T3 Awards 2026: the Design Awards dazzle once again with technology dreams are made of
Great design fully appreciated by our highly accomplished panel of experts
The T3 Awards 2026 have all been announced, except for one rather important category. Here we bring you the T3 Design Awards, a celebration of stunning craftsmanship across the vast array of lifestyle tech.
T3 has always followed the ethos of Marie Kondo, in that every product should 'spark joy' in your life. That could never be more relevant than for our Design Awards, where we showcase the very pinnacle of joy – with products so beautifully designed that you just have to show them off.
Now in its fifth year, the T3 Design Awards include four awards for technology, home, active and auto. Shortlists for these were selected by the T3 team, but the winners have been voted for by our esteemed panel of editors from across the spectrum of brands.
The judging panel includes: Georgia Coggan, Editor, Creative Bloq; Charlotte Collins, Editor-in-Chief, SheerLuxe; Mat Gallagher, Editor-in-Chief, T3.com; Gerald Lynch, Editor-in-Chief, Shortlist; Marc McLaren, Global Editor-in-Chief, TechRadar; Nick Odantzis, Editor, T3 Magazine; Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief, Wallpaper*; Mark Spoonauer, Global Editor-in-Chief, Tom's Guide.
Design Award, Active
Nike ACG Air Milano Jacket
Imagine if you put Nike's air technology into a jacket, and instead of aiding cushioning, it provides insulation. That's what Nike has done with its Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket.
Created by Nike's Apparel Product Innovation team, its release was accelerated to be made available for athletes at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. Inflating in just 20 seconds, it allows athletes to regulate their temperature in real time, without changing layers – just by inflating and deflating the jacket.
Bill Prince from Wallpaper* said: "Nike's Chief Design Officer, Martin Lotti, set himself an unmissable challenge when he decided to celebrate 50 years of its iconic cushioning sole during Milan Design Week: making ‘the invisible visible’. The result: an enveloping journey through, and investigation of, air as a design material, from inventor Frank Rudy’s original experiments to molto grails and a peek at nearly 100 previously unseen prototypes."
Gerald Lynch from Shortlist said: “It's designed for the slopes, but looks ready for the moon – the Nike Air Milano's heat-regulating air-flow technology is another forward-thinking winner for the sports giant, and deserves to become just as iconic a design concept as its classic self-lacing Back to Future kicks.” –
Design Award, Auto
Rolls-Royce Project Nightingale
We knew that the new Coachbuild Collection was going to be pretty special, but the reveal of the Project Nightingale model took our breath away. This is an ultra-exclusive Rolls-Royce model, only available by invitation and limited to just 100 clients.
The two-seater electric car is the same length as a Phantom and sits on giant 24-inch wheels. Its design is inspired by the Art Deco movement and some of the early Rolls-Royce models at the time. The name Nightingale comes from the designer's house in France, Le Rossignol (French for the nightingale), close to founder Henry Royce's winter home in Côte d'Azur.
"Electric cars are often identikit in design, due to aerodynamics, so it's refreshing to see a car that's so different," said Mat Gallagher. "The Project Nightingale is epic in every sense, celebrating an age of opulence and delivering a style that is almost timeless."
Design Award, Home
Dyson PencilVac
As Dyson's thinnest vacuum cleaner yet, the PencilVac is another design innovation for the British company, and one that actually makes cleaning easier. With a powerful 140k motor, it offers up to 14,000 rpm of suction power and can run for up to 60 minutes on one charge.
As the name suggests, the PencilVac is thin and straight, without the usual handle grip at the top. There's a version with what it calls Fluffycones, too, which are special conical brushes designed to pick up hair without tangling.
“The Dyson PencilVac simply reinvents the stick vacuum," said Tom's Guide's Mark Spoonauer. "Not only did the designers create an incredibly lightweight vacuum that cleans in all directions, but it also goes right to the edge with four soft conical brush bars. I especially like that the PencilVac leverages a dust compression system to squish the dirt down and maximise bin space.”
Design Award, Technology
Nothing Headphone (1)
When Nothing announced it was planning to launch over-ear headphones to rival some of the best in the industry, people took notice, as the company has a history of disrupting established markets.
The Nothing Headphone (1) is polarising in its style, but one of the most recognisable designs on sale right now. It carries over some significant design cues from its phones, with an aesthetic that wouldn't look out of place in the pre-steampunk fashions of the original Star Wars films.
They sound great, and the controls are also really intuitive, making these not only a success visually, but also from a user interface perspective.
"The Nothing Headphones (1) are opinion-splitting, sure, but the best designs often are," said TechRadar's Marc McLaren. "They’re bold and eye-catching, and they have a ton of great usability features that prove they're not merely form over function."
The Judges
Georgia has worked on Creative Bloq since 2018, and has been the site's Editor since 2023. With a specialism in branding and design, Georgia is also Programme Director of CB's award scheme – the Brand Impact Awards.
A respected industry name, Charlotte's role as editor-in-chief of SheerLuxe makes her an authoritative voice on all things fashion, beauty, interiors & more. An experienced broadcaster and podcast host, she's a regular media commentator in the fashion space, skilled live host and tastemaker across many categories, as well as a frequent guest lecturer at the country's most prestigious industry universities, including London College of Fashion.
As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.
Gerald Lynch is the Editor-in-Chief of Shortlist, keeping careful watch over the site's editorial output and social channels. He was previously Editor of Gizmodo UK, Executive Editor of TechRadar, Editor in Chief of iMore, and has travelled the world looking for the hottest products and innovations. Gerald is also a regularly contributing pundit for BBC Radio and in the past has written for T3, GamesRadar, Space.com, Real Homes, MacFormat, DIY, Tech Digest, Mirror.co.uk, Kotaku, Lifehacker, and many others.
Marc is TechRadar’s Global Editor in Chief, the latest in a long line of senior editorial roles he’s held in a career that started the week that Google launched (nice of them to mark the occasion). Prior to joining TR, he was UK Editor-in-Chief at Tom’s Guide, where he oversaw all gaming, streaming, audio, TV, entertainment, how-to and camera coverage. He's also a former editor of the tech website Stuff and spent five years at the music magazine NME, where his duties mainly involved spoiling other people’s fun.
The editor of T3 magazine, Nick has been in the publishing space for almost 20 years. His experience is vast and varied, including editing stints on Total BMW, the launch issue of Windows: The Official Magazine, T3 magazine, and Cycling News. He plans to make T3 magazine an even more essential go-to for the latest tech, and hopefully, won’t break a leg in the process this time.
Bill Prince is a journalist, author, and editor-in-chief of Wallpaper* and The Blend. Prior to taking up these roles, he served for 23 years as the deputy editor of British GQ. In addition to editing, writing and brand curation, Bill is an acknowledged authority on travel, hospitality and men's style. His first book, ‘Royal Oak: From Iconoclast To Icon’ – a tribute to the Audemars Piguet watch at 50 – was published by Assouline in September 2022.
Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. He oversees the direction of Tom's Guide and leads a team of over 25 journalists to bring you our expert buying guides, reviews, news, how-to articles, deals and other coverage.
