INDE.Awards’s Launch Pad is an important design initiative of the Asia
Pacific region, promoting the support and development of product design through
a unique, interactive program of events.
Key Dates
23 November 2017 : Entries
Open
12 March 2018 : Entries
Close
16 March 2018 : Extended Entries Close
19 – 29 March 2018 : Round #1 Judging
7 May 2018 : Finalists Announced
18 May 2018 : Live
Judging Asia
24 May 2018 : Live Judging Australia
22 June 2018 : INDE.Awards
*Please note, dates are subject to
change.
Designers/Teams Eligibility Criteria
Launch Pad is a competition and
mentoring program aimed at emerging professional designers.
To be eligible, designers/teams must
comply with the following criteria:
· Have designs in development
· Be engaged in design research
· All designers/teams must be
residents of an Asia Pacific country
Prototype Eligibility
All prototypes entered into the 2018
Launch Pad program must comply with the following criteria to be eligible:
·
Have designs in development.
·
Be engaged in design research.
·
All designers/teams must be residents of an Asia Pacific nation.
· Applicants may submit up to two (2) entries. Both entries are eligible for judging in the finalists’ round. An entry may constitute a single product or a collection of closely related products. However, the manufacturing grant amount is fixed; additional funds will not be available if the winning entry consists of more than one product.
·
Each entry must have a complete physical prototype. If the prototype is
not complete at the time of entry, it must be completed for live judging in
May if the entry is selected as a finalist. Finalist entries without
completed prototypes in March for live judging will be disqualified.
·
Product(s)/Prototype(s) submitted must target the following categories:
furniture, lighting or accessories.
·
It
is not a requirement of Launch Pad that prototypes be shown for the first time
(i.e. your prototype may have been previously exhibited).
·
Product(s)/Prototype(s) designs must be less than 24 months old from
date of submission.
·
Product(s)/Prototype(s) must not be subject to any current
manufacturers’ agreements.
·
Entrants must have paid the registration fee in full for their prototype
to be eligible for judging (see details below).
·
If successful in being selected for live judging, applicants agree to
have their submitted prototype(s) available in Sydney (for applicants residing
in Australia or New Zealand) or Singapore (for applicants residing in other
APAC nations) for live judging. Please note, transport will NOT be covered or
managed by Indesign Media Asia Pacific.
·
If successful in being selected as a finalist in the Launch Pad 2018
program, applicants agree to be available to ‘pitch’ their prototype in English
to the regional judging panel in Sydney or Singapore either in person
(preferable) or via Skype Video/Google Meeting during the live judging session.
This element of judging cannot be done via video recording as it must be a
two-way conversation. If language barriers are of concern to the finalist
during this element of judging, the finalist may arrange a translator at their
own cost. This must be identified and organised well in advance.
Entry Fee
Entry into Launch
Pad 2018 attracts a registration fee, listed below. All registrations fees must
be paid in full to be eligible in the program.
·
Prototype Entry #1 = AU$55 (includes prototype entry)
·
Prototype Entry #2 = AU$20 (eligible for second entry only)
* Please note all payments made to enter the program are non-refundable. Special
circumstances will be considered.
Judging Criteria 2018
Applicants must demonstrate that
their submission is commercially viable and has potential longevity in the
commercial marketplace. Judges will consider whether the product is suitable
for production (other than self production) and determine if there is
sufficient market demand for the submitted prototype to warrant additional
mentoring to further the product development.
The Judges will consider each
submission based on the following criteria:
·
Authenticity / Originality of Design
·
Performance and user-friendliness
·
Ecological and economic impact
·
Innovation
·
Quality of prototype
·
Future potential
The Organisers engage the Judges and
the Organisers reserve the right to support the Judges’ decisions as final. No
communication will be accepted once the Judges’ response has been made.
Any feedback given in the judging
process may be used by the Organisers and may be provided to the relevant
entrant.
Judging will be conducted in three phases:
Stage 1: Initial Judging
conducted online to select 6 shortlisted prototypes from applicants residing
in Australia/New Zealand and 6 from applicants residing in other APAC nations.
Stage 2: Second-Phase Live Judging
session (one in Sydney, one in Singapore) to select two regional winners.
Involves candidate presentations and Judges’ Q&A.
Stage 3: Selection of highest-scoring regional winner (selected based on a combination of the live judging votes
as well as the online judging), who will take the top prize of Ultimate Launch Pad Winner.
Supporting Material
Entrants are requested to supply 3
high-resolution JPEG images of each prototype entered. Images must be:
·
1500 x 1000 pixels
·
Landscape in orientation
·
Crisp and clean quality image (no
pixilation)
2018 Terms and Conditions:
Please observe the following Launch
Pad Program Terms and Conditions:
1. Images and Copyright
1.1. Each submission must contain a
minimum of 3 high-resolution photographic images, 1500 x 1000 pixels in size
and landscape orientation.
1.2. Applicants give copyright
release of all photography submitted.
1.3. Digital sketches or hand renders
will be accepted, however the entrant must be advised that the design must be
in a prototype form by May 2018, if it is selected as a finalist. If no
prototype is available for live judging, the entry
will be disqualified.
1.4. The Organiser reserves the right
to publish or distribute part, or all, of any supplied information or images,
as
well as photograph any or all of the products submitted.
2. Transport Assistance
2.2. The cooperation of finalists is
requested to facilitate the delivery and pick-up of their prototype according
to
Launch Pad’s specific instructions which will be communicated nearer to the
live judging session in May 2018.
2.3. It is the responsibility of
finalists to deliver their prototype to the relevant live judging location
subject to the
Organiser’s conditions. Bump-in/out schedules, as well as
further instructions from Launch Pad, will be made
available to all applicants
in advance of the live judging.
2.4. Please note that financial
assistance is not available for transport of selected prototypes.
3. Packaging product for transport
3.1. Applicants whose products are
successful as a finalist agree that they are solely responsible for the
packaging of
their product. Applicants are reminded to package products with
numerous counts of packing, unpacking and
nationwide/international travel in
mind.
3.2. All individual parts of
prototypes must be correctly packaged and clearly labelled with product name,
designer’s
full name, address and contact phone number.
3.3. All packages must be clearly
labelled LAUNCH PAD 2018 and labelled as per specifications, which will be made
clear to entrants throughout the program.
3.4. It is the responsibility of the
applicant to provide proper and safe packaging to ensure the safety of the
prototype, as the transport/courier company is not responsible for providing
any additional packaging materials at
any time. Acceptable packaging includes
wooden crates and tough, durable packaging ideally built for the product. It
is
not acceptable to secure products with bubble wrap or soft cardboard boxes.
Please contact INDE.Awards
Organisers for further clarification if needed.
4. Risk
4.1. Delivered prototypes are
released to the Organisers who will apply due care, but accept no
responsibility for the
prototype or individual parts of submissions.
4.2. Whilst due care will be applied
in all circumstances, the Organisers and sponsors cannot be held liable for
lost or
damaged parts of submissions.
4.3. It is the sole responsibility of
the entrant to safeguard their design during the Launch Pad live judging and
any
subsequent exhibition. Entrants are advised to be present at all times
within the live judging space and take
particular caution during bump-in and
bump-out. If an Entrant is not available at these times, it is their
responsibility
to find a trusted guarantor to stand in their place.
4.4. It is the responsibility of the
applicant to clearly and appropriately identify each part of their submission
(name of
product, designer’s name, contact details).
4.5. No responsibility can be
accepted for any unidentified parts of any submission, or if any part of your
submission
becomes unidentified at any stage. If any part of the prototype
and/or supporting materials are unidentified or
become lost, the Organiser
reserves the right to disqualify this part from the exhibition and the
Organiser accepts no
responsibility for incomplete prototypes and/or misplaced
parts.
5. Collection of prototypes /
Conclusion of exhibition
5.1. At the conclusion of the live
judging and any subsequent exhibition, it is the entrant’s responsibility to be
available to collect their prototype on a date to be advised. Indesign will not
accept responsibility for entrants who do
not adhere to the schedule provided.
6. Insurance
6.1. It remains the responsibility of
successful Launch Pad applicants to insure their prototype for the duration of
the
program, and the Organiser encourages this.
6.2. The event Organiser and
individual sponsor partners can accept no responsibility for loss, theft or
damage of
prototypes.
7. Applications
7.1. The Organisers reserve the right
to assess if applications have been correctly lodged.
7.2. If an application is completed
incorrectly, the Organiser reserves the right to contact the applicant and
correct
the entry. If the applicant can not be contacted, the Organiser will
not accept the entry.
8. Products requiring lighting and/or
suspension
8.1. All lighting products that are
successfully listed as Finalists are required by the Organisers to be tagged
and
tested by a qualified electrician as arranged by the
designer/applicant before being transported for live judging.
8.2. The Organiser or program
sponsors will not be responsible for wiring the lighting product; it must come
with a
household plug and converter suitable for use in the country of judging.
8.3. If the designer/applicant is not
able to organise the required plugs and testing for the product, the applicant,
if a
successful finalist, agrees that the lighting product may have to be
exhibited unlit.
8.4. If the lighting product requires
suspension for its final exhibition display, it is advised that the
designer/applicant
provide an appropriate truss for suspension, or an
alternative plan for the hanging of the product, as the venue may
not cater for
this.
9. Intellectual Property
9.1. If you wish to register your
design through the Intellectual Property Department in your respective country,
it is
vital that your design has not been ‘published’ prior to your application
(this includes being published on the
internet).
9.2. In submitting your product or
prototype for Launch Pad you understand that the Organiser may publish your
submitted images in print or online. Therefore you may wish to apply for design
registration before the Submissions
Deadline of the competition. To register a
design it must be new and distinctive. 'New' means the identical design (or
one
very similar) has not been publicly used in your country nor has it been
published in a document within or
outside your country.
For all Launch Pad enquiries please
contact:
Launch Pad
(65) 6475 5228
luis@indesign.com.sg