09-21-21
innovation by design

See the most innovative designs of 2021

See all the honorees of Fast Company’s 2021 Innovation by Design Awards in the General Excellence category.

By Fast Company Staff1 minute Read

Winner

[Photo: Regan Morton Photography/courtesy Icon]

3D Printed Homes for the Homeless
Icon
A community of 3D-printed homes for people who have experienced chronic homelessness

Finalists

[Photo: Local Projects]

Hyde Park Barracks Museum
Local Projects

[Photo: courtesy Layer]

Beosound Emerge
Layer and Bang & Olufsen

[Photo: Nike]

Nike Go
Nike

[Photo: Gatorade]

Gx Sweat Patch & App
Gatorade, Smart Design, Work & Co, and Epicore

[Image: TeakOrigin]

TeakOrigin Guide
TeakOrigin

[Image: Work & Co]

MTA’s Live Subway Map
Work & Co

[Image: Work & Co]

Ikea’s New Design System, Skapa
Work & Co

[Photo: Local Projects]

Greenwood Rising
Local Projects

[Image: Microsoft]

Microsoft Mesh
Microsoft

[Photo: Degree]

Degree Inclusive
Sour and Wunderman Thompson Buenos Aires

Honorable Mentions

[Photo: ElectraMeccanica]

Solo
ElectraMeccanica

[Image: Taur]

Taur
Taur

[Photo: Samsung]

Galaxy Z Fold2
Samsung

[Photo: Vollebak]

Full Metal Jacket
Vollebak

[Photo: Stackt]

Stackt Market
Stackt

[Photo: Local Projects]

Planet Word
Local Projects

[Image: Fitbit]

Inspire 2 UX
Fitbit

[Photo: Nike]

Space Hippie
Nike

[Image: Microsoft]

Sol Lewitt app
Microsoft

[Photo: AKQA]

H&M Looop
AKQA and Universal

[Photo: Astro Studios]

Wildtype
Astro Studios

[Photo: Visby Medical]

Innovation in Diagnostic Design
Visby Medical

[Photo: courtesy Dalberg Design]

Boost
Sabin Vaccine Institute and Dalberg Design

[Photo: Walmart]

Walmart+
Walmart

[Photo: Colgate Palmolive]

Hum
Colgate-Palmolive

[Photo: Bobbie]

Bobbie
Bobbie

[Photo: Waterlight]

Waterlight
E-Dina Energy and Wunderman Thompson Colombia

See more from Fast Company’s 2021 Innovation by Design Awards. Our new book, Fast Company Innovation by Design: Creative Ideas That Transform the Way We Live and Work (Abrams, 2021), is on sale now.

Video

Impact

More than 10,000 John Deere workers are on strike

Reasons to hope: 16 companies, people, and ideas that might save the planet

7 of the most polluting industries are working on sector-wide strategies for decarbonization

News

With Megan Thee Stallion Hottie Sauce, Popeyes just leveled up in the celebrity arms race

The ‘mountain’ of electronics we discard in 2021 could weigh more than the Great Wall of China

The candy corn debate is over

Co.Design

See NYC’s bold new subway map, inspired by Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 classic

Meet the landscape architect turning Superfund sites into must-see destinations

Sucking CO2 from the sky could help save the planet. But it faces a vexing design problem

Work Life

Why startup equity can feel like a scam—and how companies can fix it

Leaders, it’s about time you get comfortable being uncomfortable

I tried starting my day off by screaming in order to release stress