About the Student Competition

DDA’s annual student competition recognizes student decorating and design excellence throughout Canada in a variety of different categories.

The intention of the competition is to ensure a level playing field for all eligible students, regardless of their school’s level of commitment to and involvement in the competition. The entry format is intended to accommodate the wide range of school program standards found in Canada. This year’s competition closes on Sunday June 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.

Who is eligible?

The competition is open to students recently enrolled in or graduated from any DDA-recognized decorating and design program. To participate in the competition, entrants must provide proof of the following:

• Enrollment within a DDA-recognized program within the last 2 years, or
• Graduation from a DDA-recognized program within the last 2 years.

Entry Fee

Student Member: CAD$50.00 + tax per entry

Student Non-Member: CAD$100 + tax per entry

Entry Requirements

The competition recognized the future of decorating and design in Canada through student concept projects.

For the student competition, the following elements are required:

Design Statement

•  Project information including project title
•  Description outlining the requirements of the concept.

Digital Presentation Board (in lieu of project image)

• One (1) 24″ x 36″ digital presentation board in PDF format containing the following:
  • Product images for furniture, fixtures, colour palette, finishes, equipment, etc. for the space that correlates to floor plans
  • Two to four (2-4) renderings of the concept, with at least one showing the space in 3D. Rendering can be completed digitally or by hand.
    •  If the project is of multiple rooms, you can submit up to 3 presentation boards as a single PDF.
  • All other categories should be only a single presentation board.

Your board should NOT contain your name, the institutes you are attending or any other identifying information.

Drawings

• A Single PDF document containing the following:

• One (1) dimensioned floor plan drawing to scale
• One (1) furniture plan (may be combined with dimensioned floor plant). Include legend or identified for the furniture in the space and must correlate to digital presentation board.
• Two (2) additional drawings of the space, which can be elevation, perspective, isometric, axonometric or orthographic
• The kitchen and bathroom entries require all pertinent elevations to support the floor plan – these are NOT to be rendered.

Your drawings should NOT contain your name, the institutes you are attending or any other identifying information.

Basic project information includes a headshot, bio, and proof of enrollment/graduation.

Entries must be the principal work of the entrant submitting the entry. Entrants who worked collaboratively on a project may submit the project as a team.

Winners will be announced to the public in the Fall of 2024 at the DDA Awards Gala. Winners may be notified privately ahead of the event.

Categories

Note that depending on the number of entries received, categories may be collapsed.

• Design & Decoration – Single Room

  This category includes student projects that feature design and/or decoration of any residential or commercial single room interior space.

• Wellness/Accessibility/Sustainability

  Any residential project that is not a kitchen or bathroom, following the principles of Universal Design (at least 3 of the 7), Wellness (Biophilia/mind, air, light, comfort/ergonomics, materials, sound, & movement) or Sustainability (waste reduction, energy efficiency & longevity). These practices must be the project’s focus and align with the client brief. Entries can include up to but not exceeding two (2) residential space of the house, apartment or condo.

• Design & Decoration – Multi Rooms

  This category includes student projects that feature design and/or decoration of any residential or commercial multi-room interior space.

• Universal Design – Kitchen

  This category includes student projects that demonstrate an understanding of the application of the seven principles of Universal Design in a residential kitchen space.

• Universal Design – Bathroom

  This category includes student projects that demonstrate an understanding of the application of the seven principles of Universal Design in a residential bathroom space.

FAQ

• What is the entry format?

  Entrants may enter up to two separate projects, and can only enter once per category. The entry itself consists of three main components: 1- A single pdf upload of the student’s project (with identifying information removed). 2- Students are encouraged to submit their existing school projects with minimal modifications. 3- Project detail descriptions. 4- Basic entrant info, including proof of enrollment/graduation. It is intended that students will be able to submit their existing school projects to the competition with minimal modification and effort.

• How are entries judged?

  Entries are judged on their conceptual components only, regardless of whether they will be or have been executed in the real world. Entries are judged anonymously by a panel of design industry professionals. Judging takes place over two rounds; a qualifying round to establish the finalists, followed by a final judging round to establish the winners.

• How can I prepare myself to enter the DDA Canada Student Competition?

  Entrant support will include a pre-recorded entry form walk-through, as well as a live overview and Q&A webinar, which will be recorded. There will also be email support via DDA Head Office. These resources are offered free of charge to entrants.