Last year's Dezeen Awards winners have shared the transformative impact the accolade has had on their studios, with one victor describing it as "a very important moment in our career".

Winning has brought them more media attention, invitations to speak at conferences, more interest from potential employees and, in many cases, new business leads and projects.

"Winning a Dezeen Award has opened new doors to another level of business," said Atelier NL, which won two awards at the awards ceremony held in London last November.

"We feel like our work is taken more seriously now," the studio said. "We also got a new project at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden thanks to Dezeen Awards!"

"We have been getting more and more international project requests lately," said i29, which won interior designer of the year. "To win a Dezeen Award has been a very important moment in our career," the studio added.

"Dezeen is unarguably the biggest design platform in the world, so the appreciation for our work on such a stage is very meaningful."

Dezeen Awards 2019 is open for entries until 30 May. This year there are 36 categories that you can enter, including 30 categories for architecture, interiors and design projects plus six categories for established and emerging studios.

In its inaugural year Dezeen Awards presented hand-made trophies to 33 different category winners.

Here is what some of them had to say about what their victory has meant to them:

"It has global reach"

"It's incredibly good for us to have an internationally recognised award, because obviously Dezeen is global in terms of its reach," said Casson Mann, winner of both interior project of the year and civic and cultural interior of the year.

"We've had clients in Canada and so on that say "well done you've got an award" and so it's on their radar as well," said the studio. "They've noticed and congratulated us. So it's great that it has that sort of global reach to people who we wouldn't have necessarily thought would have been tuned in to Dezeen."

"The Dezeen stamp has a lot of weight to it"

"An immediate traction comes off the back of winning, because Dezeen has a lot of social followers, so it does really get your name out there," said Dame, winner of leisure design of the year. "Then I think there's an ongoing thing, which is being able to say that you're award-winning in your literature, which is really fantastic."

The studio added: "It immediately helps validate what you're trying to do, especially as we are a new business with a totally new product. The more trust marks we can have the better, and to effectively have an endorsement from Dezeen is huge for us."

"To have the Dezeen judges give this a stamp of approval is a really big tick in a big box for us because it validates our whole ethos of being a design-led company. And we can now go into battle knowing that we've got this sort of medal. The Dezeen stamp has a lot of weight to it."

"Winning has improved our confidence level"

"It was a humbling experience and made us very thankful," said Bureau Spectacular, winner of emerging architect of the year. "We were in a state of disbelief, especially knowing the competition we were up against."

"Winning such an award has improved our confidence level," said the studio. "It gave us a sense of affirmation that we might be onto something interesting. Additionally, winning this award has given us an easier transition into conversations with new people we might be working with."

"A huge recognition of our work"

"Winning a Dezeen Award was so amazing," said Atelier NL, which won both designer of the year and homeware design of the year. So many people knew about it. Even now, people are still congratulating us, telling us that they’ve seen and heard about us.

"It was a huge recognition of our work and it gave us way more self confidence, knowing that our work was evaluated by some of the best judges in the world," said co-founders Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Ryswyck. "That really gave us a sense of pride. We now know that we’re going the right way, that our work is valuable and recognised."

"Winning a Dezeen Award has opened new doors to another level of business," they added. "We feel like our work is taken more seriously now. We also got a new project at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden thanks to Dezeen Awards!"

"Dezeen Awards really helped in confirming the value of the project"

"I was very, very happily surprised that we won two awards, especially because we spent so many cold nights on this dike testing and tuning," said Daan Roosegaarde of Studio Roosegaarde, winner of both design project of the year and lighting project of the year. "It was really good for myself and my team to receive some appreciation."

"It was simply a great encouragement for all the cold and late nights working on a simple but yet so complicated project," Roosegaarde said.

"Dezeen Awards helped generate attention, and we could feel the positive energy from that. So that was really cool."

"The win has helped encourage clients to take on the project," Roosegaarde said. "Windvogel is now being developed in various Chinese cities, where we are installing it permanently. I think that Dezeen Awards really helped with that, in confirming the importance and the value of the project, which makes clients very comfortable."

Roosegaarde attended the star-studded awards ceremony last November. "When I was there at the ceremony, it was really exciting for me," he recalled. "All my heroes were in the same room, like Thomas Heatherwick and Tom Dixon. And and it was really like, wow. It was really fun to know that my heroes are also very approachable and enjoyed the work."

"We have been getting contracts from clients"

"Winning a Dezeen Award has definitely brought more attention to the office," said Spacon & X, which won emerging interior designer of the year and hospitality interior of the year. "We've had more applications for internships and jobs and from different media. We have been getting contracts from clients from outside of Copenhagen after being shortlisted."

"The ceremony was an amazing evening and we were so happy because we won," the studio said. "Dezeen Awards is different to other awards because we like Dezeen a lot and it is very respected. It was an especially nice trophy to bring home!"

"A very important moment in our career"

"Winning was a huge honour for ourselves, because the quality of shortlisted work is very high," said i29, winner of interior designer of the year. "We have been getting more and more international project requests lately. To win a Dezeen Award has been a very important moment in our career."

"Dezeen is unarguably the biggest design platform in the world, so the appreciation for our work on such a stage is very meaningful. Emerging designers compete with the biggest firms in the world. It includes such a wide range of designers from all over the world. This makes the Dezeen Awards unique and sets it apart from other design awards."

"It was unexpected and overwhelming"

"For a young collective it was unexpected and overwhelming to receive this kind of acknowledgement for our hard work," said Envisions, winner of emerging designer of the year. "It brought us a better connection to like-minded people in the design world... and Dezeen finally followed us on Instagram ;)"

"We left the Dezeen Awards ceremony with a significantly extended international audience"

"After winning a Dezeen Award 2018 for wearable design of the year and being highly commended for design project of the year, we left the Dezeen Awards ceremony as a young, innovative bona fide design authority with a significantly extended international audience," said Petit Pli.

"Dezeen holds a special place in Petit Pli’s trajectory as it was one of the first publications to share our designs with a global audience after identifying Petit Pli at the Royal College of Art final show," said Ryan Yasin. "The Dezeen Awards judges comment, 'A sustainable yet elegant design for the most important people in the world' echoed a deep understanding of Petit Pli and is a testament to the care and attention placed upon the judging process."

"It has drawn great interest to this small project"

"It was a great privilege to win this award," said John Wardle of John Wardle Architects, winner of house interior of the year.

"Dezeen is a publication that is one of our strongest links of design communication from one hemisphere to another, and I have enjoyed reading it over the years. It was received with absolute pleasure and has drawn great interest to this small project."

"We have been invited to present the project around the world"

"It makes us proud to see the project being received in such a positive way by the jury and the public," said architects Laura Katharina Straehle and Ellen Rouwendal, winner of small building of the year.

"Winning a Dezeen Award boosted our confidence a lot. We have been invited to present the project around the world and had some nice publications."

"Winning has helped us to be accepted as a serious design studio"

"Winning a Dezeen award has certainly increased our studio’s public profile and recognition," said Chiangmai Life Architects, winner of civic and cultural building of the year. "Also the project itself has received more press attention since winning the award."

"Last year we won nine awards but for us the Dezeen award was one of the most special," the studio added. "Dezeen is a platform that all architects recognise as an authority and winning the award has helped to be more accepted as a serious design studio."