Opinion: it's easy to criticise the Design Museum for awarding Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Centre the Design of the Year prize, but there are plenty of other celebrated projects that should be attracting the same scrutiny, says Owen Hatherley. More about "What is it exactly we're protesting about?"
News: the Design Museum in London has defended its decision to give its Designs of the Year top prize to a Zaha Hadid building in Azerbaijan, following widespread criticisms of the award on human rights grounds. More about Designs of the Year prize "about architecture rather than politics" says Design Museum director
Architect Zaha Hadid has described her Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan as an "incredible achievement" while project architect Saffet Kaya Bekiroglu said the project expressed the "soft, romantic side" of Azeri culture (+ interview + movie). More about Heydar Aliyev Center was "an incredibly ambitious project" says Zaha Hadid
News: architect Zaha Hadid's undulating Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku has been named Design of the Year by London's Design Museum this evening. More about Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center wins Design of the Year 2014
Prada's "radical" Spring Summer 2014 collection referencing themes of femininity and power has scooped the top prize in the fashion category at Designs of the Year 2014. More about Miuccia Prada's "feminist" fashion collection defies seasonal conventions
German auto brand Volkswagen's XL1, which it claims is the most fuel-efficient production car ever made, has been named the winner of the Transport category at Designs of the Year 2014. More about Volkswagen claims XL1 is "the most efficient production car in the world"
A keyboard by East London technology start-up ROLI, with soft keys that allow musicians to alter the pitch, volume and timbre of individual notes, has come out on top in the Designs of the Year 2014 product category (+ slideshow). More about Squishy silicone keys control pitch and volume on ROLI's musical Seaboard
Life-sized outlines of military drones drawn on the ground to depict their "invisible" presence by London artist James Bridle topped the Graphics category at Designs of the Year 2014 (+ slideshow). More about Drone Shadows by James Bridle evoke the presence of unmanned aircraft
The Portable Eye Examination Kit (Peek) aims to improve opthalmic health in low-income countries by adapting smartphones with clip-on hardware and an app, and is among this year's category winners for Designs of the Year 2014. More about Peek smartphone adapter and app scans eyes to help combat blindness
Milan 2014: industrial designer Konstantin Grcic has added an armchair to his family of Pro chairs, which has just been announced as one of the category winners for Designs of the Year 2014. More about Konstantin Grcic adds armchair to Pro seating collection for Flötotto
News: a keyboard with squishy keys (pictured), a cultural centre by Zaha Hadid and furniture by Konstantin Grcic are among the category winners for the Designs of the Year 2014 awards, organised by London's Design Museum. More about Designs of the Year 2014 category winners announced
This system of illustrated characters and animations was developed to help people learn to read Chinese, and is one of the 76 projects nominated for Designs of the Year 2014 (+ slideshow). More about Chineasy illustrated characters designed to make learning Chinese easy
A tactile watch designed for blind people by a group of students has gone into production after strong demand from sighted consumers (+ interview). More about The Bradley timepiece for blind people proves inclusive design has wide appeal
Dezeen promotion: Dezeen readers can receive a 25 percent discount on tickets to the Designs of the Year 2014 exhibition, opening today at London's Design Museum (+ slideshow). More about Dezeen readers get 25% off Designs of the Year 2014 exhibition tickets
British designer Benjamin Hubert has developed a more stable version of his lightweight Ripple table, which features on the shortlist for Designs of the Year 2014 (+ slideshow). More about Benjamin Hubert's lightweight Ripple table is now strong enough to stand on
Here's a look at one of the standout projects from Designs of the Year 2014 - a floating school on a Nigerian lagoon by architecture studio NLÉ (+ slideshow). More about NLE's floating school casts anchor in Lagos Lagoon
Competition: Dezeen has teamed up with London's Design Museum to give readers the chance to win five pairs of tickets for the upcoming Designs of the Year 2014 exhibition. More about Competition: five pairs of Designs of the Year exhibition tickets to be won
Fashion designer Sadie Williams has heat-pressed neoprene to create this collection of metallic sci-fi garments, which was nominated for Designs of the Year 2014 earlier this week. More about Futuristic gowns formed from metallic neoprene by Sadie Williams
Mexican architect Frida Escobedo has transformed the former home and studio of painter David Alfaro Siqueiros into a public gallery and encased the entire complex behind a triangulated concrete lattice (+ slideshow). More about Perforated concrete walls encase La Tallera gallery by Frida Escobedo
This performing arts centre in São Paulo by Brasil Arquitetura features huge concrete volumes lifted off the ground to create accessible public spaces and has been named on the shortlist for the Designs of the Year awards, announced this week (+ slideshow). More about Praça das Artes by Brasil Arquitetura features concrete boxes projecting over a public plaza