The annual awards
The strongest digital products of the year
Held each late January, the Annual JIMSO Awards sit above the four seasonal cycles and draw the best of them into a single field.
Qualification
Most of the field has already earned its place
Every product that reaches finalist stage in any seasonal cycle during the year qualifies automatically for the annual awards. Qualification is free — a seasonal finalist has already met the standard, so no second application is required.
A limited number of products that did not enter a seasonal cycle can apply directly to the annual round. Annual-only entries are capped at no more than 30 percent of the annual shortlist, keeping the field weighted toward products that earned recognition across the year, while leaving room for strong products that arrived late.
Two ways onto the shortlist
- Seasonal finalists
- Qualify automatically and free of charge. No second application required — the standard has already been met.
- Annual-only entries
- Products that did not enter a seasonal cycle may apply directly, capped at no more than 30 percent of the shortlist.
The annual shortlist
Judged again against the full field
The shortlist is drawn from all qualified seasonal finalists together with the admitted annual-only entries. Every product on it is judged again against the full field, using the same weighted 0–100 rubric.
- Held
- Late January
- Seasonal-finalist qualification
- Free
- Annual-only cap
- ≤ 30%
- Overall honour
- 1
of the annual shortlist
Product of the Year
Category winners
A winner in each open category
The jury names a winner in each open category. As in every JIMSO round, a category may return no winner if no entry meets the quality threshold. Recognition is earned, not distributed.
The single highest honour
One JIMSO Product of the Year.
From the category winners, the jury selects one overall product: the single entry that best represents exceptional execution, measurable value and lasting quality across the year.
The way in is a seasonal cycle. See the season that is open now or read how the awards year fits together.