MANILA – January 27, 2014 – Can creativity be harnessed for the benefit of tomorrow? Now on its fifth year of recognizing outstanding design through their adobo Design Awards, adobo has extended the opportunity to a bigger audience – with Design for the Future as the theme.
“This year, we have opened the competition up to more artists, welcoming entries in new formats such as photography and wearable design. This way, we give due recognition to a wider ranger of creative pursuits,” said the president and editor- in- chief of adobo, Angel Guerrero.
The Design of the Future category is open to all professionals, freelancers and students with creative pitches that promote environmentally-conscious design. Design for the future is made using locally- sourced material, and reflects the Filipino identity.
Examples of Design for the Future are the Smart TXTBKS campaign by DM9JaymeSyfu which used old phones and used sim cards to make educational materials; A Liter of Light by Shelter Foundation that transformed plastic bottles to solar lamps; and Dengue Bottle by Maynilad and Y&R Philippines that promotes a do-it-yourself mosquito traps.
At the adobo Design Awards press launch, members of the jury shared their thoughts on the category.
"How can design help certain issues and problems? It’s not commercial anymore, it’s life changing, it’s for the betterment of the future. We’re excited to see all the issues that the designers and creatives at looking at and how they can participate in solving these issues," Jowee Alviar commented on the category.
Brian Tenorio shared that the category was "fantastically, immensely exciting for me because the main challenge especially for young creatives is that you have them designing not for what will happen to us but designing and determining where we want to be." Dan Matutina, who has been on the jury for three consecutive years, shared that he still finds it inspiring to see the works of the entrants. "I’m actually excited. Every year, it’s both exciting and daunting," he said.
Leeroy New added that for him, design has always been an attempt to provide solutions. "I’ve always approached design as a type of problem solving," he said. Merlee Jayme, on the other hand, gave a tip to the participants to keep their entries clean, simple and follow the rules on the size.
Aspiring applicants should submit new work, presented through a concept board and a mock- up design or sample. Applicants may be individual or a group with a maximum of four members.
Entries will be judged by big names in the creative industry. Heading the jury this year is New York-based graphic designer and educator Lucille Lozada Tenazas. Joining her are some of the creative industry’s most accomplished names: Team Manila designer Jowee Alviar, bag designer and SoFA co-founder Amina Aranaz-Alunan, industrial designer Kenneth Cobonpue, graphic designer AJ Dimarucot, architect Tobias Guggenheimer, TV commercial director Sid Maderazo, Rogue Magazine creative director Miguel Mari, illustrator Dan Matutina, sculptor and artist Leeroy New, animator Armand Serrano, photographer Jay Tablante, shoe designer Brian Tenorio, and design educator Dean Joey Yupangco.
The entry kit is available at the adobo Design Awards website.
For more information, email designawards@adobomagazine.com or call Ched Dayot at +632 845 0218, +632 507 8501, or +63906 359 9167.
