A competition and exhibition to honor and celebrate the work of professional Designer/Makers and serious woodworking students who are anticipating a career in the wood and related industries.
Eligibility
New for 2024: Innovation+Design is open to participants who are located outside the United States
Students
Full-time, degree, diploma or certificate seeking students, who were enrolled in or graduated from in an accredited post-secondary woodworking, furniture design, industrial design, or related program in 2023. Post-secondary schools include colleges and universities as well as trade, art and, union apprenticeship schools.
Students must be at least 18 years of age by September 25, 2023.
Students who graduated in 2023 must submit work that was completed while they were students in their accredited program.
All students, including those who have graduated, must have the support of their instructor and school where the work was completed.
Professionals
Those that make their living (or substantial income) from woodworking and/or furniture design and crafting.
Projects
Professionals may submit a maximum of three (3) projects per sub-category.
Student Entries
No school may submit more than ten (10) entries and no student may submit more than three (3).
Students must complete a separate submission for each project.
All entrants are expected to have created their own design and plan of procedure.
All entrants must disclose if they have used manufactured parts or if they have involved any other persons or companies in their process (such as for upholstery, veneering, metalwork, turned pieces, instrument components, etc.).
A project may be entered in one sub-category only.
Projects must be composed of at least 50% wood or wood composite, except for pieces in the seating, accessory or lighting categories which may have a higher ratio of other material.
Project must have been built between January 1, 2023 and December 20, 2023.
Project construction/conception must be complete at the time of entry. The finish coating may be applied after time of entry.
Prototypes must be fully functional and finished.
If selected as a finalist, the project must be completely finished in time for shipment to High Point, North Carolina between February 5 and March 15, 2024.
Participants located outside of the United States must be able to ship their finished pieces to High Point by March 15, 2024.
Glass components must be tempered and properly secured when assembled (e.g., may not be “perched” unsecured as a table top).
**ISFD® reserves the right to limit the number of entries weighing over 400 pounds due to space and shipping constraints.
Sub-Categories
The following sub-categories apply to both the Professional and Student competitions:
Seating: Chairs and other seating pieces such as ottomans, benches and settees. Pieces may be upholstered. Comfort, stability and aesthetics are primary. NOTE: Seating pieces must function as such. Judges WILL test the strength of joints by sitting on chairs (however, general public access to all pieces on display at the exhibit will be restricted).
Occasional Tables: Functional and decorative occasional tables and stands. Emphasis is on design integrity, craftsmanship, joinery, and aesthetics.
Occasional Storage: Occasional furniture whose primary function is storage. Included are wall units, étagères, curio cabinets, or movable storage intended for home use. Does not include entertainment or home theater furniture.
Lighting: Incandescent or LED fixed lighting intended for indoor home use, including table lamps, floor lamps, pendants and chandeliers. Choice of materials, construction methods and joinery will be considered.
Dining Room Furniture: Dining tables, counters, and bars, side chairs and armchairs, sideboards, credenzas, servers, and china cabinets.
Accessories: Any home furnishings accessories that are floor standing (sculpture, large planters or vases, screens, pedestals, carts, etc.). No restrictions on style, materials or percent of wood used.
Judging
Entries are assessed by a panel of ISFD board members and/or professionals representing various sectors of the industry. Judges will have the opportunity to review pieces in-person prior to April 13, 2024 to determine the best of show and category winners. Judges reserve the right to reassign an entry to a different category if they deem it appropriate.
The Judging Process:
Judges receive anonymous online submissions consisting of images and the general Information requested by the online entry form.
Judges score projects on a scale of 1-5 for each of the 5 criteria listed below.
Scores are tallied and the two projects with the highest scores in each sub-category are selected as finalists.
Finalists' projects may be judged in person once they arrive at the exhibition to determine sub-category and best of show winners.
Scores are tallied and projects with the highest scores within their sub-category may be selected as winners as agreed upon by the judging panel.
Judging Criteria:
Innovation: Innovative expression of line, form, color, or texture, or a new interpretation of a known style.
Construction: Quality of materials, build, detailing, sanding, and finishing.
Function: Fitness to the purpose for which the piece is designed, including stability, comfort, durability, and, if applicable, manufacturability and marketability.
Construction Technique: Appropriateness of the joinery, lamination, veneering, and/or upholstery to the design and function of the piece.
Aesthetics: Scale, proportion , balance, rhythm, emphasis, and unity.
Awards
Each Entrant may win one award only.
Best of Show $1,000
Category Winners $250
Best of Show and Category Winners will receive free time in the Congdon Yards Generator to work on any project of their choice!
Judges reserve the right to skip an award level if they so choose.
All Professional finalists will receive a certificate of merit and can enter the Maker/Designer category of the 2024 Pinnacle Awards® for free. Log in and enter your information and photos into the Pinnacle Awards entry site then notify david.blair@isfd.org to receive a credit that can be used for your entry fee.
All Student finalists will receive a certificate of merit and can enter their piece in the Student Pinnacle Award® category of the 2024 Pinnacle Awards®.
Entry Instructions
Register at this ArtCall site and Create a User Profile
After you have created your User Profile, log back into the Artcall website. - Click the Add New Submission button. - Choose your Sub-category (Seating, Occasional Tables, Occasional Storage, Lighting, Dining Room Furnitrue, or Accessories). - Type in the name of your project in the Title section. - Type in the Dimensions of your project in inches and the Project Weight of your piece in pounds.
Upload a statement about your piece in PDF format. Your statement should include-but not be limited to-the following points: - Your Inspiration or, if this piece is a reproduction whether your intent was to make an authentic reproduction or to develop a new twist on the original - Project Goals: Did you use a unique process, design element, or construction method? - Wood Species: Types of wood and wood products - Finish: Finishing process and types of materials used - Equipment: Design software, jigs, hardware, and tools employed - note if any of these were new to you - Intended Market or Client: Who do you see as the ideal customer for this project?
Project Photos: Upload four (4) photos of your completed project using the Add Attachment button on the Add Entry Attachments page of the submission. - Three (3) depicting different views - Plus one (1) detail shot - Upload these photos as JPEG files. Note: Preliminary review by judges is heavily reliant on the photos. It is to your advantage to submit the best quality possible.
Construction Photos/Documentation: Upload at least one (1) image showing the project during construction, or project plans, drawings, or working sketches. (Judges will not score based on the quality of construction documentation, but will use them as reference). If submitting photos, crop or remove people from the images.
NOTE: You should have five (5) total attachments in your submission.
Only complete submissions will be accepted. You may edit your answers and/or submission photos and documents at any time until the December 31, 2023 deadline. After the deadline no submissions or changes will be permitted. SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED to 11:59 pm Sunday, December 31, 2023
Schedule
September 26, 2023: ArtCall site open for entries
November 6, 2023: Judges announced
December 31, 2023: Deadline for submissions
February 5, 2024: Finalists announced
February 5–March 15, 2024: Coordination of shipping arrangements to ISFD warehouse in High Point, NC; ISFD sponsors pay for shipping to and from our warehouse and any location within the 48 contiguous United States; sponsors subsidize shipping to and from any location outside of the 48 contiguous United States up to $350 each way.
March 15, 2024: Finalists' piece must have arrived at the High Point, North Carolina warehouse Location
March 16-April 3, 2024: Photography will be completed by INNOVATION+DESIGN Photographers
April 3-5: Tour of High Point resources and Master Classes for Student Finalists (ISFD sponsors will provide hotel accommodations for student finalists and their professors)
April 4-17, 2024: Finalists pieces on exhibit in the Home Furnishings Hall of Fame
April 4, 2024, 5-8pm: Community Reception in Home Furnishings Hall of Fame (Professional and Student Finalists are encouraged to attend)
April 4-13, 2024: Final on-site judging
April 13, 2024: Meet the Designers Reception for High Point Market attendees in the Home Furnishings Hall of Fame
Inbound and Outbound freight from anywhere in the 48 contiguous US states will be paid for by ISFD. Finalist Designer/Makers are solely responsible for their exhibition pieces and the piece's packaging and crating for initial transport. The International Society of Furniture Designers is not responsible for any damage to finalist's pieces due to the finalists packaging of their item. Our team in the receiving ware house and during set-up, staging, display, and take-down will do their very best to handle finalist items with the greatest care. If a finalist has any questions about packaging, transportation or personally transporting their item to our receiving warehouse, please contact: David Blair, ISFD Executive Director via david.blair@isfd.org
Entry Process Tutorial
This video will walk you through the submission process in less than five minutes.
