The annual awards celebrate emerging design talent from across Ireland, with graduate work judged by an international panel of industry and educational leaders. This year’s awards ceremony took place on Thursday, 15th October at Munster Technological University in Cork.

A particular highlight was Rachel Byrne, who was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix, as well as winning the Typographic Design category. Rachel was also highly commended in Digital Design and Design Research Written, an exceptional achievement across several areas of design practice.

Penny Byrne was also named a Winner in Typographic Design, while Allie McSwiggan took the award for Service Design.

Olivia Kinnane won the Universal Design category and received a Highly Commended distinction for Design Research Written. Her project,“The Writing of Space”, Analysing Accessibility and Wayfinding in Irish Healthcare Systems, was shortlisted in both categories.

Further recognition went to Aoife Murphy, who was Highly Commended in both Typographic Design and Design Research Written; Aisling Reitano, who received a Commended distinction in Digital Design; and Jennifer Treacy, who was Highly Commended in Typographic Design.

The results represent a fantastic achievement for the graduating class and reflect the breadth of work emerging from IADT’s BA (Hons) Graphic Design programme, spanning typography and digital design to research, accessibility and service design.

IADT Award Recipients:

• Rachel Byrne – Grand Prix Winner; Winner, Typographic Design; shortlisted in Digital Design and Design Research Written
• Penny Byrne – Winner, Typographic Design
• Allie McSwiggan – Winner, Service Design
• Olivia Kinnane – Winner, Universal Design; Highly Commended, Design Research Written
• Aoife Murphy – Highly Commended, Typographic Design; Highly Commended, Design Research Written
• Aisling Reitano – Commended, Digital Design
• Jennifer Treacy – Highly Commended, Typographic Design

The IDI Graduate Design Awards provide a national platform for graduate designers to showcase their work and celebrate the breadth and future potential of Irish design.

Find out more about the IDI Graduate Design Awards 2026