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The nail biting wait to see which designs come out on top as the country’s best is drawing to a close, with finalists in this year’s national Best Design Awards – New Zealand design’s answer to the Oscars - just announced.

The nail biting wait to see which designs come out on top as the country’s best is drawing to a close, with finalists in this year’s national Best Design Awards – New Zealand design’s answer to the Oscars - just announced.

Finalists of the awards - which are organised by the Designers Institute of New Zealand and recognise the country’s best graphic, interactive, spatial and product designs from the past year – have been unveiled online, with a record number of entries making the cut.

A staggering 603 designs were received in this year’s awards – the most ever received during the awards’ 22 year history. 

Cathy Veninga, CEO of the Designers Institute said that this year’s judging panel was “absolutely blown away” by the standard of the entries received, particularly in the interactive design category – a new category that was introduced into this year’s programme.

“The standard of designs received across all three disciplines was astonishingly high this year with some incredibly creative, innovative and beautifully crafted designs submitted. The interactive design entries really stood out. The interactive design industry is booming in New Zealand, and we are seeing some really amazing, world leading work coming through.”

The winners of this year’s Best Design Awards will be revealed at a glittering black tie awards ceremony in Auckland on Friday, October 1, 2010 with a brand spanking new website, developed by Christchurch based web company, Sons & Co. showcasing all of this year’s winners going live on October 2.

In the meantime, anyone wanting to check out this year’s Best Design Awards finalists to see which designs they think will rise above the rest, can do so by visiting www.bestawards.co.nz