I.           Objectives

To convey the passion and hospitality of Yilaners as well as the natural beauty of the county’s mountain forests, the Yilan Chair International Design Award came about as a vehicle. Yilan County Government has linked the local natural features and living styles to fit the goals which Yilan County Government is striving for: a “children’s dreamland” and a “city of innovation” through the power of creative design. The Yilan Chair International Design Award was born for these purposes. The competition has also become the backbone of the local cultural and creative industry: a local design industry featuring furniture, stationary and toys.

The Yilan Chair International Design Award is a brand of design competition based on a city. In the past five years, more than 4,000 works registered, and in 2017 a new record was reached: the works came from as many as 35 countries. Through the competition, the participation of eminent designers all over the world, the design observation and learning activities, the outreach of the exhibitions, and the collaboration with elaborate traditional workmen and local wood industries, the competition has been elevated to a worldwide platform for the communication of professional designers and an eminent international brand of creative furniture design competition

Culture, environment protection and tourism are the core spirit of Yilan County. The county government has established the unique Yilan experience by supporting cultural inheritance, sustainability and zero-carbon tourism industry. The International Yilan Chair Design Competition will carry out the core concept of “Green Design and the Aesthetics of Forests”, and we believe that design is the power of warmness which will bring happiness and changes to each visitor individually. The target issues have been expanded to cover “the respect and care of the multi-cultural society” and “the sustainability and the balance of the environment” and create a real sustainable living area, and the dreamland for living. We are looking forward to designers who consistently discover features from local landscapes, living styles, folk festivals, traditional workmanship, natural materials, and manufacturing techniques and transfer these concepts into the “Seat Design” and “Seat Design for Children”. Natural and recyclable materials  are used to the major materials of the creations that correlate to the spirit of Yilan: friendly interactions and sustainable harmony.

II.         Associated Agencies

Advised by:

Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Yilan Country Government

Organized by:

Cultural Affairs Bureau, Yilan County

Lanyang Cultural and Educational Foundation

Co-organized by:

Education Department, Yilan County Government

National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute

Cultural Creative Industry Association (CCIA)

Yilan County Lanyang Museum

Taiwan Designers’ Web

Taiwan Furniture Manufacturers’ Association

Taiwan Furniture Properties Association (TFPA)

Yilan Furniture Commercial Association

Furniture Foundation, HDG

Woody Icon

Executed by:

Blue Dragon Art Company

III.      Competition Eligibility

1. Any individual with a passion for design is eligible to register for the competition. The regulation will be applied irrespective of someone’s ages, professions, places of residence or nationalities.

2. Individuals or teams are both eligible to register, though teams should have no more than three members.

3. Each work cannot be registered to both two categories.

IV.      Competition Theme

Theme: Express the Features and Values of Yilan, and Focus on the Below Concepts:

1. The Power of Design, Bringing Happiness and Changes

“A creative city” is our future vision, and we believe design can give us strength. Those humorous and heart-warming points will make people laugh. We invite people to think about how to solve practical problems or bring physiological/psychological happiness and changes in daily life by designing forms, colors, or creativity on the interactions and usage.

2.  The Respect and Care of the Multi-Cultural Society

Building “Children’s Dreamland” is not only for children, but also for the future land where our next generation could live with happiness. To provide friendly and heart-warming designs on using habits, situations, we need to express respect and care to the multi-cultural society which consists of different genders, age ranges, occupations, and people with disabilities.

 3. The Sustainability and Balance of the Environment

Environment protection is one of the core concepts of Yilan County. The Yilan Chair International Design Award will support this idea by conducting its core concept: “Green Design and the Aesthetics of Forests”. We invite applicants to create their works by natural materials such as wood, paper, cloth, bamboo, and rattan. Additionally, they have to think about the sustainable issues more deeply at the points of the manufacturing process, the materials, and the usage.

V.         Work Requirements, Evaluation Standard and Awards

A. Seating for Children (Group A)

Requirements

1. Works are intended for the use of one or more children under teenage (12-year-old kids).

2. Works must be educational and entertaining.

3. The safety and the comfort of the users must be taken into consideration regarding all design elements like dimensions, structure and materials.

4. Materials

a. Materials applied should be predominantly natural (wood, paper, cloth, bamboo, rattan, etc.).

b. Artificial materials to be used must be environmentally friendly.

5.  Entries limit

a. Each designer or group should not submit more than 5 entries.

b. Entries should be a set of the multiple works or just a single work.

B.      Seating (Group B)

Requirements

1. Works are intended for the use of one or more persons (including children, adults, elders, and people with disabilities).

2. Works must base on the competition theme.

3. The safety and the comfort of the users must be taken into consideration regarding all design elements like dimensions, structure and materials.

4. Materials

a. Materials applied should be predominantly natural (wood, paper, cloth, bamboo, rattan, etc.).

b. Artificial materials to be used must be environmentally friendly.

5. Entries limit

a. Each designer or group should not submit more than 5 entries.

b. Entries should be a set of the multiple works or just a single work.

C.      Selection Criteria

D.     Awards Categories(certificates and cash prizes)

※ Total cash prizes are NT$856,000, and there are 32 openings for the prizes.

VI.                        Registration

1. On-line registration only.

Please visit the 2018 Yilan Chair International Design Award official website for the competition regulations and the related information: http://www.bluedragonart.com.tw/ycdaward/

2. Registration Deadline and Primary Review

(1). Registration Deadline:

Registration page of the 2018 Yilan Chair International Design Award official website will be opened from July 23 to August 23, 2018. The deadline is 5pm (local time in Taiwan), August 23, 2018.

(2). Registration:

Please find the registration page on the 2018 Yilan Chair International Design Award official website and register to proceed the qualification evaluation.

※ Recommended browsers and operation systems:

IE11+, Chrome, Firefox, iOS 9+, and Android 6+

(3) Guideline of Submissions:

(a). Please submit your works and finish all registration processes before the deadline. Any unfinished records will be recognized as “unable to meet the deadline”. Please submit your works as soon as possible.

(b). Any documents unable to meet the deadline or which do not accord with competition regulations will become unqualified.

(4) Documents should be submitted in accordance with the form ordained below:

3. Final Review and Selection

 Submission deadline: Before 5pm, Oct 26 (Fri), 2018(local time in Taiwan)

Requirements: If the submissions pass primary review, the submissions will enter final review and selection. A design mockup of each submission is required to be delivered, and we subsidize each mockup NT$8,000. The ratio between the mockup and the real work should be 1:1.

Delivery: Each mockup of submission can be delivered via mail or in person by the submission deadline (service hours: 9am to 5pm).

Applications: Service Office, Chung Hsing Cultural and Creative Park (No. 8, Sec. 3, Zhongxing Rd, Wuchieh Township, Yilan County)

Contact Email: ycdaward2018@gmail.com

(1) Confirming eligibility: All works, electronic files and written submissions will be examined. The qualifications of all registered participants and work details must accord with stipulated regulations. If a participant violates registration or document submission regulations, the participant will be disqualified.

(2)Please carefully check all submissions before submission/delivery. In the event that any submission is found to be not in accordance with stipulated regulations, incomplete, inaccurate, forged, altered, or to contain incomplete work diagrams etc., the organizers reserve the right to not consider this work and this decision cannot be challenged.

(3)Participating individuals/teams are required to cover all delivery costs for submitted works for the duration of the competition and all transportation costs involved in attending the final evaluation and delivering a report to the jury panel.

(4)Participants are responsible for all protective measures taken to ensure works are not damaged during delivery for the final evaluation. A sturdy packaging case is recommended with packing filler. In the event that a work is submitted without completely packaging, the organizers reserve the right to not accept it or return it to the sender. If a work is damaged as a result of poor production or delivery which makes it cannot be evaluated, the organizers are not liable for indemnity.

VII.   Selection

1.  Formation of the Jury

(1)The competition consists of primary review and final review. The tasks of selection are served by professionals from related industries, academia and public sector. The formation of the jury will be announced before the primary review.

(2)Primary review will be conducted by 7 local judges, and the final review will be presided by 9 judges from Taiwan and the world.

(3)Under the circumstance that no submitted works are deemed to have reached the selection criteria of the competition, the jury shall vacate the award. Submitters should not object the jury’s decision.

2. Primary Review

(1)Document submission: Before 5pm, Aug 23 (Thurs), 2018 (local time in Taiwan)

(2)The outcome of the primary review will be announced in mid-September, 2018 on the official website of the Competition, Facebook, and the webpage of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, Yilan County Government. Submitters entering the final review will be notified by email or telephone.

(3)There will be at most 30 finalists selected from Group A and Group B.

3. Final Review and Selection

(1)  Submission deadline: Before 5pm, Oct 26 (Fri), 2018 (local time in Taiwan)

(2) Each finalist will make a five-minute presentation. The presentation should include work title, design concept, creative application of materials, special features and how the design is to respond to the selection criteria. Overseas finalists unable to deliver a presentation in person can send a five minute video in advance to be played during the final selection panel. The video must be either in English or Chinese with subtitles.

(3)  Venue of final review and selection: Chung Hsing Cultural and Creative Park, Yilan

(4)  Announcement of winners and awards ceremony: Nov 2018 (provisional).

VIII. Marketing and Promotion

1. The organizers will hold an awards ceremony for prize winners.

2. The organizers will select prize winners for domestic and overseas fairs/expos

3. The organizers will, depending on the situation, act as a platform facilitating contacts between prize winners and product manufacturers, and offering assistance with the development of mass production operations.

IX.       Timetable (Local Time in Taiwan)

※  In the event of changes to the schedule, the latest information will be available on the official competition website.

X.         Rights and Obligations of Participants

1.Once a work wins a prize, the economic rights to related images and text belong to the organizer. Participants are required to sign a “Competition Declaration” granting the organizers the right to use these for collection, marketing, transfers, announcements, publishing, reproduction, copying, public or online display, and all other economic rights related uses, with no limits placed on time, quantity or methods.

2. The intellectual property rights to every award winning work belong to the creator. However, said creator agrees to give the organizers the right to gratis use in perpetuity, to be able to introduce firms and engage in priority product development and official product sales. For those works that do become official products, the organizers will sign an additional formal contract with participants, detailing profit sharing, rights and liabilities.

3. The copyright of each completed work belongs to the participant/team. To prevent future disputes, team members should clarify copyright trading and their relationship (authorization/licensing) on their own. These responsibilities should be agreed by contract in advance. The organizer shall not get involved.

XI.       Announcements and Statement for Participants

1. Organizers:

(1)The organizers reserve the right to revise the timetable for registration and document submission if it is deemed necessary.

(2) If a situation arises that is not addressed in the competition regulations, the organizers reserve the final right of revision. Such amendments will be posted on the organizer’s official website and there will be no further notification.

2. Participating works:

(1)All participating works must be original, never previously made public or sold. They must also not be imitations or infringe on the intellectual property rights of a third party. If a prize winning work is later accused and confirmed as having violated rules governing the evaluation process, plagiarism or imitation, the organizers will reconvene the original jury panel which will meet with related legal consultants to discuss an appropriate response. Where necessary, the offending participant will be disqualified and asked to return any cash prize and certificate awarded. The participating work registration form stipulates that participants are not permitted to submit works to the competition for a period of three years. In the event that a participant is accused of infringing the intellectual property rights of a third party legal liability falls exclusively on the participant.

(2)One work should be submitted to only one Group, either Group A or Group B.

(3)Participating works and documentation must be sent to the address indicated by the organizers before the designated deadline. If a submitted work is incomplete or violates competition regulations, the organizers reserve the right to not accept it or have it returned to sender.

3. Participants:

(1) All participants should first read related information to ensure they understand the various regulations and requirements of the competition and are willing to adhere to said rules.

(2)In order to ensure the intellectual property rights of participants are fully protected, it is recommended that finalists should first apply for copyright or patent protection before submitting mockups as part of the final evaluation. If works are copied by a third party as a result of taking part in the competition or exhibition, the organizers do not accept any legal liability to pay compensation.

(3)Participants must not seek to entreaty, lobby, entice, threaten or engage in any other behavior designed to interfere with the jury panel members or their work.

4. Prize winners:

(1)Participants registered as a team must designate a representative to receive any prize. As to receiving prize money and its allocation among team members, that should be agreed beforehand and said agreement followed. At the same time, prize winners are also required to pay tax on their winnings in accordance with the Republic of China Income Tax Law. Competition regulations stipulate that the members of prize winning groups receive a single certificate.

(2)The organizers are authorized to use final evaluation works and images thereof free of charge for purposes of organizing related promotional activities or in concert with media reports etc. The organizers can also use the final evaluation mockups, work descriptions and photographs for exhibition, marketing and publishing purposes. Participants should proactively cooperate with marketing and promotional events.

(3)In order to facilitate future competition related marketing and promotional work, the mockups nominated for the final are the property of the organizers and will not be returned.

XII.    2018 Yilan Chair International Design Award Taskforce Contact Information

• Address: Blue Dragon Art Company – No. 127, Section 1, Dihua Street, Datong District, Taipei City
• TEL: (+886) 2-7730-8830 #2030 or #2020 (Ms. Wu) (service hours: 930am – 6pm, Mon to Fri)
• Email: ycdaward2018@gmail.com