Moscow celebrates DAFES AWARDS 2025

On November 21, the awards ceremony for DAFES AWARDS 2025 took place at Moscow's Khudozhestvenny Cinema. The prestigious international initiative, organized by the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL and the DAFES platform, celebrates excellence in design, art, fashion, and creative entrepreneurship. From 1,900 submissions received in the autumn season, the jury selected 22 winning projects. The ceremony attracted 500 guests, including creators, industry experts, partners, and representatives from the creative sector.

DAFES AWARDS 2025 encompasses five primary categories with more than 80 nominations spanning typeface design, motion graphics, game development, fashion photography, and related disciplines. The award cycle achieved record-breaking participation this year, receiving 4,400 project submissions from dozens of countries, including China, Brazil, India, Thailand, and CIS nations.

The laureates received branded DAFES AWARDS statuettes along with valuable prizes from partner organizations. Winners in the Game Development category were granted placement in Moscow's Video Games and Animation Cluster at Skolkovo. Outstanding work in Creative Entrepreneurship and Product Design will be featured in the publications Bolshoy Gorod and Afisha Daily. Motion design winners received internship certificates from Raketamedia, while television network 2x2 presented exclusive merchandise to top participants. Independent media outlet The Blueprint recognized its selected fashion design finalist with publication, and Seasons of Life magazine invited the poster category laureate to contribute to their upcoming print edition.

The winners represent a diverse cohort of students, graduates, and established professionals from across the globe. Among the distinguished projects were Alexey Kizerev's Ray Kurzweil: 2045_Technological Singularity (Identity & Branding), Oleg Kryukov's conceptual procrastination candles, Amina Bykova's Phonetic Language Catalog for Duolingo, Valeria Verbitskaya's video mapping installation about the ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL, Ksenia Shibova-Borskaya's Maritime Alphabet, Taisia Yakovenko's Bisti-100 poster, and Emily Mikhailenko's Eisner typeface. Additional recognition went to digital design and gaming initiatives, including the myCeli application, the Secret Sauce design system, Arsen Popov's innovative platformer with distinctive movement mechanics, and Alexey Goryunov's Red Forest fashion collection.

"Each season of DAFES AWARDS reaffirms the tremendous potential of the creative sector both in Russia and internationally. This year, the award received 4,400 project submissions from dozens of countries — China, Brazil, India, Thailand, and CIS nations — a powerful testament to the vitality of the creative community. We are impressed not only by the volume but by the caliber of the work: these projects are competitive, timely, and ready for scaling. To support this growth, we actively engage partners who provide our laureates with genuine opportunities for advancement — from internships and publications to implementation and promotion. We take pride in seeing DAFES AWARDS become a launchpad for remarkable careers from around the world," noted Polina Lousheva, Director of International Competition Programs, Special Projects, and Collaborations at the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL.

Arseny Meshcheryakov, Head of the HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL, commented: "For the ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL, co-founding the DAFES AWARDS represents a natural extension of our educational mission. As a university, we recognize that genuine success in the creative industries emerges when talent meets opportunity. The award serves as a vital bridge between the academic environment and industry, enabling the most talented creators — including our students and alumni — to gain international recognition. We view this initiative as a powerful instrument for integrating Russian design into the global landscape and are committed to expanding this partnership through collaborative research, cultural, and educational initiatives with leading international institutions."

Media partners for the ceremony included DEL'ARTE Magazine, Bolshoy Gorod, Art Flash, The Blueprint, ST ART, Afisha Daily, ArkhReview, 2x2, Decornews, TopDesign Magazine, Seasons of Life, and other publications.

The evening concluded with a performance by the neojazz ensemble Qascad, an exclusive screening of the film The Artist, and networking that brought together representatives of creative communities from various countries.

DAFES AWARDS — An award established by the DAFES competition platform and the HSE School of Design. It encompasses 5 major categories, 20 disciplines, and more than 80 nominations across design, art, fashion, education, and creative entrepreneurship. The award welcomes submissions from individuals, studios, and teams, regardless of professional status or geographic location.

DAFES — An international competition program dedicated to fostering creative achievement, facilitating knowledge exchange, and establishing benchmarks for professional development in design, art, fashion, education, and business.

HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL — A division of one of Russia's leading universities, the Higher School of Economics (HSE), which ranks among the world's top 100 young universities and holds a position in the global top 150 institutions in Art & Design according to the prestigious QS World University Rankings 2024. HSE ART AND DESIGN SCHOOL offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs, as well as continuing education and children's courses across more than 15 educational disciplines.