Deadline: September 27, 2023
Applications are open for the Young Balkan Designers Competition 2023. Young Balkan Designers (YBD) is Mikser organization’s regional talent platform aimed at discovering, developing and promoting creative talents of the Balkan region in the field of sustainable design.
The initiative also aims at unifying the regional design scene, bringing it closer to the international audience, strengthening its potential by providing additional education and practice to emerging designers, while at the same time contributing to the restoration of multi-cultural cooperation in the Balkan region.
Competition Theme: “Here and Now”
May you live in interesting times. We do. Technological breakthrough opens new possibilities of remote working and flexible working arrangements that also affect configuration of our personal and communal spaces. On the other hand, the global health crisis gave us time to reflect on our personal values and aspirations, leading to mass self-reflection on the ways we want to spend most of our day – where, when, with whom and why. Theme “Here and Now – Hybrid Solutions for Contemporary Living, Work, Exchange and Play” calls for sustainable, smart, flexible design solutions for ever-changing environments and circumstances we live in nowadays.
They challenge young designers to explore new furniture and space functions for in-between and overlapping areas of everyday worlds: home, work, school, public spaces, fun, intimate and communal zones, urban and rural environments, static and moving experiences. Submitted projects should be able to offer multiple functions and experiences to its users, support diverse living scenarios, hybrid and nomadic work models, enable easy creation of “third spaces”, transform any place into a playroom or informal education set-up and much more. They encourage young designers to concoct new or revisit their existing design ideas, by looking into cross-over, hybrid functions of furniture pieces, modular systems or other utility objects, from perspectives of diverse users (grown-ups, children, different genders, elderly, people with disabilities, etc.), various time scenarios (by night, by day, seasonal, etc.), alternating environments and social contexts (outdoor, indoor, private, public), etc.
Awards
The Jury will select the Competition winners for:
- Round One Winners: Participation in YBD for NUNC Exhibition of proposals in Belgrade (Faculty of Forestry, side program of Belgrade Furniture Fair)
- Round Two Winners: Product Development for NUNC w/ company product development team
- Successful Prototypes: Presentation of prototypes at Milan International Furniture Fair 2024 (Nunc Booth) and Mikser Festival 2024 in Belgrade
Eligibility
- Open to creators up to 40 years of age, who live or work in the Balkans, have Balkan origin, or appreciate Balkan culture.
- Applicants may be individuals or groups of authors.
- Each applicant may submit more than one entry.
Criteria
Criteria appreciated by the Jury:
- Innovative features of the project that enhance the quality of everyday life
- Ability to address needs of diverse users
- Multifunctionality
- Potentials for circularity of product or its elements
- Ergonomics
- Rational production and transportation costs
- Innovative use of materials available locally
- Implementation of local knowledge and techniques
- Environmentally friendly production process, innovative use of recycled materials
- Relevancy in relation to local / global environmental and social challenges
Application
Applicants can submit their projects until September 27, 2023 at 23.59 via an online form.
For more information, visit Young Balkan Designers.
