The Singapore Furniture Industries Council (SFIC) today announces the return of the Furniture Design Award (FDA).

First launched in 1993, FDA aims to discover new design talents, both locally and internationally, and to be a reputable showcase for the unique creations of the best creative minds. The award seeks design talents from all over the world to showcase their unique creations amongst international furniture manufacturers and designers. Winning entries will be showcased at SingaPlural 2016, held in conjunction with the International Furniture Fair Singapore 2016/ 33rd ASEAN Furniture Show (IFFS/AFS 2016), The Décor Show, and Hospitality 360⁰.

FDA 2016 will take on a ‘free style’ approach where designers are welcomed to exercise their creativity without restrictions, and demonstrate their originality through this open call for submissions. Unlike in previous years, the awards will be presented for a single Designers category, and is open to participants of all backgrounds, including design students and professionals. In addition, the prize money will be doubled to an attractive figure of S$20,000. 

Mr Mark Yong, Vice President of SFIC and Chairman of Design Development, said, "Now in its 22nd edition, FDA is well-regarded within the furniture industry. Through the awards, we hope to nurture design talents, and provide an avenue for designers to express their creativity and gain recognition within the furniture industry. By eliminating previous restrictions on age and background, we wish to encourage participation from the younger generation, and provide these budding young designers with opportunities to kickstart their career in furniture design.”

FDA 2016’s panel of judges will feature prominent industry personalities and international designers from diverse backgrounds. Entries will be judged on four main criteria, namely, degree of innovation, marketability, functionality, and environmental awareness. 

The jurors for FDA 2016 are:
 
• Patrick Chia (Chief Juror), Director, Squeeze Design & Design Director, Division of Industrial Design (NUS), Design Incubation Centre (Singapore);
• Colin Seah, Design Director, Ministry of Design (Singapore); 

• Jurgen Bey, Art Director, Studio Makkink & Bey (The Netherlands);

• Prof. Byungkil Kang, Professor, Industrial Design Department; Dean, College of Arts, Sookmyung Women’s University & Director General, Design Research Institute of Seoul Design Foundation (South Korea);

• Shin Azumi, Founder, a studio (United Kingdom);

• Tony Chang, Chief Advisor, Taiwan, China Design Center (Taiwan, China).

Chief juror of FDA 2016, Mr Patrick Chia, shared, “A well-designed furniture piece is more than just form or shape; the winning combination is something that balances environmental and business sustainability with how users aspire to live. I expect to see entries that demonstrate a certain depth of thinking in this edition of FDA. Those interested should come forward to show us their ideas for furniture pieces of the future.”

FDA 2016 is supported by DesignSingapore Council, International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, SPRING Singapore, DesignS, American Hardwood Export Council, and IFFS Pte Ltd.