Every year in Croatia, for a week, design is celebrated throughout Croatia’s capital Zagreb, at dozens of locations with numerous events. This design festival brings many exhibitions, lectures, panels, workshops, fashion shows, movie screenings and, of course, parties. Zagreb Design Week presents all fields of design — from furniture and fashion through digital and graphic design to food and automotive design. Every year a different theme is in focus, and another country is in the centre. One of the festival highlights is ZGDW Award, an international design award, with a finalists exhibition and prize–giving ceremony. Winners are selected in six categories by the international expert jury and finalists will be presented on exhibition during a festival at the central location.
Apply until Aug 1 in one of the six categories and get a chance to exhibit in Zagreb and win ZGDW Award. Applications will be examined and valued by the international jury. A five-member expert jury always has two Croatian members, one from the field of product design and another from visual communication design, and three members from abroad. Three rounds selection process by the jury will evaluate the overall quality of submitted projects. The first round is the broadest selection of projects, in the second round, the jury will choose finalists that will be presented at the exhibition at the ZGDW central location during the festival and in the final round, the jury will select the best three works in each category, by order. Winners will be revealed at the prize-giving ceremony on the festival’s opening evening.
To fill application form fast and efficiently, prepare in advance the following material:
- texts up to 1500 characters with spaces each: a biography of the author(s) and a designer’s statement with a submitted work description,
- high-quality photographs, renders or drawings in resolution for print (the material will be used for the promotion of the exhibitor and its products on the Zagreb Design Week web page, PR texts and social media).
The application deadline is Aug 1, 23.59h. Selected projects will be announced publicly on Aug 6. Winners will be announced in the Sep 6, at the Zagreb Design Week opening ceremony when the prize-giving ceremony will take place.
Categories
Visual communication in the broadest sense, except digital communication design and interaction design for which there is category #2. Graphic Design category includes visual identity, posters, promotional and advertising projects, illustration, typography, books, newspapers, magazines, leaflets… and packaging based on graphic design (packaging design based on product design apply to category #3).
This category is for digital design in general. Digital communications include a design for websites, applications, games, computer animation, etc. Interaction design is the design of digital products and services whose main feature is HMI and UX / UI, i.e.: mobile apps, simple and sophisticated online services, electronic gadgets, VR/AR, etc.
Product design in total, from prototypes to limited series to industrial design. This category includes furniture, lighting, home appliances, transportation design, stationery, toys, etc.
This category covers interior and spatial design — from living, commercial, and public spaces, through spatial interventions and systems, to exhibition and fairs design.
The category includes textile design, clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery, fashion accessories, etc. You can submit single pieces or collection, no matter if they are made as a one-off or on an industrial scale.
This category includes various scenarios and concepts that use design as an innovation tool, and that makes a step toward broader social context using critical thinking on existing practices and solutions. From speculative to applied design, from raising the questions to revealing themes, from ideas to solutions for the future or alternative present.