Design Competition on Tackling Social, Environmental and Economic Issues from the RSA

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Artsin the the UK is inviting students around the world to participate in a design competition on addressing pressing social, environmental and economic issues through design thinking.

The winners of each brief will be announced publicly by the RSA in May 2022. Winners will also be invited to attend an Awards Ceremony on the 29 June 2022 and their work will be displayed in the ‘Winners’ section of the RSA Student Design Awards website.

• The competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled at any higher education institution, college or university anywhere in the world. New graduates can also enter within a year of graduating.
• The competition accepts entries from individuals and teams.
• Responses can come from any discipline or combination of disciplines, and can take any form – from product, communication and service proposals to spatial, environmental and experience solutions.

Selection Process:

• Your work will be evaluated per brief by a curated panel of judges against the judging criteria in a two-stage process: shortlisting and interviews. The panel includes a diverse range of expertise related to the brief topic and the design industry. All judging sessions are facilitated by the RSA.
• During the first stage of shortlisting, the panel marks all the submissions anonymously and shortlists 5 to 8 projects per brief. If your project is shortlisted, you are invited to the second stage, an interview with the panel, to present your work in more detail referring to the judging criteria. Once the panel has interviewed all shortlisted students, they deliberate and select the winners.

Judging Criteria:

Your entry should demonstrate a design thinking approach to the brief and clearly communicate the following principles:

• Social and environmental impact: How does your proposal make a positive difference for people and/or the natural world in your chosen context? How have you considered effective use of resources including materials and processes? How have you considered diversity and inclusion in your proposal?
• Rigorous research and compelling insights: How have you combined your own first-hand research with a review of existing research and wider trends? How can you show a clear path between your key insights and your proposal? How are your insights grounded in people’s needs and desires?
• Systems thinking: What’s the bigger picture? How have you considered the root causes of the challenge you’re exploring? How does your idea connect to a wider set of issues? What might be some unintended consequences of your proposal?
• Viability: Have you considered potential models for how your proposal could work in the real world? How could it be funded and sustained financially? What are potential barriers? How would you measure success?
• Creativity and innovation: How is your idea different from existing interventions? Are there unexpected or surprising elements in your proposal؟
• Aesthetic quality and originality: How does your animation engage and delight the eye? What did you consider in order to make the visuals striking and memorable? How have you applied a distinctive style, concept, storytelling approach or choice of visual metaphors to make sure your film stands out in a crowded online landscape, and reaches the widest possible audience?
• Execution: How did you approach the planning and design of your animation? What have you considered and implemented to ensure the film is executed to a high technical standard? Have you considered the structure and pace of your animation? Does it flow and finish with a flourish?

About Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts:

The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) is a London-based, British organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. Founded in 1754 by William Shipley with a mission to create the conditions for the enlightened thinking and collaborative action needed to address today's most pressing social challenges. The society serves this mission by acting as a global hub, by enabling millions of people to access the most creative ideas, by nurturing networks of innovators, and through researching, testing and sharing practical interventions.

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