Hindle Prize from among this year’s outstanding submissions is an exceptional achievement – a huge accolade that reflects the creativity, innovation and excellence at the heart of British design. It is an honour that should inspire immense pride in this year’s winner.”
