IES Philadelphia including photos of award winning projects Falls Bridge Warehouse Transformation The Ayer home

International Illumination Design Awards

How To Enter the IIDA

  1. Anyone may enter a project except program officials or judges and IESNA employees. IESNA membership is NOT required. The application must be made in the designer's name. All creative design personnel should be named. Names may not be added later.
  2. Projects may be entered in only one IESNA Section, regardless of project location. If the designer is in NYC, the Architect in Philadelphia, the Owner in San Francisco and the project located in Dallas, it could be entered in any of those locations, or in Cleveland if you really wanted to.
  3. Let the Owner know. Their consent is required, however they need not be named if they so desire.
  4. Projects must be completed by March 31 of the entry year, but may not have been completed over two years prior to that.
  5. Required with your entry: See also Hints for Successful IIDA Entries.
    • A completed official entry form. Download and print an official entry form, or email us at iidachair@iesphil.org.
    • A CD with no more than ten photos clearly illustrating the project lighting (.jpg format preferred). This may be supplemented by an un-narrated VHS tape not over 3 minutes long.
    • On the same CD, a narrative description of the project, keyed to the images, of 250 words or less. This should address the applicable criteria for judging listed on the form.
  6. Do not identify product, firm or designer names in your narration or visual materials. Such mentions will be deleted from text before presentation, and slides or tapes bearing identifiable names or logos will not be used.
  7. Parallel programs recognize quality lighting design, or significant energy savings coupled with quality lighting. Projects may be entered for either or both programs.
  8. Projects may be split into different entries to separately present important design features. For example exterior. lobby, auditorium and board room might be separate entries for a corporate headquarters. Entries need not encompass an entire project, but may present only those aspects of particular interest.