iF DESIGN’s CEO uwe cremering on AI, metaverse & sustainability

an interview with ceo uwe cremering

In an interview with designboom, Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH, addresses the evolving landscape of design, touching on AI, the metaverse, and sustainability. With over 70 years of history, nearly 11,000 submissions in 2024 and ever-growing global participation, the iF DESIGN AWARD continues to solidify its position as a prestigious platform for designers, architects, and brands worldwide, remaining relevant by consistently adapting to new trends and ensuring that they reflect the current needs and challenges of the design world.

As submissions are now open for the 2025 iF DESIGN AWARD, – enter here – CEO Uwe Cremering summarizes the organization’s commitment to staying at the forefront of industry advancements and embracing future trends: ‘A design award should reflect the main changes in design like AI, virtual realities and sustainability. That is the reason why we must review our categories and questions every year. The digital transformation of iF Design is of central importance to us. We are constantly working on celebrating our award online as well as offline. That is the reason why we have the awards ceremony gala in Berlin, some temporary installations and the new iF Design Metaverse. The Metaverse holds immense potential for the creative design industry, offering new avenues for expression, collaboration, and innovation.’

iF DESIGN AWARD responds to shifting global trends in 2025 | all images courtesy of iF International Forum Design GmbH

if design’s digital transformation

For the 2025 edition, the iF DESIGN AWARD introduces significant developments in its digital presence by integrating the new iF Design Metaverse, which allows the merging of online and offline celebrations. This new dimension of the awards ceremony welcomes participants and audiences into an immersive experience, bridging the physical and digital worlds and enabling greater creative expression and collaboration on a global scale. Additionally, prioritizing data security and enhancing the participation experience are key aspects of the award’s ongoing digital transformation, making the entry process more accessible.

designers, architects, and brands worldwide enter the award for evaluation by independent design experts

Also paving the way for new possibilities is artificial intelligence, as it becomes more and more relevant to the future of design. Having a background in digitalization and innovation, Cremering views AI as a tool that complements human creativity rather than replacing it. This perspective underscores the importance of a thoughtful integration of AI into design processes, ensuring that it enhances, rather than diminishes, the creative input of designers.

‘The synergy between Generative AI models and human input defines the line,’ clarifies Cremering. ‘AI generates content, but human creativity guides the process, ensuring a harmonious collaboration. Designers and creators must navigate these questions thoughtfully, ensuring that Generative AI enhances rather than diminishes human creativity. We see Generative AI more as a supporting tool for designers in many fields and not as a replacement of the creativity power of designers.’

iF DESIGN expects AI tools to enhance human creativity

insights on global design trends

As global design trends continue to shift, Cremering explains that designers are now tasked with creating new forms of interaction between humans and machines, particularly through AI companions and the use of voice interfaces, gesture controls, and emotion recognition technologies. iF DESIGN is quick to identify and respond to these evolving trends, as seen in the insights shared through the annual iF DESIGN Trend Report and the iF DESIGN Trend Conference. These mediums highlight key shifts in branding, technology, and sustainability, ensuring that designers stay ahead of the curve.

In line with these trends, Cremering highlights the importance of circularity in design, explaining how this approach challenges designers to rethink traditional product life cycles: ‘On the subject of sustainability, the shift to a design that is focused on circularity requires an in-depth understanding of production processes and materials cycles. By developing services and products that promote return and reuse, designers are able to positively influence the behavior of users.’

the award organization shares insights through annual trend reports and conferences, highlighting key shifts in design

if design award adapts to new criteria in 2025

In response to the growing significance of sustainability, iF DESIGN AWARD updates its evaluation criteria for the 2025 edition to place a stronger emphasis on environmentally conscious design. The former ‘Impact’ category has been replaced by ‘Sustainability’ as a core component of the evaluation process. Additionally, new category-specific questions have been developed with a group of external sustainability experts, encouraging participants to think critically about the environmental and social implications of their designs.

‘Our judging system includes five leading criteria: idea, form, function, differentiation and impact. The biggest change we made is to update the criteria formerly called ‘Impact’ with ‘Sustainability’. We have also added three optional multiple-choice questions for each entry category, along with one optional list of social and environmental accreditations the project might have received,’ explains Cremering.

iF DESIGN’s updated evaluation criteria responds to the growing significance of environmentally conscious design

The focus on sustainability is further extended through iF’s continued social initiatives, including the iF SOCIAL IMPACT PRIZE and the iF DESIGN STUDENT AWARD. These annual programs support projects that make a tangible difference in communities and align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), rewarding participants that prioritize sustainability in their work and encouraging students to explore innovative solutions that address global challenges.

‘We see this as an important opportunity for participants to acknowledge the changing nature of design and to be rewarded for positive actions. In cooperation with a group of external sustainability experts we have developed more and category-focused questions in the context of sustainability in 2025,’ concludes Uwe Cremering, CEO of iF International Forum Design GmbH, in an interview with designboom.

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