Heartland Design Excellence Awards 2025

2025 Heartland Design Excellence Awards Registration

OUR PURPOSE

The purpose of the ASID Missouri West/Kansas Chapter's Heartland Design Excellence Awards is to recognize and reward outstanding interior design by our Chapter Members, Industry Partners, University and College Students.  And to encourage and inspire new ideas and showcase innovations in the design and furnishings of interior spaces.

DESIGN IMPACTS LIVES

Interior Design has a significant impact on the lives of those it touches.  One specific goal our Chapter aims to achieve through the Heartland Design Excellence Awards Competition is to raise awareness among the general public about how design can enhance and improve the quality of their day-to-day lives.

QUALIFYING INFORMATION:

• All ASID Missouri West/Kansas Chapter Members – Professional, Allied, Associate; Industry Partners and Student Members in good standing.
• If a firm employs an interior designer, he/she must be the primary interior designer on record.
• For projects submitted by an Industry Partner, only the Industry Partner will be named on any award received. If the primary designer on the project is an ASID member, their name will be mentioned when presenting the award. 
• No projects that have been previously awarded or entered in previous ASID competitions may be submitted.  Projects may be entered in only one category. 

ENTRY FEES:

• Payable via Square at the time of registration. Absolutely no refunds will be granted after submission(s) are received.
  • Practitioner and Industry Partner Members: $150 first entry/ $125 additional entries, (Whole Home Entries) $200 first entry/ $175 additional entries 
  • Students: $35 one entry per student

SCHEDULE:

• Registration Opens: Monday, October 6, 2025.  Register online by clicking the blue "Register" button above. 
• Registration Closes: Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - 11:59 pm CST 
• Awards Gala and Presentation: Saturday evening, March 5, 2026.  Tickets for the Heartland Design Awards Gala are to be purchased separately.
• Judges: Judging to be completed anonymously by other ASID Chapter members from across the United States.

CATEGORIES

INDIVIDUAL MEMBER COMPETITION

Commercial

• C01:  Hospitality/Commercial/Corporate
• C02:  Health & Wellness (i.e. spa, fitness center, wellness room, work-out room, break-room, meditation space, spiritual space, yoga space)

Residential

• R01:  Kitchen (Less than 300 sq. ft.)
• R02:  Kitchen (Greater than 300 sq. ft.)
• R03:  General Living Space (Dining, Living Room, Hearth Room)
• R04:  Outdoor Area
• R05:  Bedroom
• R06:  Bath (Less than 150 sq. ft.)
• R07:  Bath (Greater than 150 sq. ft.)
• R08:  Wild Card Space (i.e. wine cellar, bar, office, theatre, game room, media room, lower level)
• R09: Sustainable Design (i.e. LEED, Biophilic, Historical Restoration)
• R10:  Health & Wellness Design  (i.e. Universal Design, Ageing in Place, Wellness Spaces)
• R11: Whole Home New Build (Greater than 3000 sq. ft.)
• R12: Whole Home New Build (Less than 2000 sq. ft.)
• R13: Whole Home Remodel ( Greater than 3000 sq. ft.)
• R14: Whole Home Remodel (Less than 2000 sq. ft.)

INDUSTRY PARTNER MEMBER COMPETITION

• IP01: Innovative Product Design
• IP02: Design in Detail: Custom Design (including but not limited to furniture, lighting, built-in cabinets, etc.)
• IP03: Design in Detail: Custom Fabrication and/or Innovative Installation (including but not limited to wallpaper, murals, solid surface application, etc.) 

STUDENT MEMBER COMPETITION 

• ST01:  Residential (Interior Design)
• ST02:  Residential (Interior Architecture)
• ST03:  Commercial (Hospitality, Corporate, Retail, Tech, Education, Civic, Public Spaces)
• ST04:  Health & Wellness (i.e. spa, fitness center, wellness room, work-out room, break-room, meditation space, spiritual space, yoga space)
• ST05:  Product Design (Industrial Design as related to the interior of the built environment)

PHOTOGRAPHY:

• Each entry may include up to ten photographs (with a minimum of one) and up to four hand-drawn or computer-generated floor plans (with a minimum of one).
• Each Whole Home entry may include up to twelve photographs (with a minimum of one) and up to four hand-drawn or computer-generated floor plans (with a minimum of one). 
• Before and after photos are welcome.
• Professional photography is strongly recommended for submission.
• All photographic images should be a minimum of 300 ppi, max 10 mg and in JPG format.
• Photoshop may be used for color correction and light editing, but NO new objects may be added to the photos.
• It is the responsibility of entrants to have no-cost reuse rights from the property owner and photographer.
• Photography and property owner release forms must be completed and maintained by the entrant. If chosen as a finalist, the designer must submit the requested forms to the ASID Chapter.

• Students: Student entries shall include conceptual/process drawings, renderings, floor plans, supporting product/materials, and branding, if applicable. Submit your entries in PDF format. For some, this may be PDFs of design boards that reflect all of the requirements as noted above. 

ASID MO West Kansas retains the legal right to publish all submissions. The photography will be added to the chapter's permanent photo bank for use at the chapter's discretion, solely for the purpose of promoting the chapter. 

DESIGN CONCEPT STATEMENT:

In addition to photography and floor plan(s), a concept statement of 800 words or less must be submitted on the appropriate form. Please detail the client's goals, any challenges encountered, and how you achieved the design solution. The statement should be written in full sentences and paragraph form.  Separately, also provide a 150-word introduction/summary to be read at the awards dinner. You must also include a statement from the client on how your design has impacted their lives.

For Students: a design concept statement of 800 words or less must be submitted on the appropriate form. Detail any challenges you experienced and how you achieved your design solution. Include a short introduction/summary to be read at the awards dinner. Include a statement of how you envisioned your design would impact the lives of your intended public/client.

This is an opportunity to help the judges understand specific issues or client requests that you had to work around in your design, as well as the reasoning behind a unique design piece or direction.

JUDGING CRITERIA:

The competition will be judged anonymously by another ASID chapter. NO IDENTIFICATION OF ANY KIND IS ALLOWED ON ANY PART OF THE ENTRY, and will result in immediate disqualification. The only exception is the entry form, which the judges do not see. Winners will be selected based on the criteria listed below. The Jurors will use a point system guideline as follows: 

CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUAL AND STUDENT MEMBER SUBMISSION

All Categories – 100 points possible

• Design Intent (20 points total)
  • Effective Explanation of Design Criteria and Goals - 5 pts
  • Effective Explanation of Challenges - 5 pts
  • Quality and Clarity of Presentation - 5 pts
    • Easy to understand, complete and concise with proper grammar and spelling
  • Quality and Clarity of Photographs - 5 pts
• Design Execution (50 points total)
  • Overall Design meets stated goals/challenges - 10 pts
    • Design fulfils the project requirements and enhances the human experience - 5 pts
    • Exhibits outstanding or unusual use of materials, detail, products, layout, etc. - 5 pts
  • Solutions appropriate to the stated design statement - 10 pts
    • Craftsmanship - 5 pts
    • Innovative approach to design criteria - 5 pts
  • Creative use of space - 5 pts
  • Functional use of space - 10 pts
    • ADA or universal design principles - 5 pts
    • Space plan functional and reflects concept statement - 5 pts
  • Principles and Elements of Design - 10 pts
    • Cohesiveness of design elements and principles (proportion, pattern, rhythm, balance) - 5 pts
    • Elements of design successfully used in the design solution (color, texture, line, form or value fitting) - 5 pts
  • Effective use of Lighting - 5 pts
• Use of Materials and Color (30 points total)
  • Color scheme and composition - 5 pts
  • Functional use of materials - 5 pts
  • Creative use of materials - 5 pts
  • Appropriate and/or innovative for the space - 5 pts
  • Appropriately sustainable or environmentally friendly - 5 pts
  • Furniture, fixtures and equipment selections used appropriately for the space - 5 pts

Judging Point Scale 1-5:

1. Sub-standard, imperfect, noticeable problems
2. Competent, minimal problems, superior product/execution, good design, polished, acceptable
3. Skilled, insignificant problems, superior product/execution, good design
4. Exemplary, near-perfect, top-quality products/execution, superb design, inspired
5. Immaculate, perfect, uncompromising design/execution, brilliant, extraordinary

CRITERIA FOR INDUSTRY PARTNER AND STUDENT PRODUCT DESIGN SUBMISSIONS

All Categories – 75 points possible

• Design Intent (20 points total)
  • Effective Explanation of Product/ Design Criteria and Goals - 5 pts
  • Effective Explanation of Challenges - 5 pts
  • Quality and Clarity of Presentation - 5 pts
    • Easy to understand, complete and concise with proper grammar and spelling
  • Quality and Clarity of Photographs - 5 pts
• Design Execution (35 points total)
  • Overall Design meets stated goals/challenges - 15 pts
    • Product/Design fulfils the project requirements and enhances the human experience - 5 pts
    • Exhibits outstanding or unusual use of materials, detail, products, layout, etc. - 5 pts
    • Exhibits outstanding or unusual engineering - 5 pts
  • Solutions appropriate to the stated design statement - 10 pts
    • Craftsmanship - 5 pts
    • Innovative approach to Product/Design criteria - 5 pts
  • Principles and Elements of Design - 10 pts
    • Cohesiveness of design elements and principles (proportion, pattern, rhythm, balance) - 5 pts
    • Elements of design successfully used in the design solution (color, texture, line, form or value fitting) - 5 pts
• Use of Materials and Color (20 points total)
  • Color scheme and composition - 5 pts
  • Functional use of materials - 5 pts
  • Creative and/or innovative use of materials - 5 pts
  • Appropriately sustainable or environmentally friendly - 5 pts

Judging Point Scale 1-5:

1. Sub-standard, imperfect, noticeable problems
2. Competent, minimal problems, superior product/execution, good design, polished, acceptable
3. Skilled, insignificant problems, superior product/execution, good design
4. Exemplary, near-perfect, top-quality products/execution, superb design, inspired
5. Immaculate, perfect, uncompromising design/execution, brilliant, extraordinary

AWARDS PRESENTATION

Winning projects will be announced at the ASID Missouri West/Kansas Chapter Heartland Design Awards Gala on Thursday evening, March 5, 2026. All participants in the design competition are encouraged to attend and celebrate with their design teams, family, friends, clients, industry partners, trade partners, craftsmen, suppliers and contractors/builders.

Awards:

Judging is based on a 100-point system for individual and student submissions in interior design/interior architecture. For industry partners and student product design submissions, the top score is 75 points. One award will be presented in each category at each level as follows:

Professional Members: Crystal Award for the highest points. Silver Award for the following highest points.  

Industry Partners and Students: Gold Award for the highest points. Silver Award for the next highest points.

• Best of Show INDIVIDUAL MEMBER – this is based on the judges' highest awarded points for a single project. In case of a tie, the ASID Missouri West/Kansas Chapter Board of Directors will vote to break the tie. In the case where a board member’s project is being voted on, they will recuse themselves from the vote.
• Best of Show Students - This award is based on the judges’ highest awarded points for a single project. In case of a tie, the ASID Missouri West/Kansas Chapter Board of Directors will vote for best of show.
• Crystal Award Winners -  will be featured in the Kansas City Homes & Style magazine.
• All Projects Submitted - will be featured in the new "Heartland Design Excellence Awards Gala Program" that showcases your project with a photo and credit. This program will be distributed and taken home by all attendees.

REMINDER:

IF ALL REQUIREMENTS ARE NOT MET, THE ENTRY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED PRIOR TO JUDGING. NO MENTION OF THE DESIGNER OR FIRM NAME/LOGO CAN APPEAR ON ANY DOCUMENT.