2012- 2013 Fresh Talent Sustainable Design Competition: Call for entries!

It’s time to design....sustainably.

Shift is calling on South Africa’s creative young people to submit their proposals and designs for the third annual Fresh Talent Sustainable Design Competition before the end of September.

To enter, designers should submit concept proposals, in response to the brief, Small Change; A World of Difference.  The twenty five finalists selected will benefit from the support of local and international design and sustainability experts and will get to participate in a social design collaboration in Cape Town in February 2013. Three winners will be chosen and will get to go on an exchange trip to Sweden to learn more about the Scandinavian ways of sustainable living and design. They’ll also be awarded prizes to the value of R 7000 (first place), R 5000 (second place) and third place will receive R3000.

The submissions may span various contemporary design fields from product, industrial and surface design, communication and graphic design, textile and fashion design, architecture and engineering, to create new models for sustainable business and community development projects.

Maretha Dreyer, Lecturer in the Department of Architectural Technology and Interior Design at Cape Peninsula University of Technology said: “My students and I thoroughly enjoyed our visit from Shift and found the presentation informative, inspirational and enjoyable. In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis to incorporate community projects into the higher education curriculum in South Africa. This competition provides a platform for students to get involved with their community and make a positive contribution to sustainable living. Design really can change lives!”

Design is about solving problems and making life better. Sustainable design thinking and processes involves considering the social, environmental and economic aspects of development, while paying attention to the impacts on these at each phase of a product, system or service’s lifecycle.

Jean Luyt, Lecturer for Applied Design at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University said: “Shift recently gave a very informative presentation, capturing the student’s attention and interest by highlighting the vast range of challenges which people face globally. The information and shared knowledge is informative and thought provoking and we have encouraged our students to enter the competition. As future fashion and textile designers the competition will give them the ideal opportunity to be challenged to think out of their of comfort zone and to creatively integrate the vision of well being into everyday life.”

Janine Johnston, CEO of Shift says: “The competition is our main platform to showcase examples of sustainable design and how small things can make a BIG difference. It positions South African youth as pioneers of the country’s green economy which seeks to develop an industry based on environmental and socially just practices. This call to action challenges creatives to think beyond beauty and functionality and consider how design can influence significant positive change to local and global communities and natural environments.”

Presentations may be submitted in the form of mood/story boards, video or sound clips, graphic depictions or even written proposal documents – whichever format is most effective in conveying the details of the design concept.

 Concept presentations should be delivered to: Shift: Inspiring Sustainable Design, Office 104, The Valyland Centre, Upper Recreation Road & Valyland, Fish Hoek, 7975. Electronic submissions are accepted and should be sent to info@theshift.org.za.

Submissions close on 28 September 2012.  The competition is only open to South African citizens between the ages of 18 and 35 years. For more information visit www.theshift.org.za, or email info@theshift.org.za.