Registration for the Best in Design competition is open
11. December 2023The Best in Design international competition, intended not only for students, but for all designers under 30 who want to start their work, is already starting its 15th year. A huge attraction for competitors is not only the financial reward worth up to €1,500, but also the gain of new experience, and above all feedback from professionals and the establishment of new contacts.
The design competition Best in Design, which celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, is organized by the Zlin Design Week festival, one of whose main missions is the support of new talents. The festival, created under the auspices of the Faculty of Multimedia Communications of the Tomáš Bata University in Zlín, opens up possibilities for young designers through the competition to help them start their careers.
In 2020, for example, fashion designer Milan Flíček became the holder of the prestigious Best in Design title, who during the competition gathered contacts thanks to which he managed to get opportunities not only in the Czech Republic, but also abroad.
“Our judges not only evaluate, but also establish cooperation with the finalists and allow them to present themselves further. A beautiful example can be the connection between Milan Flíček and the judge of the Fashion Design category, Branko Popovic, the organizer of the Dutch festival and Fashionclash platform. Thanks to him, Milan and his fashion brand “Our shift”, which he founded together with Barbora Sura, got the opportunity to present their work right there. For designers, such collaborations often mean more than one-off financial support. And we are very happy that we can make such connections possible thanks to the Best in Design competition,” states Ondřej Staněk, program director of the Zlin Design Week festival.
That the Best in Design competition is not only about winning is also perceived by the designer duo Buro Famos, who, just like last year, will sit on the jury of the Product & Industrial Design competition category. “We met a lot of personalities who are not directly from Zlín, as well as a lot of faces from abroad. We could also strengthen our design-related networks. We felt comfortable and experienced Zlín as a lively city with young open people, beautiful places and a sense of design, culture and history.”
This year, the competition will be held in 4 categories – Fashion Design, Product & Industrial Design, Communication Design and Service Design, which is a category that was created only last year and still has no competition in the Czech Republic.
Proposals created after 1 January can be entered into the competition. 2022, which did not participate in previous years. Individuals, but also author collectives up to the age limit of 30 can participate, and applications can be submitted until February 4, 2024. Designers can find the complete rules on the website.
The results of the competition will be revealed as part of the Zlin Design Week festival, which will take place from 8 to 14 May 2024. In order not to miss any information, we recommend following the website, Facebook or Instagram of Zlin Design Week.