Compasso d'Oro 2025: Winners in Osaka

If you love design, you've surely heard of the Compasso d'Oro, the award that has represented excellence in Italian industrial design for over seventy years. Established in 1954 from an idea by Gio Ponti and initially supported by La Rinascente, it is now promoted by the ADI – Association for Industrial Design.

This is not just a simple recognition: it’s a true narrative of how design improves daily life by combining aesthetics, functionality, innovation, and sustainability. The Compasso d’Oro does not only reward beautiful objects to look at, but also those projects that have a concrete impact on society.

Over time, it has grown to include different fields: from furniture to communication, from technological research to services. In 2025, with the international opening linked to Expo Osaka, the award has gained an even more global dimension, confirming that design is indeed a universal language.

Compasso d’Oro and Expo Osaka

This year, the award ceremony was held in a prestigious setting: the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, on September 5. The World Expo has as its theme “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, which translates into the commitment to imagine and build a more sustainable and inclusive future society.

Three are the guiding principles: saving lives, empowering lives, and connecting lives.

In this scenario, the Compasso d’Oro International Award naturally found its place. The jury, made up of international experts, selected the projects that best respond to the challenges of our time. Seeing these awards handed out in a global context makes you realize that design is not just a creative sector, but also a way of addressing the concrete problems of everyday life.

The projects awarded in Osaka

On September 5, the winners were announced: 20 Compasso d’Oro awards and 35 honorable mentions. Among them, several projects stood out for their ability to combine technological innovation, functionality, and aesthetic sensitivity.

One of the most significant examples is 1,374 Days – My life with long Covid, a data visualization project by Pentagram and Decimal Studio with Giorgia Lupi. Looking at it, you realize how design can narrate the experience of chronic illness not only through numbers but also emotions, creating a visual language that makes visible and understandable what usually remains invisible.

Another winning project is A+E Technology by Caimi Brevetti, which brings design into the spaces where you live and work with a fabric capable of reducing the impact of electromagnetic fields. It’s a concrete example of how an apparently technical innovation can turn into an ally for daily well-being. Lighting could not be missing, as it has always been one of the privileged fields of Italian design.

With Agorà, iGuzzini and Wilmotte & Industries have created a lighting system able to adapt to different needs, demonstrating that even light can become a flexible and creative tool capable of transforming both public and private spaces.

From Venetian glassmaking comes Anisette by Vetreria Vistosi, designed by Francesco Lucchese. Here design meets traditional craftsmanship: blown glass bells, with varying degrees of transparency, create plays of light that tell the timeless beauty of Murano glass.

But that’s not all, because the culinary world was also present with Ariachef Pro, designed by Fabrizio Crisà for Ariafina, which brings technological innovation into domestic and professional kitchens, making food preparation more efficient and functional.

Continuing, we find Avro by Martinelli Luce and Studio Natural, which shows how a lamp can become a versatile and hybrid object, perfect for both indoor and outdoor spaces. A design conceived to adapt to the changing lifestyles of today, increasingly fluid and less tied to traditional patterns.

Alongside these projects, other prominent names also stood out in Osaka: the competition wheels Bora Ultra WTO by Campagnolo, a symbol of technological excellence and performance in cycling; and the sculptural seat H.H.H. – Her Highest Highness created by Kartell and designed by Philippe Starck, which combines irony and refinement.

Finally, Hippo Pouf by Hangzhou Gedu Furniture Design – YUUE Design Studio, a playful and functional piece of furniture, capable of combining comfort and formal lightness.

Compasso d’Oro: usefulness and design

Reading the list of winners might seem like an exercise for professionals, but in reality, the Compasso d’Oro also speaks to you. Every winning project is not just an object, but a response to concrete needs: living your home better, working in healthier spaces, moving in more welcoming environments, and having access to tools that communicate more clearly and inclusively.

This is the power of design: not limiting itself to aesthetics but translating creativity into useful solutions.

This is why the Compasso d’Oro is so important: because it shows you how design can be an integral part of your daily life, even when you don’t realize it.

A look into the future

The Osaka ceremony confirmed how Italian design, while remaining faithful to its roots, is capable of dialoguing with the world. The awarded projects tell the story of a present that looks to the future, where beauty merges with function, and innovation becomes a tool to improve everyone’s life. If you are passionate about design, following the journey of the Compasso d’Oro means observing up close the evolution of society and its needs. And after Osaka, all that remains is to wait for the next editions to discover which new ideas will change the way you live, work, and dream.

Discover more on our website Diffusione Luce!

Written by Alice Pruccoli