Getting noticed in the DAME Design Awards 2026

Each year upwards of 150 Metstrade exhibitors take time to submit their new products for the intensive scrutiny of the DAME Design Awards. History suggests that at least one third of those entries will go on to achieve Nomination, leading to inclusion within the high-profile DAME Design Awards showcase at the heart of Metstrade. 

The benefits of reaching this stage in terms of exposure are brilliant and include, for the first time in this 35th anniversary year, free access to a Marine Impact Lab half-day workshop. The best of the Nominees will then go on to achieve greater promotion by attaining Special Mentions, Category Wins, Environmental Awards and, for one, the ultimate accolade of the Overall Winner trophy.

While the design of the submitted product itself is paramount to success, the quality of the presentation and entry materials are also influential on what happens when the Jury starts its work. For each of its 35 years the DAME Design Awards has evolved to keep pace with the developments across the global leisure marine industry. Here is an update on what this year’s Jury will be looking for to help it understand all benefits of each entry.
 

1. Speak the language of the Jury members

Jury members span Baby Boomer to Gen Z generations and have hands-on watersports interests from paddle sports and small boats to superyachts. But they have much in common. They are mostly from technical backgrounds; many are designers from different disciplines; all are data driven, analytical in their approach. Marketing language has its place in the promotion of any product, but not for a DAME Design Awards entry. Instead, the Jury needs quickly absorbed objective statements, backed by facts and data where available. Please remember some of our Jury members are reading English as a second language, so it is best to avoid ambiguous and lengthy sentences. 
 

2. Every good design needs to fulfil a clear objective

Help the Jury members understand what they are assessing by using the Long Description section to provide a clear explanation of the purpose of the product and its key benefits to consumer or trade customers. The rest of your entry should move on to explain in detail how application of good design has delivered that purpose. 
 

3. Products are judged on every aspect of their design

The DAME Design Awards are focused on encouraging excellent end-to-end design practices in products to make boating more accessible, pleasurable, and sustainable for the industry’s customers. Jury members are tasked with assessing a product’s total design approach in all aspects of design, including: 

• Styling (aesthetics)
• Construction (manufacturing quality/efficiency)
• Functionality
• Environment (life cycle impact)
• Ease of use
• Ease of integration
• Originality and innovation
• Price versus performance.

The ‘Why your product should win’ section of the entry and accompanying materials should clearly explain how the product demonstrates excellence in design in as many of those aspects as possible. The Jury is not expecting perfection, recognising that there may be necessary compromises in some areas.  Ensure you place your emphasis on the strongest design features of the product and avoid making claims that cannot be substantiated.

Don’t hold back on explaining the work you did to perfect your product’s design. If it took an iterative process of several virtual or physical designs to arrive at the launch product, or the product is based in lessons learned from earlier model launches, tell the Jury about it. If you supply accompanying material to your entry with this kind of information, it will be read or watched.
 

4. Every detail of a product is important

The Jury is not just interested in the product itself, but anything that surrounds it. Look at past Jury reports and you will often see references to ease of use of manuals where these are needed. For consumer facing products how the product is packaged will be of interest so that it appeals even on a shelf and on first unboxing. For items designed to be installed in new builds and refits ease of installation is a factor. For equipment destined to be hidden in a locker or equipment space, whether its case is both visually attractive and confidence inspiring as well as physically up to the demands of intended use will be a focus for the Jury. These are just some of many examples of attention to design detail that you should flag to the Jury if they are present in your product. 
 

5. Being completely new or different is not enough

It’s great to see a completely new concept, of course, and the Jury will pay attention to market-disruptive products. But innovation is only one of several design pillars that the DAME Design Awards focuses on. Incremental design improvement of equipment that boaters have used for decades is equally valid as an entry. The important DAME Design Awards criterion is how well has every aspect of design fulfilled the purpose of the product.
 

6. Do declare pricing

The Jury understands there are complications with stating pricing on products that are still being finalised for launch, sold across international marketplaces or those with multiple options. However, without an actual figure for guidance it is impossible to assess price versus performance, which immediately places a product at a disadvantage against those that have this information available. Pricing information submitted on an entry will not be quoted directly by the organiser on any report of the competition.
 

7. Make authentic claims in your environmental statement

The DAME Design Awards environmental statement is important for two reasons. Firstly, it informs the Jury about the environmental design claims of the product within its overall assessment. Secondly, it assists the Jury to identify potential Environmental Design Award winners.

What the Jury needs above anything else is for the statements made in this section to be authentic and substantiated. Again, no-one is expecting perfection at this stage in the global leisure marine industry’s accelerating drive towards a cleaner future. Instead the Jury needs information it can understand and believe about the positive changes that you have been able to bring in the product, its anticipated lifecycle impact and in your wider operations, compared to where you and the wider industry were before. 

Focus on making a precise statement highlighting key areas of progress with well-formed logic as to why the points you are making yield positive environmental benefits, rather than a longer strategic announcement of intent that contains no detail of any substance.

Whenever possible, to please include substantiated facts and data to back any claims you make in this section.
 

8. Submit as early as you can

For the first time in its 35-year history Jury members will start to have access to online materials ahead of the DAME Design Awards closing date (18 September 2026). The Jury will pay good attention to every accepted entry for a month online and then at its intensive two-day Jury meeting in October. But early submissions are likely to have more Jury time for initial evaluation, so there is an advantage to avoiding that last minute rush to finalise your entry.
 

9. Ensure your physical submission matches the design virtues of your product

The two-day Jury meeting is a truly unique occasion, a physical gathering of many of the industry’s best launches of the past 12 months all in one space. All judges will pay close attention to every entry in a tightly managed process. But each product needs to speak for itself in the room as the team that nurtured it into life cannot be present. Think carefully how to present it in the best light to that your entry reflects the design values of the product itself.
 

10. Don’t be afraid to ask questions

The organising team is here to help you with your application. Any questions, please email dame@rai.nl and we will get straight back to you. Also please visit our website for further information and our news section to access articles about past winners that may further inform your entry.