Welcome to the first Faces of Design Awards!

This design competition is based on your existing portfolio, and culminates in the publication of a printed volume, showcasing the 25 most promising design talents, by design discipline (e.g. graphic design). This collection of profiles will be distributed to over 1.000 key decision makers at more than 300 companies, including firms such as vitra, IKEA, the Richemont Group (including prestigious brands such as Montblanc, Cartier and Chloé), designers’ studios such as the Campanas’ and Bouroullecs’, and the design press.

In the first round of the Faces of Design Awards, you have the opportunity to present the best elements of your portfolio to the judges in a safe online environment, followed by a second round with our high-profile panel.

The winners of the Faces of Design Awards will then have their profiles published and distributed to opinion leaders and key decision makers in design worldwide.

To promote emerging talents in particular, there is a special discount to encourage student participation in the competition, and participation grants to support design talent from emerging countries.

The competition opens on October 1st; the deadline for portfolio submission is December 15th, 2009. The winners of the design competition will be announced in January 2010.

Background

What are the Faces of Design Awards about? Simply put: the Awards
are about you.

At Faces of Design, we are constantly stunned by the quality of design talent out there – and even more so by how many amazing designers
do not get the recognition they deserve. To address this issue, and to raise the visibility of great design talents worldwide, we have created the Faces of Design Awards.

Join the Faces of Design Awards for your chance to shine, and to
have your work showcased to international design leaders – including manufacturers, design studios, journalists and design associations.

In two competition rounds, leading international design experts from
a wide range of backgrounds review your work. We  then actively promote the 25 best candidates by discipline and their work to opinion leaders, the press and potential employers/clients around the world.

Please see here for the full list of manufacturers, design studios and design galleries that will receive a volume of the winners’ publication; additional copies will be shared with the international design press, as well as key international design institutions.

If you are a member of the press, or a representant of a manufacturer, gallery or design association, and you would like to receive a copy of the winners' publication, please simply drop us a note at awards@facesofdesign.com!

Benefits

The Faces of Design Awards provide you with the opportunity to substantially raise your international profile. This includes:

1. Gaining visibility to an international panel of renowned judges (see below)

2. Having your work showcased in a printed volume, and distributed to over 1.000 key decision-makers at more than 300 companies and design studios, as well as leading design publications and associations worldwide

3. Meeting with the client or employer you would most like to work with: for each of the three participants that receive the most panel votes, we will do our utmost to secure at least one meeting or interview with the design companies of their choice. These can be firms from our distribution list of international design leaders, or other companies specifically chosen by the winners;

4. Having your work showcased in a special competition gallery on Faces of Design, which will be widely promoted to the international design press;

5. Winning the right to display the Faces of Design Award Winner’s Seal on your website and in other marketing materials. Seals are awarded for the following categories:

   a. Winner (awarded based on the total number of Panel votes received)

   b. Special Mention (by personal selection of one or more Panel members)

6. An electronic copy (PDF) of the final publication, to support your marketing efforts

7. The Faces of Design Award trophy

Of course, all participants in the design competition will benefit from being able to showcase their work to potential clients and employers on Faces of Design, and the additional attention the Awards generate.

Eligibility

The Faces of Design Awards are open to individual designers, design studios, in-house design departments, individual design students and student groups. The design competition is international in nature, and open to representatives of any design discipline.

The Panel

Submissions to the design competition are judged by an international panel of renowned judges including:

   1. Pio Barone Lumaga, Editor-in-Chief of LOFT The Nordic BOOKazine

   2. Alexander von Vegesack, Founder & Director of the Vitra Design Museum

   3. Gala Fernandez, Head of the MA Programme 'European Design Labs' of the IED

   4. Sigga Heimis, Designer and Design Manager (IKEA, Fritz Hansen)

   5. Maarten Baas, Designer

   6. Agnieszka Jacobson-Cielecka, Design Critic and Curator

   7. Alain Lardet, Founder of the Designer's Days, Paris

Please click here for further information about the panel! 

Deadlines

Submission: October 1st, 2009 to December 15th, 2009

Early bird registration: October 1st, 2009 to October 31st, 2009

Shortlisted candidates will receive the invitation to participate in Round 2 of the competition on December 21st, and need to submit their entries for Round 2 by January 10th, 2010. Winners will be informed in the week commencing January 25th, 2009, and the publication date of the winners’ profiles is scheduled for February 2010.

Entry Fee

Entry fees are:

   • Regular participants: €90 (standard)

   • Students: €50 (standard)

Please note that student entries will be clearly marked as such for presentation to the Panel, and in all subsequent communications, including the printed volume of Award winners.

Please also note that a limited number of special grants is available to promising designers from developing regions of the world, and to those otherwise unable to afford participation in the design competition. Please click here for further information about how to apply for a grant.

Payment Options

You may pay by PayPal or credit card, via the payment module on the Awards page. Payments have to be made before the submission deadline on December 15th, 2009. Please note that submissions for which payment has not been received by the submission deadline will not be considered for the Faces of Design Awards.