Design & Emotion Blog

Feel Planet Earth, Cifial Design Award, is organized with the aim of promoting design, both as a culture, and as a tool, capable of proposing innovative solutions to man’s approach to his social and natural environment.

The object of this contest is to promote the exchange of ideas and spread the values of design, offering new approaches to tasks products and services, visualizing, interpreting technologies, etc.

Its theme arises from the day-to-day concerns around the huge transformations that are presently taking place in our society economy culture and environment, and which the present paradigms seem to be unable to deal with.

The goal of this award is to identify and disseminate design contributions to help build a path towards sustainability on issues that we all face, and must urgently discuss.

It will be run on a two-phase selection based firstly on an Abstract submission and then a further development for those selected.

The theme for the 2008 Award will be the over-dependence on non- renewable sources of energy in the current pattern of development.

Any design work on this issue, whether a vehicle, a public transport service, a cooking device or a lighting system, a water pump or any other practical or theoretical contribution, as well as a synopsis from an MsC or PhD dissertation, can be proposed.

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2008 edition

To change the present social, political strategical and climacteric circumstances implications of consumption, new good and services with a minor impact, will have to be implemented and proposed in order to gurantee scenarios of broader social equity and energetic sustainability.

Design can and should give an important contribution in what respects this issue, with the proposal of new usage forms, new approaching and solutions to artifacts and services capable of strengthening the new energetic and social paradigm.

“Feel the planet earth” will have a jury constituted by a number of elements representing the divers sensibilities, scientific formations and nationalities, capable of generating a dynamic and multifaceted evaluation of the proposals.

This diversity will ensure a uncompromising evaluation of the dominant paradigms and at the same time will allow new intercultural readings of the candidatures which are expected to open new paths and propose new solutions.

The Prize, that at the 2008 edition will have the value of 25.000 €, can exceptionally be handed over “ex-equo”, to two or even more candidates, with an equitable division of its value, and in addition commendations may be attributed, these however with no monetary retribution.

The handing over of the Prize, will occur in a public session with the intervention of the members of the jury, which may express their personal opinion on the issue in discussion, results obtained and its importance and contribution to the issue presented to discussion. At the same time will be held an exhibition of all finalist works presented to phase 2.