The CTFW x VISI Design Prize 2026

Established in 2025, the Design Prize is a platform for recognising new design objects that contribute to the advancement of South African design.

WORDS Gina Dionisio

Participating designers and brands are invited to submit one project, released with the past year, from which 12 shortlisted designs are selected. Those shortlisted entries were exhibited together at the Festival Hub for Cape Town Furniture Week, where they were reviewed by an independent jury based on three criteria: Authenticity, Design and Advancement.

This year’s judging panel included VISI editor-in-chief Steve Smith, Lebo Kekana, Roddy Clarke, Sindiso Khumalo and Chiara Piperni with the winners of the Design Prize announced at a private awards event for the industry.

The CTFW x VISI Design Prize 2026 Shortlist

Massa Forma Square Table – Wiid Design

The Massa Forma Collection is a new, evolving series of tables which have been constructed around a recycled cork composite mass, paired with a removable glazed ceramic tile surface, creating a tactile surface that reads as a resolved tactile object.

MŪ202 Ametrine Mirror – MŪVEK x Spectrum Mirror

MŪVEK and Spectrum come together in a new collaboration that introduces a highly customisable mirror design, merging rigorous geometry with expressive surface treatments.

Checkmate – DEFT Studios

CHECKMATE is the ‘Deftest’ piece of furniture DEFT Studios have ever made (and the most difficult). It features exaggerated, sculptural form, playful curves, and complex techniques.

Held Smoke – Rasengani Atelier

Held Smoke is an authentic extension of Resengani Atelier’s material-led practice, rooted in ritual, slowness and the quiet choreography of everyday objects.

Wadi Panel Screen – TheUrbanative (in collaboration with Grey Room and Weluka)

The Wadi Screen is a freestanding spacial divider that explores landscape, material memory and contemporary African design through structure and textile.

WAYST 01 | Pendant – Alkaline

The WAYST collection is an ongoing exploration of storytelling through waste material. Each object in WAYST begins with what is often discarded: rubble from demolition, fragments from renovations, and offcuts from industrial processes.

The Scoop 33 Chair – Woodbender

For decades, Woodbender has honed the art of steam bending – a discipline shaped by precision, patience, and a deep respect for natural materials.

The Reader Lamp – LIM (in collaboration with Lise van Schoor)

With its quirky curved lines and statement colourways, the Reader Lamp is equal parts sculpture, lamp, and side table. Designed with a light footprint, it slips easily into even the tightest spaces, while adding a generous dose of character.

Meridian Tables – NØDE

Meridian draws subtle reference from navigation and alignment, offering a quiet nod to the marine origins of its extruded uprights, above which sits a circular aluminium plane, creating a presence that feels balanced and deliberate.

Di Ponti Touch Light – Hoi P‘loy

The Di Ponti Touch Light pays homage to Luigi Di Ponti’s iconic design (the Moka Pot), by echoing the faceted cylinder we’ve all come to know as the universal symbol of coffee, while drawing on the signature sharp angles found in the Hoi P‘loy logo.

Koppie – Stripped Studio x Tom Lead

Koppie is a contemporary dining chair informed by African vernacular typologies and modern production processes. The design references the stance and proportional logic of the traditional African tripod stool, reinterpreted through a restrained contemporary language that remains grounded and deliberate.

Woven Linear Light – Arkivio

The Woven Light was inspired from a process of material experimentation. The design originated in the workshop while exploring the properties of wet centre cane.

2026 Award Winners

CTFW x VISI Design Prize 2026

• CTFW x VISI Design Prize 2026 Winner – Koppie Chair by Stripped Studio x Tom Lead
• CTFW x VISI Design Prize: Authenticity category award – Held Smoke by Rasengani Atelier
• CTFW x VISI Design Prize: Advancement category award – Massa Forma Square Table by Wiid Design
• CTFW x VISI Design Prize: Design category award – Checkmate by DEFT Studios

Cape Town Furniture Week Award Winners

• Contemporary Craft award – African Jaquard
• Best Collaboration – MŪVEK x Spectrum Mirror
• Best Display – Haldane
• Best in Show (voted by the public) – Ananta Design Studio

Don’t forget to sign up to our weekly newsletter for the latest architecture and design news.