Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics won side by side at an international design competition. Samsung Electronics submitted award-winning product and service designs that consider accessibility, artificial intelligence (AI), and sustainability, while LG Electronics focused on product designs such as TVs and home appliances.
Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics said on the 21st that they received 45 and 17 awards, respectively, at the IDEA (International Design Excellence Awards) 2026 hosted by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). IDEA is an international design competition that has been held since 1980. It selects winners in 20 categories, including consumer technology, industrial products, digital interaction, and packaging, by evaluating design innovation and user experience.
Samsung Electronics won a total of 45 awards at this year's IDEA, including one Impact Award, nine bronzes, and 35 finalists. The newly established Impact Award is an additional honor given to winners that show strength in sustainability, and Samsung Electronics' "Accessibility Design for Home Appliances" was selected.
The home appliance accessibility design is engineered to allow the use of washing machines, refrigerators, and more by taking into account users' physical characteristics such as vision, hearing, mobility, and cognition. It includes "Easy Mode," which lets users enlarge on-screen text or receive voice guidance, and "Auto Open Door," which opens doors via touch or voice.
Accessibility features set on mobile devices can also be used on home appliances, and a function that recognizes the user's voice with "Voice ID" and automatically switches to personalized settings was applied.
Bronze winners included the "INFINITE AI Air Purifier," which features a curved exterior and a clean booster that retracts when not in use, and the "Micro RGB Brand Identity," which visualizes the display characteristics of Micro RGB.
Also honored were the "Samsung Mobile Origami Package," a smartphone packaging concept made by folding a single sheet of recycled paper, and the "Portable SSD T7 Resurrected," a portable storage device with an outer case made entirely of recycled aluminum. The AI-based advanced design solution "AIDC (AI Design Companion)," which uses virtual simulation to verify product usability, was also among the winners.
Samsung Electronics also received a total of 12 awards, including one top honor, "Best of the Best," in the brand and communications category at the Red Dot Design Award 2026. The top honor went to the "Privacy Display" applied to the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It allows normal viewing from the front but makes screen content hard to see from an angle, reducing personal information exposure in public places.
In addition, 11 entries received main awards, including the branding "The Movingstyle," which visually expresses the utility of a mobile screen; "Vision AI Companion," which provides viewing experiences tailored to user contexts; and the 2026 Milan Design Week exhibition "Design is an Act of Love."
Mauro Porcini, chief design officer (CDO) of the Device eXperience (DX) institutional sector at Samsung Electronics, said, "Design has the power to connect ideas with people and turn them into meaningful experiences," adding, "Samsung Electronics will continue to create experiences for a better life and future by discovering new possibilities in everyday life based on a deep understanding of people."
LG Electronics won a total of 17 awards at IDEA 2026, including five bronzes. This follows a total of 55 awards at the Red Dot Design Award and the iF Design Award, with wins at IDEA as well.
Bronze awards went to the "LG SIGNATURE OLED W," a wireless wallpaper TV with a thickness in the 9 mm range; three indoor units of the air-to-water heat pump (AWHP) "LG Therma V"; the professional monitor "LG UltraFine Evo" with slim bezels on all four sides; "LG Smart Monitor Swing," which allows users to adjust the screen position; and the air purifier "LG PuriCare AeroMini."
Twelve products, including the home robot "LG Cloid," which interacts by responding to voice and gestures; the ceiling-mounted "LG PuriCare System Air Purifier"; and the "LG gram Pro," which applies Aeroluminum, a material for the aerospace industry, were selected as finalists.
Among these, LG Cloid; LG SIGNATURE OLED W; the three indoor units of LG Therma V; the LG PuriCare System Air Purifier; LG gram Pro; and the XBOOM Mini and Stage 501 all won at this year's IDEA, Red Dot Design Award, and iF Design Award. In the package design field, the lifestyle audio brand XBOOM series and the premium home audio system "LG Sound Suite" were named among the winners.
Chung Uk-jun, head of the Design Management Center (executive vice president) at LG Electronics, said, "This win recognizes our design competitiveness that enhances convenience and aesthetics while harmonizing with customers' living spaces," adding, "We will continue to deliver differentiated customer experiences with innovative, customer-centric design."