Even if you are trying to flex the creative mind, it doesn’t hurt winning a competition, am I right? Don’t know why or where to start design competitions? We wrote an older article on why, “Young Architect Guide: 5 Reasons to Enter Design Competitions.” But where to find a design competition? Several websites contain competitions like BeeBreeders or Bustlers. We’ve compiled a shortlist of 8 tips for you to keep in mind for your next competition.
1. Choose the right competition
All competitions are not the same! Just like looking for clothes, it’s important to know what’s right for you. Some project competitions can be super conceptual, while others might be looking for something more realistic and practical. You can typically find out what type of projects by reading the description or header. Below is a screenshot from BeeBreeders, a known architecture competition website.
2. Schedule Enough Time For Production
There are no inherently bad ideas, only bad drawings. Design is always never-ending, so it’s important to know when to stop designing and produce drawings. Giving enough time for yourself to produce beautiful drawings that best convey your design and concept is valuable. I just entered a design competition and can show you what I imagine for my 14-week competition timeline.
- Week 1: Initial Concept Development
- Week 2: Finalize Concept
- Week 3-5: Mid-way through design development
- Week 6-9: Finalize Design
- Week 10-14: Post-production and finalize the submission
The timeline isn’t set, but it’s important to make an initial jab at the project’s schedule. The schedule keeps your team accountable and allows ample time to hone the project’s concept.
3. Too many ideas
A single project can’t do everything. Don’t try to compensate with multiple ideas; instead, be confident of your main concept and make it as clear as possible. Just like before, giving yourself ample time to develop your main concept will allow you to create a higher quality project. It’s crucial to keep your design group between 2-3 for this very reason. Imagine a kitchen with multiple head chefs; sooner or later, there’ll be difficulties navigating differences if many people are involved.
Sidenote: I’m imagining any scene from Hell’s Kitchen with Gordon Ramsey.
4. Layout
It’s important to know how to submit your competition entry properly; otherwise, it would waste your time and effort. Make sure to research the panel requirements! This will give you a good sense of how many drawings to produce, size, and acceptable format. This information will feed into how you should give hierarchy to the drawings, which will make the panels more dynamic and emphasize important elements of the project.
5. Stand out
Like projects in school and especially for idea competitions where there is no pressure to be realistic, it good to be bold and provocative with your ideas. This will make your project memorable and will make an impression on the jury.
This is a crucial tip for anyone considering a design competition.
6. Narrative
Don’t leave the project’s brief for last! I know that writing isn’t a strong suit for most designers. However, writing the brief will allow you and your team to further push the project by dissecting what you want versus what you see. The jury reads your design brief, so having a strong and compelling narrative that compliments your project is advantageous. Everything on your panel should sell your idea, including text.
7. Jury
You can tell what kind of ideas or aesthetic will receive positive remarks by looking at the jury list. Doing any research prepares your team to make smart decisions, increasing the possibility of winning. Some jury members will favor subtle interventions, while others may look for something more radical.
8. Have Fun
Last but not least, enjoy designing! We do competitions to explore ideas and concepts that we aren’t able to in school or work. Challenge yourself and take advantage of the freedom and design something you will enjoy designing.
These are great tips for students, recent grads, or professionals thinking to enter a design competition. It’s definitely a great reminder for me since I just entered one with two colleagues. We hope that these tips will help your design competition endeavors. If you want to maximize your competitive edge in competitions, ArchiHacks offers consultations from our excellent team of designers. These designers have won a handful of competitions, making them ideal for reviewing your work! Make sure to follow our Youtube and Instagram for more tips!