The nation’s top design competition enters its 13th season
ICFF and Bernhardt Design are excited to announce the commencement of the thirteenth annual ICFF Studio, to be presented May 20-23, 2018. ICFF Studio is a leading global platform to showcase emerging design, and the most prestigious design competition in North America.
Every year, Bernhardt Design partners with ICFF to invite emerging designers and new talents to submit their unique concepts and innovative designs for evaluation by a jury of some of the industry’s top professionals.
The finalists and their work are presented to the design industry in a special exhibition at ICFF held in May, 2018 at the Jacob K. Javits Center.
“We receive entries from across North America and throughout the world that continually blow us away for their thoughtfulness, creativity and technique.” said Coleman Gutshall, Director of Global Strategy for Bernhardt Design. “ICFF Studio helps propel many of these exciting new designers to international acclaim and rewarding careers.”
Notable past ICFF Studio participants include Brad Ascalon, Todd Bracher, Bower, GamFratesi, Nolen Niu, and Jonah Takagi, among others. Studio 2017 showcased work by ten designers from five continents.
“ICFF Studio is a must-see feature for our audience at the Fair. Finalists get to be showcased in front of over 30,000 architects, interior designers, developers and better retailers from all over North America and the world” said Kevin O’Keefe, ICFF Event Director.
The ICFF Studio 2017 winners were:
- Peidian Cai – Settle Table – Pasadena, CA, USA
- Studio Foy- Siri Line and Guro Sorbo Midtun Pusle Benches – Oslo, Norway
- Guilherme Wentz – Tela Chair – Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Yi-Chieh Wang – Moon Table – Pasadena, CA, USA
- Kendra Kirchner – Drawer Table – Miami, FL, USA
- Ruoxi Wang – Loop Desk – San Francisco, CA, USA
- Aiden Bowman & Josh Metersky – Janus Table Lamp – Brooklyn, NY, USA
- Tom Skeehan – Hup Hup Chair – Canberra, Australia
- Xiaotong Wang – Product TBD – Pasadena, CA, USA
- Refaeli Ma – Leira Lounge Chair – Beijing, China
To enter the competition, a designer must be in the industry five years or less, and have a working prototype that is not in commercial production. Submissions are evaluated and judged on design aesthetics, the ability to be economically mass produced, marketability and commercial viability.
ICFF Studio 2018 will begin accepting applications on October 23, 2017. The application deadline is January 15, 2018. Designers should visit www.icff.com/show/icff-studio for more information and to apply.
About ICFF®
ICFF® is the premier North American global Design showcase for interior furniture, seating, carpet and flooring, lighting, outdoor furniture, materials, wall coverings, accessories, textiles, kitchen and bath and fabricators, attracting more than 800 exhibitors and 34,000 attendees from around the world. The 30th annual ICFF is scheduled for May 20-23, 2018, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Visit www.icff.com for more information.
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About Bernhardt Design
Bernhardt Design was founded in 1980 by the 125-year-old Bernhardt Furniture Company and continues to be a leader and innovator in furniture design and production. During the past 10 years, President Jerry Helling assembled an extraordinary creative team that has positioned Bernhardt Design as one of the leading international design companies. Bernhardt Design created and sponsors an annual interdisciplinary course with the world-renowned Art Center College of Design, challenging students to create world-class designs for mass production. Bernhardt Design also sponsors the ICFF Studio, a scholarship program which provides emerging design talent exposure to manufacturers, retailers and the media. Most recently, Bernhardt Design created Tools at Schools, a collaborative partnership with creative consultancy Aruliden and The School at Columbia University where the project introduced design into the school’s 8th-grade curriculum.
About The Design Group™
The Design Group™, part of Emerald Expositions, is the media and event nexus for North America’s design industry. The Design Group comprises ICFF®, the Hospitality Design Expo®, GlobalShop® and the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show® (KBIS), as well as major media platforms that include Hospitality Design, Contract, design:retail and K+BB.
ICFF NYC is owned by Emerald Expositions, the largest operator of business-to-business trade shows in the United States, with most of our shows dating back several decades. We currently operate more than 50 trade shows, including 31 of the top 250 trade shows in the country as ranked by TSNN, as well as numerous other events. Our events connect over 500,000 global attendees and exhibitors and occupy more than 6.5 million NSF of exhibition space. We have been recognized with many awards and accolades that reflect our industry leadership as well as the importance of our shows to the exhibitors and attendees we serve.