RULES

The Maker’s Village Design Alliance is a competition run by Common Grounding, an international not-for-profit trust. By entering the competition, entrants agree to comply with the guidelines set out in the Entry Guidelines document.

Below is an overview of eligibility, submission requirements and entry fees – please download the Rules + Entry Guidelines (coming soon) for the full set of competition rules.

Eligibility

• The competition is open to anyone.
• Contributions are accepted from both individuals and teams. Teams can comprise of members from different courses and universities, and there is no set number of people that can be part of a team – but generally team entries comprise two or three people.
• Contributions must respond to one of the 2020 Maker’s Campus briefs and must be the original work of the contributors.
• Contributors may submit more than one response per brief. Each response is considered to be a separate contribution and will require completion of a separate submission form and payment of the relevant fee.
• Candidates who are contracted to work for a company after graduation may not be eligible for some industry placement awards.

Application requirements

All entries must be submitted through our online entry system, accessed via https://commongrounding.org/submission/ If you are unable to submit online, please contact us by email at info@commongrounding.org.

As you prepare your submission, please ensure that:

• You include your name, university/college, organization or other identifying marks on all pages of your submissions.
• None of your PDF submission files exceed 10Mb – this is the maximum size for each individual file / board when you submit online.

For ALL briefs, the submission requirements are:

• 1 x A3 PDF Hero Image, with project title and 1 sentence description

  A singular ‘poster image’ that conveys the essence of your project, and includes your project title plus a 1 sentence description. For example: ‘Bare Technology: a product and service design solution to convert old computers (e-waste) into simpler, more straightforward, accessible computers for older people’. Your hero image should aim to bring your concept to life – make sure it is vibrant and engaging.

• 1 x A3 Written Summary
  A single A3 PDF page that summarizes your innovative idea using the following format:
  • Problem (50 words max)
    What is the specific problem you identified within the brief topic?
    Who experiences this problem, and how does it impact them?
  • Process (75 words max)
    How did you investigate this issue – what were your key insights?
    What journey did you go through to get to your final solution?
  • Solution (50 words max)
    What is your proposed solution?
    How will it solve the problem?
• 4 x A3 PDF Boards Outlining Your Proposal

  4 pages describing your proposal and demonstrating that you have met the 6 judging criteria. Each board should include a heading. It is important that you number each board in the top right hand corner, in the order you want them viewed by the judges.

• 5 x A3 PDF Pages of Supporting Material

  Up to 5 A3 PDFs of additional material illustrating your development process – this could include scanned pages of your sketchbook or computer modelling (if applicable).

• Optional YouTube / Vimeo + website links
  Please note that we cannot guarantee supporting films and websites will be viewed at the shortlisting stage. If you have created digital materials, we recommend referencing them (for example by including labelled film stills or website screen grabs) in your 4 main PDF boards.

Please note that late submissions will not be accepted and all entrants are encouraged to submit their work in good time before the deadline.

Entry fees

There is an entry fee for submitting work to the RSA Student Design Awards. This fee is charged per entry, so it does not cost more to enter as a team. Entry fees should be paid online through our submissions form, via PayPal, credit or debit card.

• Early Bird Rate – for entrants submitting their work before or on February 15th 2020, the entry fee is charged at the reduced early bird rate of $30 per entry.
• Standard Rate – after February 15th 2020 and until the final submission deadline on Earth Day the entry fee is $50.

The Design Alliance is under no obligation to refund payments except under the circumstance of technical error where refunds will be made at the Alliance’s discretion.