The Office of Value-Added Promotion for Trade, Department of International Trade Promotion, has implemented the Design Excellence Award 2026 (DEmark Award 2026) for the 19th year to promote outstanding design works and elevate Thai products to be widely recognized in the global market. The Department has received cooperation from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP) in supporting experts from the GOOD DESIGN AWARD (G-Mark Award), Japan, which is an internationally recognized design award, to participate in judging the awards, as well as providing cooperation in various areas to ensure the award meets international standards. The awarded works also reflect an image of environmental, sustainability, social, and cultural importance.
The Design Excellence Award (DEmark Award) originated from the Prime Minister's Export Award (PM's Export Award) in the Best Design category, which originally considered awards based mainly on product development processes. In 2008, the Office conceived the idea of shifting to primarily considering well-designed products to align with changing trends in trade competition, by designing a new award logo named DEmark to serve as a certification mark for well-designed works and as a marketing tool for entrepreneurs to create differentiation, add value to Thai products, and expand the market for Thai products both in Japan and internationally, with plans to publicize the award to be widely known and accepted.
The Department has been implementing this project since 2008-2025, with a total of 1,320 works receiving the DEmark Award. In 2025, 95 works from 82 companies received the DEmark 2025 Award.
The Department of International Trade Promotion aims to create awareness and publicize the award-winning works, including the designers/owners, presenting the highlights of the works to be widely known and accepted both in Thailand and internationally.
