The international Best in Design competition is opening its doors for the 16th time to young designers from around the world. Anyone under the age of 30 with the courage and talent to participate can sign up for free until February 2, 2025. The winners will not only gain new contacts and experience but will also receive a financial prize of up to €1500.
What the Best in Design competition offers
After registering, designers will receive feedback from professionals, gain unique experiences, and make international contacts. An integral part of the competition is the networking program, which offers finalists the chance to gain visibility, speak and debate with the jury, and get noticed by potential clients or journalists. This networking platform helps talented creatives establish themselves in the design field and build their own brand. Last year, over 600 participants registered, with excellent feedback regarding the competition’s quality and prestige.
Competition categories in which participants can shine
Participants can enter one of four categories: Product & Industrial Design, Fashion Design, Communication Design, and Service Design. They can also compete for special recognition in the Media Award category and for the prestigious Best in Design Grand Prize, awarded to the best project of the year. Last year’s winner of this award was Polish designer Marek Kuźmiński with his project “Hands Up” – an innovative prosthetic with superpowers, which also received recognition at other competitions, including the Danish Design Award.
Who organizes Best in Design
Best in Design takes place every year during Zlin Design Week, a week-long design festival organized by the Faculty of Multimedia Communications at Tomas Bata University in Zlín. Students from the Faculty of Multimedia Communications at Tomas Bata University play a key role in organizing the festival and the competition. “As part of the program associated with Best in Design, we plan a networking program, the opening of a specialized exhibition, and above all, a gala evening with the awards ceremony at the beautiful Congress Center in Zlín, designed by the world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná,” says the competition’s director, Eliška Janečková.
Who will decide the winner this year
Experts from all over the world will participate in the search for new design talent. As they say, the more heads, the more ideas, so there will be three jurors in each category. Although the jury composition is not final yet, it is already possible to reveal that one of the jurors will be the art director of the British digital studio ManvsMachine, Dan Zucco. The jury will also include well-known figures such as the duo Burö Famos from Berlin, whose coat rack designs for TON won the Red Dot Award 2020, Janka Csernák from Hungary’s MOME, and Branko Popovic from the Netherlands, who has been discovering talented designers in the Czech Republic for over ten years.
How to apply
To enter the competition, you only need an internet connection and to visit the Zlin Design Week website’s Best in Design section. Then, simply fill out the form, which is available in both Czech and English. Registration will be open for two months, from December 2, 2024, to February 2, 2025. individual designers or design teams can submit their work or project. However, applicants must be under the age of 30, and there are no limits on the number of projects, although they must not be older than two years (as of January 1, 2023).
