Guidance for IES Illumination Awards Judges
The IES Illumination Awards program celebrates excellence in lighting design and the creative use of lighting controls in nonresidential applications around the world. Each project is evaluated individually against the established scoring criteria — never in comparison with other entries. Projects recognized through this program serve as benchmarks of design quality and inspiration for the lighting community. As a judge, your careful evaluation upholds the credibility and prestige of this long-standing program.
Your Role as a Judge
Your professional insight is essential to the success of the Illumination Awards. The judging process depends on your expertise, fairness, and attention to detail. The IES Illumination Awards Committee gratefully acknowledges the contribution you are making to continuing the ongoing success of this program. Judges are selected from a broad professional spectrum representing deep knowledge of lighting design and technical excellence. Each evaluation focuses solely on how well the project meets the published criteria. A brief orientation video demonstrates how to log in, navigate the judging portal, and complete your assigned reviews.
Score Sheets
Judge Portal Log In
Judging Schedule
- Section Processing: February 4 – 18, 2026
- Merit Judging: March 4 – April 5, 2026
- Final Judging: Mid April, 2026
Each assigned project should take approximately 5–10 minutes to evaluate. You may pause and return to your work at any time, as long as all assignments are completed by the closing date of your judging round. If you have a conflict of interest with a project you’re assigned (for example, you were involved in its design or are affiliated with the design firm), please do not score the project and immediately notify awards@ies.org so it can be reassigned.
Evaluation Principles
Judging is anonymous and criteria-based.
- Each project is scored on its own merit according to the points available for each question in the category’s score sheet.
- Open-format questions allow for flexibility of perspective and appreciation of diverse design approaches.
- Projects must address each scoring section; omissions result in a minimum score for that section.
- Use the full range of the scoring scale where appropriate — strong projects should earn strong marks.
The Impact Statement is now an integral part of the 300-word project summary. Judges should consider how effectively each project demonstrates a positive contribution to its community — whether through environmental sensitivity, equitable design, or human-
centered outcomes.
Rule Violations and Scoring
To maintain fairness, the following violations result in an automatic minimum point
value for all categories, as indicated.
Assign Minimum Point Values across the board to projects that include:
- Any mention of designer names, design firms, manufacturers, or product brands in the narrative, images, or video.
- Evidence of digital image manipulation that changes the project’s appearance, including the use of fill light or flash in photography.
- Digital renderings not paired with actual photographs of the completed installation.
- Use of narration, music, captions, or on-screen text in videos.
- Videos exceeding 1 minute in length or failing to show real dynamic installation results.
- Submissions containing only product images rather than installed lighting applications.
- More than 10 total images submitted. Each photo on a slide counts as one image, even if several are grouped together. For example, a slide with two images and a chart = three total images.
Acceptable but Cautionary:
- Proper names of buildings, sites, or owners (e.g., Waldorf Astoria, Verizon, City of Chicago) are acceptable.
- Names that imply who performed the design are not acceptable.
- Example: “The IES Building remodel required thoughtful luminaire selection” — acceptable.
- Example: “As the lighting designer, the IES thoughtfully selected luminaires for their own remodel” — not acceptable.
When in doubt, refer to the score sheet and program rules, or contact illuminationawards@ies.org for clarification before scoring.
Image and Video Guidelines (for Judge Reference)
- Images:
- No fill light, flash, or digitally enhanced photos.
- Charts and diagrams count as images.
- Renderings must be paired with completed project photos.
- Videos:
- Maximum 1 minute.
- No narration, music, or text
- Slide-show videos made of still images are not permitted.
- Animated renderings must be clearly identified in the written video narrative and accompanied by actual project footage.
Confidentiality and Integrity
All judging materials are confidential. Please do not share, download, or distribute projects outside the judging portal. The system is designed to minimize local or professional overlap, but if you encounter a conflict of interest, report it immediately. Judges are expected to complete all assigned projects — full participation ensures the credibility of the awards. Your feedback on the process is always welcome. The Illumination Awards Committee values your observations and suggestions to improve the program. To recommend qualified peers for future judging panels, or to share your input, please contact illuminationawards@ies.org.
Quick Links
Judge Portal Log In
Score Sheets
Contact: awards@ies.org