The 2025 IES Illumination Awards will take place on the Friday evening of the IES25 Lighting Conference, with Acuity Brands as the Title and After-Party sponsor. Many projects from around the world will be recognized with this honorable distinction. Thank you to those that submitted and congratulations to all award recipients.

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The Outdoor Lighting Design Award recognizes excellence in lighting design and application in all aspects of exterior lighting. The program celebrates achievements in aesthetics, applied technical acumen, creative solutions to demanding site conditions and advancements to the industry in outdoor lighting applications. The goal of the program is to further the understanding, knowledge and function of outdoor lighting as a critical aspect of the built environment.

The Experiential Design Award recognizes those projects that use the design of lighting as art or for effect. This category recognizes themed or immersive environments, whether temporary, permanent, or seasonal.

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The Energy and Environmental Design Award recognizes quality lighting instillations in commercial and industrial buildings that incorporate advanced energy-saving strategies and environmentally responsible solutions into the overall design.

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Advanced lighting control solutions can provide significant energy savings, flexibility and other benefits in buildings. This prestigious award recognizes good lighting projects that exemplify the effective use of lighting controls in non-residential applications.

The IES Illumination Awards program recognizes individuals for professionalism, ingenuity, and originality in lighting design based on the individual merit of each entry. Judges are selected from a broad professional spectrum, representing knowledge of lighting and design excellence. The judging system is entirely based on how well the lighting design meets the program criteria. The Illumination Awards program is not a competition.

In 1902 Edwin F. Guth founded the St. Louis Brass Company and later renamed it the Edwin F. Guth Company. Mr. Guth’s profound creativity, entrepreneurialism and focus to improve interior lighting are partially represented through 147 patents awarded to him prior to his passing in 1962. This award recognizes exceptional interior lighting projects that balance the functional illumination of space with the artistic application of light to enhance the occupant’s experience.

New for 2025, The Illumination Award for Experiential Lighting Design, sponsored by ETC, Inc., recognizes those projects that use the design of lighting as art or for effect. The projects submitted in this category are themed or immersive environments, whether temporary, permanent, or seasonal. Other categories are: The Illumination Award for Interior Lighting Design sponsored by Edwin F. Guth, the Illumination Award for Outdoor Lighting Design, the Control Innovation Award sponsored by the Lighting Controls Association, a Council within NEMA, and the Energy and Environmental Design Award are parallel programs created to recognize outstanding lighting design.