The United States tops WRD’s 2018 World Design Rankings


The WDR’s World Design Rankings have been updated for 2018, following an incredible year of design.


The WDR have announced their updated World Design Rankings for the New Year, with the United States being ranked in first place. The World Design Rankings ranks countries based on the number of designers from each location that has been granted an A’ Design Award; countries are represented by the participating designers, and are sorted based on the number of Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron Design Awards won.


Furusaki Tokyo Office by Hiroyuki Niwa

Sponsored by the A’ Design Award and Competition, the World Design Rankings aim to provide data and insights to journalists and economists, helping them discover what is state-of-the-art within the design world. The WDR’s ambition is to contribute to the global design community, highlighting good design from around the world and sharing a snapshot of countries’ creative strengths and weaknesses.


Memento Letter opener by Bryan Leung

The top ten for the World Design Rankings 2018 were – following the United States – China, Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Honk Kong, Turkey, Taiwan, Portugal, and Australia. There were 100 countries represented in this year’s World Design Rankings, with three new countries included: Botswana, Bahrain and Costa Rica. The top ten did not significantly change from last year’s list, apart from Hong Kong and Taiwan moving up the ranks. To read through the full list of countries included in the World Design Rankings, click here.

As well as ranking by countries, WDR have also listed individual designers based on their success in a ‘Design Classification’ platform. Designers, artists and architects from a range of creative backgrounds have been ranked on this platform, allowing design enthusiasts to discover skilled designers from around the world. Others who are interested in sourcing top designers regardless of their discipline are also in luck, as the WDR has set up a ‘Top Designer’ ranking. To find out more about the Design Classifications, click here. To discover more about the Designer Rankings, click here.


Mozaik system Modulable lamp by Davide Oppizz

The sponsor of the World Design Rankings is the international accolade, the A’ Design Awards and Competition. The Awards are designed to discover original works from designers, architects and artists from countries across the globe; the competition encourages applicants to design projects that will improve society and push the boundaries of design. Find out more about the competition here, and register your best design works today for the A’ Design Awards.


Yosegi Multifunctional Stool by Yoshiaki Ito


Gates of Light Retroreflective Architecture by Daan Roosegaarde








Progressive Media International Limited. Registered Office: 40-42 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8EB, UK.Copyright 2024, All rights reserved.