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."
