The IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) program is the premier international competition honoring design excellence in products, ecodesign, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. Entries are invited from designers, students and companies worldwide.

Winning entries are announced on BusinessWeek.com and receive coverage in hundreds of print and broadcast media networks around the world. IDSA has been honoring design excellence via the IDEA Awards since 1980. IDEA was formerly known as the Industrial Design Excellence Awards. The name changed in 2007 to emphasize the international reach and influence of the competition.

This competition is open to designs and designers - including students - worldwide. Entrants from Brazil must apply through IDEA/Brasil to take advantage of additional winner benefits. Designs may be entered in multiple categories, but each entry must be purchased and submitted separately. Awards will not be given to the same design in more than one product category (e.g. Medical/Scientific and Home Living); however, a design may win Awards in both a product category and Design Strategy, Interactive Product Experiences and/or Research.

This competition was open for entries on 1 December 2008, but the regular application deadline is 6 February 2009 and late application deadline is 20 February. Only the 6 February deadline will be noted on the calendar at this site. Visit the site to learn more about rules, categories, application processes, judges and more.