Following the announcement of ND SELECTS in June, New Designers, the UK’s largest design graduate show, has today launched the ND AWARDS including prizes and sponsors for its 2020 edition. The awards programme celebrates design in all disciplines, from fashion and textiles, jewellery and precious metalwork, glass and ceramics, contemporary design crafts to furniture design, product and industrial design, spatial design, and digital design. 

ND AWARDS 2020
New Designers has published a series of design briefs that initiate the submission period for the ND AWARDS programme running until 14 August. The shortlisted projects will be announced on 4 September, with the finalists being revealed on 17 September as part of the London Design Festival. The bespoke briefs have been developed in conjunction with the awards partners, including Sainsbury’s Argos Home, Ford, Liberty, The Conran Shop, The Goldsmiths’ Company, Aardman Academy and Wilko, among others. 

Participating students will have six weeks to create a response to their chosen brief, which will then be submitted and reviewed by a panel of expert judges for the chance to win a range of prizes to boost their transition into the professional sphere. This year’s judging panel comprises some of the most recognised figures in the industry, including designers Yinka Ilori, Sebastian Conran and Camille Walala, as well as journalist, broadcaster and curator, Corinne Julius. 

The winner of each award and the shortlist of five runners-up will also be featured in a specially curated digital supplement hosted on the New Designers website. Some of the most notable award categories include: 

The New Designer of the Year Awards, in association with Creative Conscience and the Business Design Centre
Open to all disciplines, these two prestigious awards aim to address the role design can play in tackling climate change (the Creative Conscience Environmental Design Award) and social injustice (the Social Impact Design Award). Graduates will be challenged to utilise their professional skillset to provide a solution to some of the most pressing global issues of our time. 

The winners of these awards will have the opportunity to work closely with Creative Conscience and its network on personal career development steps and also explore opportunities to develop the winning concepts into a reality. 

The Screening Prize by Aardman Academy
Established in 2013 to strengthen ties between the industry and education, the Aardman Academy plays an important role in nurturing creativity and supporting the studio’s talent outreach programme. 

To demonstrate its continual support and recognition of the importance of digital media, the academy is sponsoring New Designers’ Screening Prize. The award seeks to recognise and showcase a selection of work embracing film, TV, video, moving image, gaming, digital media and animation. The prize is open to all final year students in Visual Communications across the UK.  

Aardman Academy are offering course credit at its own institution worth £300 to support to the award-winner in developing their career in digital media. 

The Sainsbury’s Argos Home Award: Future Thinking – Product Innovation, Design & Furniture
One of two awards that Sainsbury’s Argos Home is offering this year, where graduates are invited to submit a product or item of furniture that helps to develop design solutions to address post-lockdown living. Each of the shortlisted candidates will receive a personal portfolio review from a member of the Sainsbury’s Argos Home design team, and the winning applicant will have the opportunity to sell their design for £500 and gain fundamental mentoring from the company’s creative studio. 

The Wilko Retail Design Award: Product Design
Wilko is offering graduates the opportunity to appear in front of a virtual panel of judges to present a product submission that demonstrates an insightful understanding of the Wilko audience. 

The award-winner will have the opportunity to take part in a two-week virtual placement at the company and the nominated product will be brought into production and eventually sold in Wilko stores. 

The Conran Shop Design Award
Offering either £3000 career development grant or a three-to-six-month placement at the London headquarters, the Conran Shop has put out an open call to applicants for design entries that demonstrate commercially viable potential. 

The Ford New Norm Mobility Award
Framed within the product, industrial and spatial design category, the Ford New Norm Mobility Award challenges design graduates to come up with innovative ideas for features and car designs that envisage future urban delivery and personal mobility, in view of the “new norm” and the current global health emergency. 

The prize for this award includes £1,000 to support the development of the student’s design career, alongside an opportunity to gain industry experience with a three-week internship in one of the company’s studios. 

The Romo Award for Innovation in Design and Colour
Focusing on textiles, fashion and illustration, The Romo Award for Innovation in Design and Colour invites students to create an innovative fabric or wallcovering collection based around the theme ‘Reawaken’. 

With the recent lockdown restrictions, the award encourages students to reflect on the meaning of ¨Reawaken¨ and their new daily routines as we transition to a new phase.  The Romo award winner will receive a £500 cash prize, along with a paid placement for up to six months in the Romo, Villa Nova or Black Edition design studios. 

ND CONNECTS and ND EDUCATES (Until 11 July 2020)
Expanding on the previously launched digital activities, New Designers is also initiating ND CONNECTS and ND EDUCATES from today, 1 July 2020, until 11 July 2020. With support from industry partners including Creative Conscience, Wilko, The Goldsmith’s Centre and Knowledge Transfer Network, the free digital workshops and talks aim to guide students in the next chapter of their professional development, whilst offering them alternative opportunities to gain better insights into the industry and promoting the exchange of ideas, experience and knowledge.

 The programme includes activities such as portfolio feedback sessions, live chats with experts, as well as talks on the themes of sustainability, entrepreneurship, and mental health and wellbeing. Available on the New Designers website and Instagram channels until 11 July 2020, the programme also features talks looking into day-to-day issues faced by today’s designers, from 'How to stay motivated in a pandemic' to 'Crowdfunding in the Design Industry'.    

Sally Bent, Event Director of New Designers says: “With the launch of the ND AWARDS as well as the ND EDUCATES and ND CONNECTS digital initiatives, we are continuing to create new platforms to showcase, recognise and promote the work of the 2020 graduates, whilst connecting students with other peers and providing opportunities for professional growth and career development in the creative industry.¨ 

For 35 years, New Designers has connected graduates with thousands of educators, professionals and consumers. Since its launch 1985, New Designers has launched the careers of some of the UK’s leading designers including Bethan Gray, Jay Osgerby, Thomas Heatherwick and Sebastian Cox. With over 150 university courses coming together from across the UK annually, the fair continues to be a hub for the most exciting new design talent from every area of contemporary design. 

Find out more about ND AWARDS, ND SELECTS, ND CONNECTS and ND EDUCATES @newdesigners www.newdesigners.com