Design experts assemble for People Awards 2026 London live judging day

The first of two live global judging rounds is now complete, as an array of judges met at the training centre Brainstation in Shoreditch to deliberate over the shortlisted applications.  

The day brought together senior design leaders from across the automotive industry – from Stellantis to Mahindra & Mahindra – to assess entries across a broad range of categories that aim to recognise the people behind the design. These categories include Best Exterior Design Team, Best CMF Team, AI Explorer Award, Undiscovered Talent, Unsung Hero Award and much more. 

Rather than judging individually behind closed doors, the live sessions give judges the opportunity to discuss the entries with their peers, comparing perspectives and drawing upon their own experience of working within the industry.  

For John Buckingham, head of Kia NEXT design – exterior group, this focus on the people behind the design is key: “In normal awards it’s very difficult to pull out that creative process and the people that are working on it, so I think the People Awards’ ability to pull out that design component is really helpful to show the world what we can do and reward people for that.” 

For Shaun Hutchinson, the Automotive and Transport design course director at Coventry University, the judging process was notable for its collaborative approach: “It’s a very fair process and it’s good to talk to our peers about each category and compare notes.” 

Head of Italdesign Jose Navarro also highlighted the value of bringing industry peers together: “The networking is really exciting – there are people here that I’ve known for a long time and we’ve been reunited after more than 10 years,” he said. “It’s nice to see people coming together as nowadays design studios are becoming bigger and bigger and we aren’t as human as we used to be 20 or 30 years ago.” 

SAIC Design Advanced London design director Carl Gotham similarly described the day as an opportunity to exchange knowledge as well as assess the entries, commenting: “It’s a pleasure to come together with industry peers and also to see behind the scenes of a lot of studios, sharing some stories and experiences of what’s happening in the industry. We’re here for the People Awards but it’s also an opportunity to network and share knowledge.” 

While the details will of course remain secret until the big day, the first round of live judging is now complete. The next stage will  take place in Detroit on 7 October 2026 – the day before Car Design Dialogues Detroit – with an expanse of automotive design leaders flocking to the city to connect.

The results will be revealed at the 2026 People Awards ceremony in London, bringing together the teams and individuals recognised across this year’s categories. Book your table here.