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Hyundai Motor Triumphs at iF Design Award 2026 with 21 Wins for Automotive, Product and Branding Innovations
02 Apr, 2026 04:04 PMHyundai Motor secures 21 prestigious awards across eight diverse categories, from Automobiles/Vehicles to Product Design and Branding & Communication Design
IONIQ 6 N and Concept THREE lead vehicle wins, joined by innovative projects including the ‘Night Fishing’ short film and HMGICS CX Smart Farm
The numerous accolades highlight Hyundai Motor’s evolution into a creative, design-driven brand beyond traditional automotive manufacturing

SEOUL, April 1, 2026 – Hyundai Motor Company today announced a sweeping victory at the iF Design Award 2026, one of the world’s prestigious design competitions. The company clinched 21 awards across eight distinct categories — surpassing its tally at the 2025 event — including Automobiles/Vehicles, Branding & Communication Design, Product Design and others.
Hyundai Motor’s wide-ranging success at this competition not only recognizes the brand’s excellence in vehicle design but also solidifies its growing reputation as an innovative lifestyle brand that is reshaping its identity on the global stage.
- Which Hyundai Motor Products and Projects Earned an IF Design Award?
Hyundai Motor achieved prominent wins for its IONIQ 6 N high-performance, all-electric sedan, Concept THREE compact electric vehicle (EV), and MobED Urban Hopper & Golf variants of its acclaimed adaptable robotic mobility platform in the Product Design category.
The iF Design Award jurors recognized the company across a broad spectrum of creative projects, with some winning in multiple categories. ‘Night Fishing,’ a short thriller set at an EV charging station, won two awards in the Branding & Communication Design category. The ‘HMGICS CX Smart Farm,’ the world’s first interactive robotics-based smart farm at Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore, also earned two awards for its human-centered technology in the Branding & Communication Design and User Experience (UX) categories. Hyundai Motor Group’s first-ever software brand, Pleos, has also won the IF Design Award 2026 in the same category (Branding & Communication Design), pioneering design excellence as the industry shifts toward mobility innovation.

Other award-winning initiatives include the ‘Tree Correspondents’ CSR campaign, which used artificial intelligence (AI) to translate ecological data from trees into language, and the ‘Na Oh’ Korean restaurant, which was recognized for its interior design and an archive book that captures its unique culinary philosophy.
- What Does This Sweeping Recognition Mean for Hyundai Motor?
Winning across a diverse field of categories is a powerful statement of Hyundai Motor’s creative and design-driven evolution. These achievements highlight the brand’s expansion beyond a traditional automotive manufacturer into a global leader in innovation and creativity. The awards for projects in architecture, communication and user experience are expected to elevate global brand awareness and underscore the brand’s commitment to design excellence in every facet of its business.
- How Is Hyundai Motor Integrating Its Design Philosophy Into Lifestyle Products?
The brand’s design identity was also celebrated through a range of innovative product designs.
Winners include:
- Lifestyle Products: The EV Frunk Cooler Bag, which transforms the front trunk into a daily lifestyle space, and the Pixel Diffuser, a vehicle air freshener inspired by the IONIQ lineup’s signature pixel design.
- Brand Accessories: The Hyundai Customizable MagSafe ID Card Case for employees and the H-Gardening Tools, a compact set that translates Hyundai Motor’s ‘Progress for Humanity’ vision into everyday life with nature.
- Hyundai Motor’s Winners at iF Design Award 2026
|
Category |
Winning Product/Project |
Description |
|
Product
Design: Automotive |
IONIQ 6 N |
The high-performance, all-electric production model based on
Hyundai Motor’s acclaimed IONIQ 6. |
|
Product
Design: Automotive |
Concept THREE |
Hyundai Motor’s first compact EV concept under the IONIQ
sub-brand embodies its ‘Art of Steel’ design language. |
|
Product
Design: Motorbikes |
MobED Urban
Hopper & Golf |
A versatile, compact robotic mobility platform designed for
adaptable applications for urban and leisure use. |
|
Product
Design: Automotive |
EV Frunk
Cooler Bag |
A cooler bag which redefines the front trunk as a valuable
lifestyle and storage space. |
|
Product
Design: Automotive |
Pixel
Diffuser |
A vehicle air freshener inspired by the pixel identity of the
IONIQ EV lineup, designed for ease of use. |
|
Product
Design: Garden |
H-Gardening
Tools |
A compact, sustainably designed gardening set that translates
brand vision into interaction with nature. |
|
Product
Design: Office/Stationary
|
Hyundai
Customizable MagSafe ID Card Case |
A modular employee ID case with MagSafe functionality for
enhanced personalization and usability. |
|
Concepts: Product
Concepts |
Furnished
Lounge / Hyundai Add
Gear |
Forward-thinking concepts that explore future lifestyles and the
integration of mobility into daily living. |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Campaigns/Advertising
|
Night Fishing |
A suspenseful 10-minute film released in movie theaters, offering
a cinematic experience that breaks from traditional advertising. |
|
Branding & Comm. Design: Film/Video |
||
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Campaigns |
Tree
Correspondents |
A CSR campaign celebrating the 10th anniversary of the
‘IONIQ Forest’ global reforestation project and the planting of 1 million
trees across 13 countries. |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Publishing |
Na Oh Korean
Restaurant Book |
An archive encapsulating the philosophy and identity of the Na Oh
restaurant, located within the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center
Singapore (HMGICS). |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Typography/Signage |
PixelScape |
A graphic series that extends Hyundai Motor’s Parametric Pixel
design into expressions inspired by nature. |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Branding |
Hyundai
Heritage: 100 Million
Vehicles Produced |
A campaign celebrating the brand’s 100 million-vehicle production
milestone and spirit of progress. |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Branding |
Pleos (Hyundai Motor Group’s integrated mobility software brand) |
The ‘New Axis’ design system symbolizes multidimensional
connection of physical and digital dimension, connecting all forms of
movement through software innovation. |
|
Branding
& Comm. Design: Branding |
HMGICS CX
Smart Farm |
An interactive, robotics-based smart farm offering a full ‘Seed
to Table’ user experience. |
|
User
Experience (UX): Workplace/Production
UX |
||
|
User
Experience (UX): Education/Creative Tools UX |
UX Studio
Seoul |
The first open UX research platform in the auto industry,
enabling customer-participatory experiences. |
|
Interior
Architecture: Hospitality
Interiors |
Na Oh (Korean Restaurant at HMGICS) |
The Na Oh restaurant features stunning interior design while fusing
the beauty of Korean culture and cuisine. |
|
Interior
Architecture: Installations
|
Vision
Contents |
Industrial robot performance installation visualizes the E-GMP EV
platform. |
|
Interior
Architecture: Corporate
Interiors |
Hyundai
Motors India Headquarters |
HQ interior balances public exhibition and focused workspaces
through a clear spatial hierarchy — open at ground level, focused above. |