DDFCxSRP Silk Road Design Competition

The Dubai Design and Fashion Council (DDFC), in partnership with SRP Group has announced the DDFCxSRP Silk Road Design Competition.

Design students and professional designers from the MENA region are invited to submit their innovative homeware and jewelry design projects, for a chance to win cash prizes of up to AED 60,000 per entrant.

Design propositions must leverage the theme of Dubai Expo2020, “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”, and its sub-themes of “Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity”, presented in a contemporary, innovative manner. All forms of cultural expression can be considered as reference for the development of the design proposition, including but not limited to: calligraphy, pottery, islamic art, modest fashion, culinary, architecture, music, etc.

Commercial value: Design competition aims at creating a series of popular EXPO 2020 related products that brings commercial values to the stakeholders.

Design propositions should appeal to the variety of audiences expected to attend the Dubai Expo2020, leveraging the richness of the Emirati and Arabic cultural heritage.

The exploration of innovative materials and techniques are encouraged, allied with the employment of traditional materials (e.g. gold, silver, porcelain).

(1) Home wares collection: Assumes the creation of a set of minimum 8 pieces of formal household wares – e.g. table ware, cutlery, tea sets, fine dining sets, etc.

(2) Jewelry collection: Assumes the creation of a set of minimum 5 pieces of jewelry – e.g. earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets, etc.

Eligibility criteria

To be considered for the exhibition, applicant designer must comply to the following eligibility criteria:

  • Applications from designers based in any country in the MENA region will be considered
  • Designer must demonstrate a minimum of three years of experience in homeware or jewelry design by submitting a personal portfolio
  • Only applications from individuals will be accepted. Registered companies and/or creative collectives will not be considered as valid applications
  • Each submission must detail one single design proposition for either Homeware or Jewelry
  • If designer wishes to submit more than one design proposition, it must be done in a separate application.
  • Each designer can submit a maximum of two applications per category (i.e. two applications for Homeware category, and two applications for Jewelry category)
  • Only original projects will be accepted. Existing projects, or projects that have already been submitted to other competitions, tenders, awards, or accolade are not eligible
  • Instructions specified under item “2. Application Submission” must be observed in full. Submissions that do not abide to the provided instructions will be disqualified.

Application submission

  1. To apply, download the application form here.
  2. Submit documents detailed on Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Application Form

Important note:

Videos and Dropbox links will not be accepted. Documents can be shared over Wetransfer link.

Evaluation criteria:

Submitted works will be evaluated and selected by an internal committee comprised of DDFC and SRP representatives, as well as invited designers, to be defined by SRP and DDFC. Design propositions will be selected based on the below criteria:

  1. Originality: Projects must present original creative solutions, avoiding industry clichés and derivative work.
  2. Adhesion to briefing: Applications must abide to the proposed briefing, presenting design propositions that are universal in essence and keep original as EXPO theme has been mentioned earlier;
  3. Design proposition: Projects must present a clear proposition, considering key design elements such as originality, shape conceptualization, functionality, production feasibility, sustainability and social impact.
  4. Application deadline: All applications must be submitted by January 15th, 2019
  5. Winner announcement: Winners will be announced by DDFC and SRP in anticipation to the celebrations of the Chinese New Year on a date to be communicated.

Prizes

Prices will be conceded to winners on the below schedule:

  1. Homeware category:

1st place: One designer will be selected and awarded a total cash prize of AED 60,000

2nd place: Two designers will be selected, each receiving a cash prize of AED 30,000

3rd place: Three designers will be selected, each receiving a cash prize of AED 10,000

  1. Jewelry category:

1st place: One designer will be selected and awarded a total cash prize of AED 60,000

2nd place: Two designers will be selected, each receiving a cash prize of AED 30,000

3rd place: Three designers will be selected, each receiving a cash prize of AED 10,000

FAQ’s / important information

  1. I do not live in Dubai or the UAE. Can I still apply?

Yes. The DDFCxSRP Silk Road Design Competition is open to designers based in the MENA region

  1. Do I have to pay anything in order to apply my project?

No, applications are free.

  1. Can I apply with more than one project?

Yes. Each designer can submit a maximum of two applications per category (i.e. two applications for Homeware category, and two applications for Jewelry category). However, each project must be submitted individually, with its own application form and accompanying documents.

  1. I have applied to another award/accolade with my project, but I did not win. Can I apply with the same project to the DDFCxSRP Silk Road Design Competition?

No. Only original projects will be considered as valid applications.

  1. Do I have to be in Dubai do apply?

No. Application is done online and there is no need to be in Dubai.

  1. Who will be on the judging panel?

DDFC and SRP will form a jury with its own internal teams, who will be joined by invited industry professionals.

  1. Do I have to present a prototype or finished product along with my application?

No. Applications are exclusively digital.