Arts and design education heads deliberate on £30,000 “Designed for Business” student competition

Leading art and design education professionals are part of a select team of judges now deliberating over hundreds of entries in the inaurgral Designed for Business competition that showcases and nurtures emerging talent, as well as providing an essential link between creative academia and the business community.

This potentially life-changing competition is a unique collaboration between and BE OPEN, the humanitarian think tank founded by international philanthropist and entrepreneur Elena Baturina and The Society for British & International Design (SBID) and is set across five different disciplines: Interior Design, Interior Decoration, Fashion, Art & Design and Product Design.  Entries closed at the end of August and now the team of expert judges from relevant industries and academia are looking for originality of expression, individualism, creative use of materials and presentation skills. 

Lining up for some of the UK’s leading arts and design education establishments are Kaye Newman, head of interiors at Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design, Russell Gagg, programme director at Bournemouth University, Eujin Pei, programme director at Brunel University and Hywel Davies, programme director at Central St Martins & Director of Writers Bloc. They are additionally joined by Jane Hay, international managing director of Christie’s Education, contemporary Chinese Sculptor Guangci Qu, senior product manager for Amazon Maria-Christina Alvarez-Talty, Philippa Prinsloo, design manager at John Lewis and finally Sebastian Conran, Trustee of the Design Museum.

The overall winner, who will be announed on November 29th at a House of Commons Awards ceremony, scooping a cash prize of £30,000, plus winners from each category will be announced on October 29th and receive £1,000, plus recognition for their university. 

BE OPEN founder Elena Baturina, says:

“We are honoured and excited to collaborate with SBID on such an important project and delighted to work with the judges in this groundbreaking initiative. We strongly believe in the potential of the young, creative generation, their ability to look at the world with fresh eyes and find solutions no one has ever found before. That is why it is vital to give them the support they need to bring their ideas to fruition – and that is what we are happy to do.”