Switzerland – The LIT Lighting Design Awards celebrated its 10th anniversary this week with an evening of recognition and connection in the heart of Paris. Held at the Yachts de Paris — a venue perched along the Seine within sight of the Eiffel Tower — the ceremony brought together 200 lighting designers, jury members, and industry figures from 25 nationalities, making it a truly international gathering.
The day began with an afternoon of networking and design talks, featuring a series of concise presentations that offered an intimate insight into the concepts, innovations, and stories behind the 2024 and 2025 award-winning projects. Attendees — including winners, jury members, and press representatives — gathered along the banks of the Seine for an afternoon of exchange and connection.
This was followed by a sumptuous Awards Ceremony, which honoured the Design of the Year winners across Architectural, Entertainment, and Lighting Product Design, alongside the Emerging Designer categories and the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The 2024 Design of the Year honourees present included Saumya Monga and Zerlina Hughes of Studio ZNA for Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto (Architectural), Takahiro Matsuo, founder of Lucent Design Inc., for The Creation (Entertainment), and Vaida Atkočaitytė-Dališanskienė, a student at Vilnius Academy of Arts, who was recognised as Emerging Lighting Product Designer of the Year for MOOD.
Suzan Tillotson, Founder and President of Tillotson Design Associates, received the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contribution to the industry. The 2025 honourees included Mariana Novaes of Atiaîa Lighting Design for Memorial Brumadinho (Architectural); Martin Döller of One to One by Martin Döller for Amphora (Lighting Product); and James Tapscott of Studio JT Pty Ltd. for Arc ZERO: Eclipse (Entertainment). The Emerging Lighting Designer of the Year award went to the Deggendorf Institute of Technology team, represented by Franziska Rieder, Sabine Wiesend, and Jannick Lippert for Flight into Shadow, while Yuxin Luo, a student at ArtCenter College of Design, was recognised as Emerging Lighting Product Designer of the Year for CinderGlow.
“Ten years ago, we started the LIT Awards with a simple belief — that lighting design deserved a platform of its own. What this anniversary edition in Paris showed us is how far that community has grown, and how deeply it cares about the power of light. To see designers from across the world come together, share their work, and celebrate each other in a city that understands beauty — that was everything we hoped this milestone would be.” — Astrid Hébert, Director of the LIT Lighting Design Awards.
The LIT Lighting Design Awards winners also included Maytoni, Hydrel, Expolight, Lichtvision Design, Artec Studio, Brandston Partnership Inc., L’Observatoire International, LELCO, Eleftheria Deko & Associates, Aslight, Sweco Architects, CD+M Lighting Design, Light Directions, and NEAL Lighting, alongside leading French lighting firms such as Concepto, Light is More, and Projetscénie, among others.
The evening closed with a seated gala dinner, with each attending winner called to the stage to receive their commemorative anniversary trophy — a moment that captured both the personal significance of the recognition and the collective spirit of an industry.
