Design competitions

The participation at competitions must be prohibited!

The BURG offers, with its virtual and real walls, a sheltered freedom, in which Students can develop themselves and their ideas. From my point of view studying design means making a effort at something – with all its false paths, mistakes and speculations.

Specific semester tasks serve as a vehicle to transport and promote this search. They are only a medium for the purpose. You must be allowed to run a project aground once in a while – with full speed. And that is why I think it is counterproductive to apply to a competition with a semester task. Students are unnecessarily put under pressure. You only look at the final product, the journey, the actual studying, searching and finding, becomes secondary. For ones own development – creative and personal – this is quite ineffective. Of course in the end you will hopefully have a respectable result, but is that studying? Is that what you expect from your studies at the BURG?

What I highly recommend and request:

Take part at every possible competition, regardless of how insignificant, small or remote they are!

Do this with results from semester tasks or your own approaches. Or do a competition alongside, over night…

At some point you will understand what makes the jurors tick. One discovers what you have to do to attract attention, how to produce something so that it is easy to comprehend at first sight.

You learn how to manage the stress generated by the submission date. You win glory and honour and sometimes even money or material prizes. You begin to stand out in the community, get to know people who help you proceed further or who you will meet again later in life. You learn to differentiate the good and the bad competitions – some in the call to competition, some not until you see the buffet. If you sit on the other side later in life you will in any case have a wide range of experience.

And you learn how to handle the frustration if you once again have not won anything.

Take part!