The Retail Design Institute's Annual

International Design Competition

Celebrating outstanding and innovative retail spaces

About the Competition

For more than 50 years, the Institute’s annual competition celebrates outstanding and innovative retail spaces that encourage new techniques in planning, design, graphics, lighting, and visual merchandising.

Call for Entries

Design firms and in-house retail design teams from around the globe are invited to submit projects covering all retail formats. (No entries accepted from general contractors, allied trades, fixture manufacturers, material suppliers, or owners’ representatives.) The competition welcomes exceptional retail experiences ranging from full-line traditional department stores to specialty apparel stores and restaurants to kiosks and pop-up shops.

Eligible projects are those completed between January 1 and December 31 in a given year.

Submissions require a 750-word narrative, plus photo captions for each submitted image (maximum of 8 for specialty stores and 12 for department stores, big box and mass merchant categories) and a floor plan. The narrative should cover the project’s scope, goals and objectives, customer journey, and branding. The text should also outline store planning, design, materials, lighting, and visual merchandising. Entrants are also asked to list the project's general contractor and suppliers, including additional consultants and contractors, plus equipment and decor vendors.