The RSA Student Design Awards 2015 call for entries
This year's 2015-2016 briefs for the esteemed SDAs have now launched
The RSA Student Design Awards (The SDAs) are now open to entries for the 2015-2016 awards.
The prestigious awards challenge young creative minds - designers, artists, craftsmen - with project briefs based on real issues to drive innovation.
Steeped in heritage, the awards initiated in 1924 and feature winners including Sir Jonathon Ive, chief design officer at Apple (RDI); Richard Clarke, global vice president of design at Nike and Paul Priestman, founder of 'PriestmanGoode'.
2014-15 RSA Student Design Award winning projects: Christopher Rothera's 'Sustainable Filtration Kit', a water purification solution utilising local resources. The kit is a 5 litre, robust container with a two-lid system that produces high quality carbon from scrap wood which is then used to filter contaminated water.
This year sees 12 briefs covering a variety of topics in society, the environment and in business. These range from designing greener ways to bathe and wash, to promoting waste as a valuable source to eliminate the surplus. Sponsors include Airbnb, Philips, Unilever, Fazer, GlaxoSmithKline, RBS, Waitrose, Springetts and PriestmanGoode.
Global Director of the RSA Student Design Awards, Sevra Davis, says:
'Every year the briefs evolve to reflect contemporary challenges and issues. This year we have 12 briefs that tackle a variety of day to day problems, from how to rebrand waste in developed societies and how to make bathing more sustainable, to how to create business environments that foster innovative and creative thinking.'
2014-15 winning projects: Lisa Hornsey's 'Squiggle', a gender neutral playhouse made from chalkboard that allows children to bring their imagination to life and transform the toy by drawing on it. Squiggle is ecologically produced, designed for a longer product life, and the packaging is made from 100% recycled and biodegradable elements.
Last year's winning projects include a unisex playhouse, a filtration kit that produces high quality carbon from scrap wood to purify contaminated water (see above), and a unique redesign of the London's Underground map to aid disabled users.
Winners compete for a range of prizes such as bursaries from sponsors, work placements and mentoring to develop younger designer's careers. Additionally this year, entrants can receive over £35,000 in cash prizes and paid internships at Philips, Waitrose, GlaxoSmithKline and PriestmanGoode.
2014-15 winning projects: Lisa Hornsey's 'Squiggle'
The awards are recognised across the globe, last year seeing entrants from Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Finland, Taiwan, Turkey and Libya. This year to help expand the awards, the RSA are introducing global partners outside the UK such as AIGA in the US.
Davis says:
'We want to show that good design is fundamental to creating positive social and environmental change on a global scale. The aim of the RSA Student Design Awards is to help challenge society, the design industry, governments and business to think more openly about what design can do.'
2014-15 winning projects: Rebecca Grover's 'London Accessible', a service that provides live accessibility information, enabling users to plan their journeys on the go. The service integrates with existing mainstream station information and journey planning apps.
Today the 12 briefs are launched alongside pre-registration.
For more information visit the SDA website.
Read more:
New UK HQ for Warner Music from Woods Bagot
Brent Sherwood: I'd be mad if I wasn't designing cities on the moon
