The 1994 BBC Design Awards received a record 93,000 votes, cast through voting booths in the exhibitions around the country and over the telephone, to decide the best of British design in graphic design, product design and architectural and environmental design from around world. Out of the 1,251 entries received for the three categories the judges shortlisted five products, five graphic designs and six buildings.
The winners across the three categories were Woodlea Primary School, designed by Hampshire County Architects in the Environment and Architecture category, the Mk2 Skorpion Motorcycle by Seymour Powell in the product category, and an advertising campaign for Friends of Earth called “Acid Rain: See Red” in the Graphic Design category.
The exhibition at the Architecture Foundation included all 16 shortlisted entries as well as some of the runners up from the graphic and product categories. The architecture section was shown through models and a film that took viewers in and around the buildings. Prototypes of the products from hoovers to chairs were available for the public to try out.