we're just one week away from the deadline for this year's Western Living Designers of the Year. It's Western Canada's most important design competition€”not only is it a rare opportunity to have your work in front of our panels of top designers and architects from around the world, It's also the chance to have your designs celebrated in the pages of Western Living, and on westernliving.ca. And our Designers of the Year event is on: time will tell if we can host a live in-person celebration (all the fingers crossed) or a virtual one€”but either way, the awards ceremony is one of the highlights of Design Week.

And if you need any more convincing? Have a read through a few of our past winners€™ experience of what it was like to hold the title of Designers of the Year.

€œTo be named Western Living Designer of the Year was always an aspirational goal of mine, so receiving that honour truly felt like a pivotal moment in my career. It was definitely a milestone that helped propel my business from a more localized brand to the global stage.€ €”Matthew McCormick, Industrial Designer of the Year, 2016

€œWinning the DOTY award and being a part of this incredible community has really shaped my work in so many ways. It's connected me with not only buyers, but also a network of people who really care about great design including other makers, designers and media. If you've thinking about applying, do!€ Kate Duncan, Furniture Designer of the Year, 2017

€œWinning WL‘s Designer of the year in 2017 personally was a huge accomplishment, when I started p22d it was the one award I had my sights on, so winning it was so rewarding. Being recognized by your industry for your work is the highest praise for any professional, we have a deep talent pool out west so this award is a huge honour. DOTY is known in professional and public realms so it also had a positive impact on my business attracting clients and growing my talented team.€ Denise Ashmore, Project 22 Design, Interior Designer of the Year, 2017

€œAs a regionally specific, contemporary architecture firm, our focus has always been strongly related to support and acknowledgement of success from those who are equally committed to West Coast regionalism. To have the continued support and recognition from Western Living has reinforced our critical goal to support places in which we work. It's the most important award we could win.

As a firm that includes interior design in our work, we have always designed with the experience of interiors in mind. Winning the Interiors of the Year has been critical to getting that story out there.€ €”Clinton Cuddington and Piers Cunnington, Measured Architecture, Interior Designers of the Year 2020

€œReceiving the Western Living Furniture Designers of the Year award was a huge honour for us. We were so pleased with how Western Living was able to tell our story and showcase our work in the DOTY feature. The award helped us to connect with so many great people working in the design industry in Western Canada including many amazing designers and makers who are now friends and collaborators.€ Kaly Ryan and Bram Sawatzky, Willow and Stump, Furniture Designers of the Year, 2018

€œThe fact Western Living undertakes this search for talent and highlights their findings in a dedicated issue shows just how committed they are to the culture of design and craft in Western Canada. The DOTY search is such a gift to our design community and it gives both up and coming as well as seasoned talent such a great platform to showcase their abilities. 

I became a designer to make the world a better place through design. Western Living is definitely making Western Canada a better place by elevating the level of design we can expect from our design community.€ James Tuer, JWT Architecture, Landscape Designer of the Year, 2020

Enter Now! Deadline is April 2, and you’ll find all the details, categories and more over at designersoftheyear.ca.