Assigning a Quality Score for Design Competitions - Submission Requirements and Details
Abstract: The submission criteria is an important part of the brief as they describe how the designers should prepare the deliverables or how they should format their designs, and whether they will have to spend some money on expeditions etc. This section does not have a profound effect on the overall score of a design competition but not providing this information might create many difficulties, such as by making the designers lose a lot of time in the process. In this paper we discuss how we could assign a score for the submission requirements and details of a design competition.
First of all, to calculate a raw quality score for submission requirements and details we firstly check the available public material and communications such as emails, flyers, call for submissions, press releases, posters etc and also the competition website. If we cannot find this information with aforementioned methods, we send the competition organizers an email to ask them. We use the submission requirements and details score sheet to calculate the raw store.
Submission Requirements and Details score is calculated with the following criteria: Submission Requirements URL, Page/File Restrictions, Physical Submission Requirements, Accepted File Formats, Design Description Requirements to name a few.
Please note that for submission requirements and details score, we do not consider other details such as the jury details, the competition timeline etc. as they are discussed separately.
Collected Information: Submission Requirements and Details
Submission Requirements and Details Score Sheet:
- Submission Requirements URL, Score++5
Submission requirements, required format and specifications, tables and presentations is one of the fundamental information regarding a design competition, this should be clearly stated.
- Page / File Number Restrictions, Score++
The page or file number restrictions for the competition should be given in advance so that the participants can prepare the correct amount of files in advance.
- Maximum File Size, Score++
Providing this information is important so that the entrants can prepare the submission files in the correct file size.
- Technical Drawings or Source File Requirement, Score++
It is important to note this information, as technical drawings and source files should be normally not required by common design competitions unless the competition is highly focused on the engineering aspect, is based on a production technology or if the organizer would like check in detail the engineering aspect of the design for production purposes. Because source files or technical drawings could be used to replicate a design, it is preferable for some entrants not to share them. It is always to provide this information in advance.
- Are Physical Submissions Required, Score++
Now with the improvements in the information technologies and communication sector and with the widespread of internet access, physical submissions have become a less popular option, and it is a financial burden for participants especially when they are submitting to international competitions via physical submissions. On the other hand, sometimes physical submission could be highly required due to the way the designs are evaluated or because of the nature of the category. In any case this information should be clearly given.
- Accepted File Formats, Score++
For both physical submissions (where you might be required to send a data medium) and for online submissions, the accepted file format should be clearly stated.
- Submission Method, Score++
For both physical and online submissions, the submission method defines how the deliverables are send to the organizer, this information should be clearly stated.
- Design Descriptions, Score++
Do the designers need to explain their design in detail or not, or a separate description text be included in submissions or not, this information should be stated.
- Digital Image Pixel Size and Resolutions, Score++
As in most cases for online submissions and also for some physical submissions, the organizer should define the image dimension and resolutions in advance so that designers could have the relevant shots or renderings at the correct dimensions. This information should be clearly stated.
- Physical Paper / Print Size and Resolutions, Score++
For physical submissions, or for some digital submissions, the organizer should describe the paper dimensions (such as A4, A3 etc), this information should be clearly stated.
Maximum Possible Score (14) is achieved by providing all the necessary information regarding submission criteria.
Short Notes: Please note that ++ means to increase by one (1), and -- means to decrease by one (1), so score ++ means, score will increase by one (1). Score ++n means to increase score by n (n) points; Score ++3 means to increase score 3 points. Score // means does not affect score. |