Plydesign’s FRIGATE chair collection won the prestigious international IF DESIGN AWARD in the Product Design category—during the 67-year history of the award, this is the first time that a Hungarian furniture brand receives this professional recognition. The success encouraged Plydesign to involve new, creative talents in its design work, therefore, the brand has announced an open call for students in Hungarian higher education in the theme of designing plywood furnishing items, accessories and objects of use.
They are awaiting ideas for items, objects and accessories that make the users’ environment better, friendlier, make their work easier or make a significant contribution to improving their quality of life in any other way, while making good use of the potential of plywood as a material. The company’s selection already includes chairs and tables, so this open call is not specifically focused on such objects, but everything else that can complement them in their function, purpose and aesthetics.
Applicants can create their designs using molded plywood, veneer, or, if justified, even using the greater freedom of shaping provided by 3D veneer. It’s only worth choosing the 3D option in case its use is well-founded and means a real advantage, for example, if it allows for products and shapes that could not be made due to the limitations of wood, or could only be made of other materials, or in case wood as a material significantly increases the product’s esteem. Plydesign is looking to answer a question:
“What new forms and functions can be developed by taking advantage of the possibilities inherent to plywood?”
The aim of the competition is to support young talents, to share the experience and know-how accumulated at Plydesign, and to utilize new ideas and concepts, and potentially put them into production. The five applicants selected by the jury in the first round will have the opportunity to present their work, and their concepts might even get manufactured and put on the market. Although there will be only two winners at the end of the competition (the main prize and an audience award—The Ed.), all participants will benefit: after registration, applicants will have access to technology-related background materials that are not available elsewhere, presentations, insights on the operation of a design company and, last but not least, they can also get relevant feedback on their work. What’s more, the jury includes one of the inventors of 3D veneer, Reholz, and the managing director of Danzer, Jörg Förster.
The jury of PLY DESIGN HOUSE includes illustrious professional experts such as one of the inventors of 3D veneer and the managing directors of the companies Reholz and then Danzer, Jörg Förster; Tamás Babits, the founder and owner of Plydesign Kft and the owner and managing director of Licit Kft.; Krisztina Cselényi, a member of the Hungarian Design Council and member of the presidium of the European Furniture Industries Confederation (EFIC); András Kerékgyártó DLA, a leading designer of Plydesign Kft. and assistant professor at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design; István Juhász DLA, a senior lecturer at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design; Ádám Tremmel, the production manager of Licit Kft. as well as Milán Kiss, the development director of Licit Kft.
Application is open to all BA or BSC seniors, as well as to all MA or MSC students studying in Hungarian higher education, and to former students who have graduated in Hungary in the last two years. Applications have to be individual.
The application deadline is July 31, 2021.
Find more details on Plydesign’s website!
Plydesign | Web | Facebook | Instagram
High quality both inside and out: Casino Mocca debuts new brand identity
Post-Soviet depth | Maria Švarbová
