Design against war | Contest

Design against war is a project by SOSDesign, devised for EMERGENCY and promoted and supported by Desall.com and Cumulus, under the patronage of ADI (Associazione per il Disegno Industriale – Association for the Industrial Design).

EMERGENCY is an independent and neutral non-governmental organisation, founded in Italy in 1994 to provide free, high-quality medical and surgical treatment to victims of war, landmines, and poverty. EMERGENCY promotes a culture of peace, solidarity, and respect for human rights.

SOSDesign is a fundraising and brainstorming programme founded in 2001 by Biba Acquati, Lucio Lazzara and Massimo Bruto Randone, conceived in order to support non-profit organisations such as EMERGENCY. What they are looking for?

• Spaces
• Products
• Services

Competition of ideas for Spaces, Products, Services on the needs and desires of life and care in affected areas, devastated and conditioned by war.

Spaces, Products, and Services which would solve, contain, facilitate, sustain, and emphasise the practical, psychological, relational, or cultural aspects of contexts shaped by conflict – this can be severe and widespread conflict, such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq, or more contained, insidious conflicts, like those that can be found in parts of Italy.

Submissions capable of informing a concept (abstract), a solution (practical), or a process (conceptual) that could aid treatment, protection, assistance, preservation, information, analysis, transportation, connection and payment (and so on) in contexts severely affected by war.

We have long sought to define "war", and how we might interpret it in terms of the wants and needs, both implicit and explicit, of those in living in war-torn areas. We have come to the conclusion that it would be more productive to leave the question of definition to the participants – case by case – to be answered through their projects. We hope that this will enable entrants to provide answers which reflect their research and/or areas of expertise. Spaces, Products, and Services - these can be small, medium or large; fixed, mobile or temporary; disassemblable, reusable, or convertible; promoting sustainability and self-sufficiency; physical, digital, or in ‘app’ form; and so on. Submissions can range from practical and functional to imaginative and thought-provoking.

Submission requirements:

Please upload all the images best representing your project – sketches, renderings, file descriptions, CAD files, etc. If necessary, you can also attach a Zip Archive file with additional material.

Participants can present one or more projects, but only the projects published on the www.desall.com web site, via the upload page related to “Design against war” will be accepted.

All texts provided with your uploads (abstract, description, tags, etc.) should be written in English.

Evaluation criteria:

• Social Impact
• Degree of Innovation
• Technical Feasibility
• Functionality
• Outlook

The jury is tasked with announcing the three category winners; a SpaceMouse Award will be presented to the winner of each of the three categories (Spaces, Products and Services). From these three submissions, the jury must also select an overall winner, who will be presented with the Experience Award. The jury will select, where possible, a winner in the Products category, who will be presented with the Prototyping Award. There will be also the honourable mentions. There is no enty fee to participate!

It's free to enter!

Participation is open to designers and creative talents of any nationality aged 18 years or older (at the time of submission).

EMERGENCY will select a winner among the three categories (Spaces, Products, Services) and will offer him/her the opportunity to visit one of their hospitals (dependent on security considerations). The winner will be welcomed and accompanied by EMERGENCY staff for the duration of the trip. All travel, board, lodging, insurance, and visa expenses will be covered by the organisation.

AWARDS PRODUCT
1. SpaceMouse Wireless Kit – 3DConnexion
N.3 mice will be awarded to the winners of the three categories (one per category).

2. Prototyping – Elmec 3D
The organisation reserves the right to prototype the winning entry or any other entry selected by the final decision of the jury, based on the degree of complexity that the relevant technical partner can attain. It is specified that the prototype will be produced using HP Jet Fusion technology, material PA12. The total dimensions of the prototype must not exceed 190x330x240mm. Upon production of the prototype, the filing of the relevant patent will not be the responsibility of EMERGENCY, nor the technical partner. Any relevant costs will be borne by the designer of the product being prototyped.

Furthermore, Winning, Mentioned and Shortlisted projects (and generally deemed suitable for exhibition) will receive extensive visibility as part of activities linked to the competition, such as: the promotional campaign, the exhibition and a thematic workshop.
Between September and October 2019, on the occasion of EMERGENCY’s 25th anniversary, an exhibition will take place at CASA EMERGENCY. This will showcase submissions and formally announce the winning entry. Additionally, a meeting/panel discussion will take place to analyse and further develop promising ideas submitted as part of the competition.

For all further information about you need to consult the official website: https://desall.com/Contest/Design-against-war/Brief