The Seoul Design Foundation is recruiting participants for the ‘DDP the NEXT: Young Designer Goods Challenge’ to discover new designers and revitalize the Seoul design industry.
The recruitment period is until June 15. The contest is divided into products that reflect the exterior, history, and materials of the Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), and products that use Seoul’s representative character ‘Hatchi & Soul Friends’ IP. A total of 10 teams, 5 teams in each field, will be selected.
Eligible applicants are individuals, teams, or companies aged 19 to 39 as of the announcement date, and must be design majors or related professionals. It is possible to develop lifestyle products such as crafts, everyday goods, stationery, and digital electronic products.
Winners will receive a total prize of 20 million won, with 5 million won for the best team, 3 million won each for three excellent teams, and 1 million won each for six idea teams. The winning works will be given the opportunity to exclusively sell at the DDP Design Store online and offline for one year.
Furthermore, the award-winning works will be exhibited at the Seoul Pavilion of ‘Maison&Objet’, the world’s largest lifestyle fair held in Paris, France. Support will also be provided for exhibition transport and promotional materials production.
Judging will be conducted in two stages based on criteria such as creativity, marketability, and sustainability. Document submissions are due by June 15, with document review results announced on June 25, followed by sample submissions from July 14 to 19. Final winners will be announced at the end of July.
Applications can be made through the ‘Loudsourcing’ contest platform, and detailed information is available on the official websites of the Seoul Design Foundation and DDP.
Cha Kang-hee, Director of the Seoul Design Foundation, stated, “The competition will contribute to strengthening the practical business capabilities of new designers,” and expressed hope that “DDP will become a stage for the birth of design products representing Seoul.”