Submissions Open for Shanghai Design 100+ Global Competition

​AI-powered design products are displayed at the World Design Cities Conference 2025. [Photo/Shanghai Observer]

The annual Shanghai Design 100+ global competition has begun accepting submissions.

According to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization, the competition is open to designs completed between Jan 1, 2025, and June 18, 2026, including industrial design, fashion design, architectural design, digital design, and service design.

Applicants must submit their work by June 18 through the website www.creativecity.sh.cn.

A panel of experts from China and abroad will evaluate the entries, with public votes also taken into account in selecting this year's "Shanghai Design 100+".

The competition features four annual awards, each with a prize of 500,000 yuan ($73,870): the AI Innovation Design Award, the Green Sustainable Design Award, the Cultural Creative Design Award, and, new for this year, the Most Empathetic Design Award, dedicated exclusively to female designers.

Selected designs will be authorized to use the "Shanghai Design 100+" logo and will be showcased at the World Design Cities Conference 2026 in late September.

Since 2020, "Shanghai Design 100+" has spurred the commercialization of designs worth over 250 billion yuan, giving rise to products such as the IM Motors range-extended vehicle, TCab Tech's tilt-rotor electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, Xreal AI glasses, and the AgiBot humanoid robot, supporting Shanghai's efforts to build the new-quality "Made in Shanghai" brand.