Focus on Arts and Ecology

Deadline: 17 July – 28 Aug 2020

From Vietnam Design Week 2020:

The “Designed by Vietnam” Contest with the theme of “Regeneration” for designers is officially launched on a national scale from July 17th and lasts until the end of August 28th, 2020. Under the guidance of influential designers and experts in the five areas of Food & Beverage – Living – Fashion – Souvenir – Public Art, contestants will have many opportunities to connect and learn to create “regenerated” products with high value in design. The competition is carried out within the framework of Vietnam Design Week 2020 program by the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies in collaboration with Ashui.com, ConsMedia Corporation and many other co-organized partners.

The awareness of national and ethnicity has receded in the last century, when society has become more and more open about culture and diversity of living communities. “Designed by Vietnam”, therefore, has a new and deeper meaning, attached to the profound and specific things that make up the word “Vietnam” in both material and spiritual terms. It can be from the scent of the earth, from the breath of the air, from the proverb verse, from the fairy tales and the lyrics, from the Vietnam top hat or the door of the table, which are unique and diverse angles of life from highlands to villages to the cities. Designers, regardless of Vietnamese nationality or expats, are living on the “S-shaped strip of land”, when being inspired, searching, exploiting and applying elements and characteristics of culture- history – ancient industries or local materials, stories of the past and present, modern urban life or emotions from nature, and then breathing into them to create new innovative products, which are all “Designed by Vietnam”.

With the theme “Regeneration”, the “Designed by Vietnam” Contest wants to change the mindset of using materials in an economical, sustainable and optimal way. It means renewing, making the best use of the old values and fostering the sustainable development process in all industries related to exploiting natural resources. “Regeneration” shines another life to materials thanks to the imagination of people, in particular, in the context of the world facing Covid 19 pandemic, utilizing the available materials also helps realize the dream of a good future of sustainable development.

“Designed by Vietnam” is calling for all individuals living and working in Vietnam including designers, craftsmen and creative entrepreneurs in inter-related fields. Entries must be originally designed by the applicants and have never been submitted to any other prior contests. The “Designed by Vietnam” Contest prioritizes works that showcase Vietnamese characteristics and
cultural values using traditional and indigenous materials. We particularly encourage designs that apply or development from traditional crafts (including techniques, materials and aesthetics).

The “Designed by Vietnam” Contest is consisted of 3 rounds including: Application round, Preliminary round and Final round. The time period for the submission of the Application round is from July 17th to August 28th, 2020. The Preliminary round will start from the first week of September until the beginning of October – The jury will choose 20 designs and coordinate selected authors to put the products into prototyping. The final round of exhibition and awarding activities will take place during the Vietnam Design Week 2020 program from November 5 to 10, 2020 in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hoi An.

In addition to expert advice from the 05 influencers, the Organizing Committee will publish works of the 20 finalists and allow online voting on vietnamdesignweek.com from September 7th to
October 7th, 2020.

The Contest does not only stop at creating aesthetic taste but also has practical applications in production to foster the economic values after the pandemic. Therefore, “Designed by Vietnam” is expected to be a gathering ground for many potential talents in Vietnam and catch the attention of influential designers in each field.

MORE INFORMATION

● Judges and Mentors:

Ms. Từ Phương Thảo – Art Director of Elle Decor magazine / Creative Director of Sadec District

Ms. Nguyễn Thuỳ Dương – Managing Editor of Elle Decor magazine

Ms. Vũ Thảo – Founder and Design Director of Kilomet109

Mr. Lê Bá Ngọc – Vice President and General Secretary of Vietnam Handicraft Association (Vietcraft)

Mr. Nguyễn Anh Tuấn – Art Director of Heritage Space

● Co-organizers:

Mr. Lê Việt Hà – President & Chairman of Ashui.com (0988887890)

Mrs. Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà – Director of VICAS Art Studio, Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (0916011980)

● Place of submission: Vietnam Institute of Culture and Arts Studies (VICAS), 32 Hao Nam Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi.
Contact point: Mr. Hữu Khôi, VICAS int’l cooperation coordinator at designedbyvietnam@gmail.com, 090 961 5196.

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