Colour Design Awards offers trips to NY and London

The competition has grown out of the previous Plascon Prism Awards, which the company supported for several years as part of its ongoing commitment to further the architectural and design industries. The new awards will be held for the first time in 2014 and are aimed at both students and professionals.

Theme

The theme is 'Uplift' and uplifting neglected social spaces is central to the competition, which is why it was selected as one of 450 officially recognised projects on the World Design Capital 2014 programme. The World Design Capital 2014 carries the slogan 'Live Design. Transform Life' and similarly, the aim of Plascon's awards is to show that urban spaces can be positively transformed through the use of design and colour and how this can make a difference in the daily lives of the people who use that space.

"We know that creative thinkers have the power to change the world for the better. We are also big supporters of budding design and architectural talent. That's why we started the Colour Design Awards - a competition that celebrates colour, innovation and creativity," says Plascon's colour manager and the driving force behind the awards, Anne Roselt.

Student category

For student designers, the task is simple: find a public space that has the potential to be revitalised and then show how it can be renewed using a design and colour intervention.

The winning entry in the student category will win a trip to the London Design Festival 13-21 September 2014. The three top entries in the student category each receive a R5000 cash prize. In addition, the top three educational institutions each receive a R5000 grant and the top 20 students will have their entries showcased at Decorex Joburg 2014.

To ensure that the student entries are in tune with contemporary urban culture, entrants are asked to incorporate one or more of the Plascon 2014 Colour Forecast palettes into their designs.

"The Forecast's theme of 'Colour Nation' celebrates the way that we define our world with colour and each of the four palettes offers an inspiring perspective on how we do this," says Roselt.

Double category for professionals

While the student category is conceptual in nature, the professional category considers projects that have already been completed. It is separated into two areas of submission, one for residential projects, spanning interior and exterior, and another for commercial projects, both interior and exterior.

Professionals need to submit images of a public space, residence, office or building that they have recently completed, showing how this has transformed the lives of the people living there or using the space. The winners in each area get a R5000 cash prize and will feature in Plascon Spaces magazine. The overall winner will receive a trip to New York valued at R40,000 as well as 100 litres of paint to a charity of his or her choice.

Panel of creatives

Entries in both the student and professional categories will be reviewed and scored by a high profile panel of leading creatives in the fields of interior design, media and trend analysis. Joining Roselt on the judging panel are Annemarie Meintjies of Visi magazine; Alan Fennel of Designing Ways magazine; Laurence Brick of 100% Design SA and Dion Chang of Flux.

The Plascon Colour Design Awards will be judged in June 2014 and entries are due on May 28 2014. The winner will be announced in August 2014.

For more information, go to www.plascon.co.za.