50 AUT winners at the 2026 Best Awards
14 Oct, 2026
AUT School of Art and Design staff and students have taken home a record breaking 20 gold pins at the Design Institute of New Zealand’s 2026 Best Awards.
Announced at a ceremony on 9 October, this year’s haul also includes 13 Silver and 17 Bronze pins, showcasing AUT staff and students’ creativity, innovation and dedication to their craft.
Head of School of Art and Design, Professor Mandy Smith says the outstanding results reflect the creativity and commitment of students and staff across AUT’s School of Art and Design.
“What makes me most proud is seeing our students use design to engage with complex cultural, social and environmental issues in innovative and meaningful ways.
“These awards recognise both individual excellence and the strength of our school’s collaborative studio culture where experimentation, critical thinking and creative ambition are nurtured every day," Professor Smith says.
Established in the 1970s, the Best Awards are the Design Institute of New Zealand’s annual showcase of excellence and are open to all. In 2025, AUT School of Art and Design won 53 best Awards pins, and in 2024 AUT staff and students won 48.
Full list of winners
Gold
- Yoxuan Chin, Akane Shibata, Catherine Jiang, Charll Enriquez - More Than Magic (Animation)
Staff: Emily Ramsay, Jason Kennedy - Kayla Williams - { unseen } " unspoken " (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - Hikaru Nichikawa - Accent is Beautiful: Celebrating Accent Diversity Through Typeface Design (Graphic)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Alexa Lansang - Early Bird Oats (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Paul Shadbolt, Fiona Grieve - Sarah Jay Lee - It's Raining Reimagining Makgeolli Culture Through Contemporary Hospitality Design (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - Benjamin Walsham - Land & Letter (Graphic)
Staff: George Hajian, Rachel Carley - Olivia Gardner - Needlework & Notions (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palatnik, Emil McAvoy - Joel Potter - por/trait: Reconsidering Identity Through Absence (Graphic)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Matthew Waugh - Pulse: Typography Beyond Reading (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - James Clark - BioBuds (Industrial Design)
Staff: Jyoti Kalyanji, Dan Collings - Michael Gibson - Parkode: Reimagining the Skatepark (Social Good)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Chloe Fernley - Kohi Hui: Rain Gallery (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Alesha O'Connor - To Hold, To Heal, To Protect, To Honour (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Grace Wright - Whero Whero (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Laura Jane Gooderson - Remember (Graphic)
Staff: Taitana Tavares, Marcos Mortensen Steagall - Chris Anderson - ADPT (Industrial Design)
Staff: Eujeen Hwang, Emma Heatley - Madalena Refiti - Lost in Drawing: Locating Self within Dissolved Boundaries (Spatial)
Staff: Sue Gallagher, Rafik Patel - Kelys Witty - Data is Taonga (Toitanga)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - Bianca McFadden, Marco Stander, Melanie Quach, Katie Skelton, Leah Dawson, Jasmine Meachen - The Flower Commons (Spatial)
Staff: Lucy Meyle/Nooroa Tapuni - Isabelle Mason, Zoe Cully, Aayushi Mewada, Christina Tran, Mia Laurence-Anderson - Te Taiao (Spatial)
Staff: Lucy Meyle/Nooroa Tapuni
Silver
- Sophia Aizon, Sjani Walker, Blake Tai, Corina Huang - The Perfect Shot (Animation)
Staff: Emily Ramsay, Jason Kennedy - Baylee June Mooney - Vaka: Travel Better For The Future (Digital)
Staff: James Smith Harvey, Layla Tweedie Cullen, Johnny Mead - Jamie Vette - "B" (Graphic)
Staff: George Hajian, Mark Evans - Kayla Williams - ANTI - Skincare (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford - Tina Hung - Time Tale: A Board Game for Relational Awareness (Graphic)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik - Daniel Wu - Type Against Stereotype: Reclaiming Propaganda Through Typography (Graphic)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik - Teminma Rigg - Zhou Good: Made to Reconnect (Graphic)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik - Kayla Williams - { unseen } " unspoken " (Social Good)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - Brittany Townsend - Circles of You: Understanding Hormonal Health Through Visual Communication (Social Good)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik - Laura Jane Gooderson - Remember (Social Good)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik - Stephanie Blows - Newmarket Hub and Community Garden (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Jocelyn Glenn - Ringa Rehe Library (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Lee Makatoa - Mataginifale (Toitanga)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares, Cecelia Faumuina, Yamila Palatnik
Bronze
- Joanna Lau, Joelle Burt, Thomas Howie - Muma's Pizza (Animation)
Staff: AD Narayan - Keon Chan - What's The Order? (Animation)
Staff: Emily Ramsay, Jason Kennedy - Emma Lum - A Censored State (Digital)
Staff: James Smith Harvey, Layla Tweedie Cullen, Johnny Mead - Lucas Czar - Matter (Digital)
Staff: James Smith Harvey, Layla Tweedie Cullen, Johnny Mead - Danielle Heystek - ABC's of Afrikaans (Graphic)
Staff: Becky Ford, Yamila Palanik, Emil McAvoy - Ruby McEvoy - Mission: Welcome to my Dataverse (Graphic)
Staff: Tatiana Tavares - Alex Oldfield - Second Skin: A Cultural Fashion Publication (Graphic)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Harrison Watts - The Green Flags: Reframing Masculinity Through Collectability, Humour, and Design (Graphic)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Julie Bladinieres - Beyond The Toolpath (Industrial Design)
Staff: T'heniel Chetty - Timo van Noppen - E.motion (Industrial Design)
Staff: Emma Heatley, Eujeen Hwang - Alia Mikyla Polon - Grab n Go (Industrial Design)
Staff: Jyoti Kalyanji, Dan Collings - Christy Botha - NiraFlow (Industrial Design)
Staff: Jyoti Kalyanji, Dan Collings - Yuki Man - Sashi: mended by me (Industrial Design)
Staff: Emma Heatley, Eujeen Hwang - Camryn Lowe - Allergy Explorers (Social Good)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Fern Bell Bowers - Brush Up: Building Healthy Brushing Habits Through Play (Social Good)
Staff: Marcos Mortensen Steagall, Fiona Grieve, David van Vliet - Nicole Cherize' Kotze - Te Umu Wairua | Immersive Installation Gallery (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes - Reese Casas - Timekeeping (Spatial)
Staff: Jack Wu, Carl Douglas, Sue Gallagher, Amber Ruckes
Useful links
- 2025 Best Awards winners
- Study Art & Design at AUT
- AUT winners at the Best Awards website