Hasta La Ideas

Clorox is pleased to announce their first foray into the wonderful world of design competitions through their new online community Clorox Connects. The brief for the Clorox Maker Challenge is fairly straightforward:

Automate household cleaning products to make cleaning, well…enjoyable, rewarding, and even fun! Keep in mind speed, automation and ease of use in your thinking, but then kick it up a notch—how could household cleaning even deliver enjoyment, fun or reward? How could easier and more enjoyable cleaning create other benefits—such as freedom to spend more time with friends and family and do things you love? Consider products, packaging or new solutions that would be affordable and could be available in the market within 5 years.

And if Clorox doesn’t have flashy graphics or a star-studded jury, just think of it this way: you could design the next Swiffer or Roomba, giving 20-somethings the world over yet another go-to product for impending parents’ visits.

We believe household cleaning is due for reinvention. After all:
-Pick-up trucks used to be pure work vehicles. Now Land Rovers and other SUVs are status symbols and comfort on wheels.
– Gyms used to be the place you dreaded going. Now there are gyms with concierges greeting you, mood lighting and cool music to motivate you.
– Workout wear used to be purely functional. Now workout wear is a long way from mere baggy sweat pants – it’s self-expressive and trendy.
– Kitchens used to be hidden in the back of houses, purely for the required work of food preparation. Now they are the center of our homes, idyllic odes to gastronomy.

Five years from now, the way we clean our homes will be just as self-expressive, convenient, comfortable and alluring.

In other words, you’re competing to design a household product that most, if not all, of your friends will eventually own.

Last but not least, there’s a $5,000 cash prize attached to first place, as well as with smaller sums for two second place winners and five third place awards, so register today!

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Last year’s “The Saddle” entry, by Atilla Tari/Hypo-Design, Hungary

Pursuant to the current prevailing business wisdom that less is more, Michelin has announced the theme for their 2013 Michelin Challenge Design Competition: “HALF! Lightweight with a Passion.”

Participants are asked to explore lightweight vehicle development by designing a family vehicle capable of transporting between four and six people. The designs should also meet consumer demands for safety and comfort, be usable on the current road infrastructure and be production feasible using materials, powertrain solutions or manufacturing solutions that are in use today or in development for use in the foreseeable future.

Michelin’s got a good track record for drawing entrants, with last year’s design comp drawing over 1,800 concepts from 88 countries. And we like the company’s line of thinking: As tire producers you’d imagine they’d focus on engineering or materials research competitions, but as they simply put it, “Design is central to the process of innovation. Design influences the marketplace… Michelin wants to assist in the evolution of transportation. Michelin’s corporate culture places a high value on design and innovation….”

Last year’s “Marketruck” entry, by Pai-Ching Hu, Taiwan

Last year’s “Supple” entry, by Sadegh Samakoush Darounkolayi, Iran

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This October Dubai will host the 21st annual INDEX, the largest international design exhibition of the Middle East and North Africa regions. At this year’s INDEX the 3rd annual Contemporary Majlis Competition will announce their winners.

The majlis is the sitting/hosting/socializing space in a traditional Arabic home, the counterpart to a Western living room, where the emphasis is on comfort, conversation and interaction. Explains INDEX Event Director Paula Al Chami, “The Majlis concept is especially relished by the younger generation who look for an environment that celebrates Arab culture, but at the same time embraces innovation and contemporary style.”

Six finalists have been chosen from over 60 submissions, but their designs remain under wraps. The winners will be announced on October 22nd.

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Craig Green’s winning entry from 2010

Premier baseball cap purveyor New Era—brand of choice for the MLB and streetwear aficionados—is pleased to announce New Era Introducing, inviting designers to reimagine their flagship model 59FIFTY fitted cap, as they did for last year’s XC contest.

New Era Introducing is a global creative project showcasing unique talent from across the world. The project gives creative minds of tomorrow an opportunity to make their own statement using a blank New Era 59FIFTY as their canvas. Those judged to show the most unique display of self-expression will go on to form a touring gallery exhibition and be published in a limited edition New Era Introducing book.

New Era Introducing will initially be launched in EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) where the winning creation for that region will be awarded a £10,000 bursary to launch their creative career.

To reiterate: the contest is currently only open to residents of UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden, UAE and South Africa. Phase I calls for digital images by September 7, at which point 15 lucky entrants from each country will be given the opportunity to actually create their design on a blank cap. Ten of these Phase II entries will make it into a traveling exhibition and limited edition book.

Gallery of 2010 entries above; more after the jump…

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Sketch by Aditi Ruiz

With just two days to go before our “Good Design Is Long Lasting” exhibition and panel discussion at Phaidon’s flagship store in NYC’s Soho neighborhood, we’d like to remind our readers that the contest closes at midnight tonight. The brief:

Add your sketch to the Core77 Dieter Rams product timeline which will be exhibited at the Phaidon Flagship store in New York City for a chance to win a copy of the new book.

Download the contest rules and official entry form at http://www.core77.com/Phaidon.

Wednesday, August 10
Core77 & Phaidon present
Good Design Is Long Lasting
Phaidon | Store
83 Wooster St. (at Spring)
New York, NY 10012

Doors are at 6:30; Panel begins at 7
Cocktails to follow
RSVP: store.soho@phaidon.com with the subject line “Dieter Rams.”

Sketch by Edouard Messager

We were happy to see all of entries came in over the weekend, but we’d like to see some more drawings for a few of Rams’ designs:

Braun HF1 Television (1958)

Braun RT20 Tischsuper Tube Radio (1961)

Braun HLD4 Hairdryer (1970)

Braun Citromatic (1972)

Braun T3 Domino Table Lighter (1976)

Naturally, applicants are welcome to draw any of the others as well.

Just a couple reminders:
-Be sure to fill out the information at the top of the form
-We’ll be printing these in grayscale, so black & white works best
-One product per entry please (although you are welcome to submit as many entries as you like)

Good luck and hope to see you on Wednesday, when we’ll be announcing the winner!

Sketch by Joe Kerr

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