The German Design Award is the country's highest distinction in the field of design. It is generally known as the Prize of Prizes because no other design award sets such strict criteria on its entries. A company can only enter the competition for the Design Award if its product has already been awarded a national or internationaldesign prize. For 2010 more than 1,200 nominated entries were received in approximately equal number for the prize's two categories. Out of these, the jury awarded 45 winners: 23 from product and 22 from communication design. This ratio is a testament that that each prize was duly earned.