THE AWARD
CATEGORIES
REGISTRATION
SUBMIT YOUR WORK
ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS
TERMS & CONDITIONS
PUBLICATIONS
DATES & FEES
METHODOLOGY
CONTACT
WINNERS
PRESS ROOM
GET INVOLVED
DESIGN PRIZE
DESIGN STORE
 
THE AWARD | JURY | CATEGORIES | REGISTRATION | PRESS | WINNERS | PUBLICATIONS | ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS

QSDC - Eligibility Conditions

Home > Theory > Assigning Quality Score > Eligibility Conditions
This article explores the eligibility conditions' weight on the quality score for a design competition.

Assigning a Quality Score for Design Competitions - Eligibility Conditions

Abstract: Eligibility Conditions is one of the most important aspects of a design competition; it is the most frustrating to have your entry eliminated just because of a previously not announced criteria. The best design competition should provide the most competition; thus the more a competition is open, the better it is. In this context, the highest score is given to Open competitions that allow multiple submissions to be made. Competitions should also indicate if there are any age restrictions, country restrictions, team restrictions etc.

Collected Information: Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Conditions Score Sheet:

  1. Age Restrictions, Score++
    If age restrictions are clearly stated, this is considered positive thus providing this information increases the quality score, as otherwise you could make a design and during registration or submissions process, or worst at the last step before winning you might learn that your submission is ineligible.
  2. The way of multiple design submissions
    1. Multiple submissions not allowed, Score++5
      Especially free competitions could limit the number of submissions to decrease the burden of the jury and to make the process faster, providing this information in advance is positive as the designers do not need to make multiple designs and get a sour suprise in the middle of the process.
    2. Multiple Submissions Requires Multiple Registration, Score++
      This way of submitting designs just makes the designers lose time, however giving this information in advance could be considered positive, making it difficult to submit designs can be a way to decrease number of entries, however it is not a clever one; only designers who have a lot of time will submit more designs this way; in the end the quality of overall submissions will decrease.
    3. Multiple Submissions can be made With a Single Registration, Score++10
      This is the easiest way to submit multiple designs, therefore it has a positive effect on the quality of the competition as it shows that the organizers have devoted extra resources and thinking to make the process smoother for the entrants.
  3. Maximum number of submissions per team or entrant, Score++
    Giving this information in advance is considered positive as in some cases after you do several designs, a surprise awaits you; you cannot submit more than x designs, this surprise message which is communicated only at the last step of submission is indeed terrible, it creates a loss time for the designer..
  4. Ability to join as teams, Score++
    Giving this information in advance is considered positive.
  5. Maximum team size, Score++
    Giving this information in advance is considered positive.
  6. Regional or territorial scope
    1. National, Score++20
      National design competitions are usually better than regional ones with a better jury and a higher budget for marketing and public relations.
    2. International, Score++50
      An international design competition should have an international jury, in addition such competitions will be open to designers from all around the world thus submissions quality would be expected to be higher as well.
    3. Continental, Score++30
      Similar to an international design competition, continental competitions should have continental jury members and submissions will be more varied than a national competition.
    4. Regional, Score++10
      A regional design competition is usually run for advertising purposes, its jury and the variety of designs will be limited as well.
    5. Institutional, Score++10
      Sometimes, the competition is open to only participants of a single institution, in this case the aim is to increase the design culture or collect ideas within the institution, although not a great type of design competition, giving this information in advance is considered positive.
  7. Regional or territorial eclusivity, Score++
    Giving this information in advance is considered positive as designers from other regions would not need to spend their time on a design competition where they would be ineligible.
  8. Students' or Professionals' Competition
    1. Open only to University Students, Score++5
      A competition only open to university students is usually run by companies that want to promote some designs, or run by governments to subsidize design, but in the end, it limits the entries to amateur ones and the submission quality will be low but we could also expect some crazy or innovative designs.
    2. Open only to University Students and Fresh Graduates, Score++10
      Likewise to a design competition only open to university students, including fresh graduates simply creates added value, however it still does not make a good competition as said earlier, limiting the scope to students and fresh-graduates can significantly decrease the overall quality of entries.
    3. Open only to University Graduates, Score++15
      A competition only open to university graduates is actually not too bad, usually limits people under a certain age and therefore many good if not professional entries can be still seen, however still there is a limit on participants which in turn decreases the variety of submissions, as variety of submissions decrease the innovation and good design amount also decreases and this all leads to a worse design competition.
    4. Open only to University Post-Graduates, Score++
      A competition only open to post-graduates does not make sense as a good competition, however it could work for some cases, in any case providing this information in advance is considered positive.
    5. Open only to High-School Students, Score++
      Usually run at national level, this type of competitions are designed to support design culture within a country. Although the submissions will be limited and ameteur neverthless giving this information in advance is considered positive.
    6. Open only to Primary School Students, Score++
      A design competition open only to primary school students is usually run at a national level to support design at the initial stages of education, however the submissions will be quite limited and in many cases we see parents designs competing. Although the submissions will be too unlimited! and ameteur neverthless sharing this information in advance is considered positive.
    7. Open only to Professionals, Score++30
      A design competition open only to professionals make sense as it would filter many amateur submissions, however it also limits many good and young talented designers and any others to join the competition.
    8. Open only to Academicians, Score++
      A competition only open to academicians does not make sense, however there might be cases that it could, in any case providing this information in advance is considered positive.
    9. Open only to Design Students and Professionals, Score++45
      By increasing the scope of participants, the variety and number of participations could equally expected to increase, and in the end due to the fact that the jury will be picking from many entries, the best could be selected as winners, and a winner will get more value only if the other designs submitted to the competition are also equally good, so this option increases the value and quality of the competition.
    10. Open to All, Score++50
      This is the correct option for a design competition, by not limiting the profile of participants, higher quality and more varied designs could be expected, thus winning designs will also be better which in return increases the value and overall quality of the design competition.
    11. Open only to Engineers, Score++
    12. Although a design competition open to engineers only does not make much sense in some conditions it could, in any case sharing this information in advance is considered positive.
  9. Openness
    1. Open To All, Score++30
      If a design competition is open to everyone, the variety of submissions will be higher; in return it means the competition will be more competitive and winning designs will be also better, therefore the quality of winning designs are higher; because your design will be compared to that of others.
    2. Open to Registered Members or Associates of the Club, Score++
      Giving this information in advance is considered positive.
    3. Open to Alumni, Score++
      Giving this information in advance is considered positive.
    4. Open to Employees of the Company, Score++
      Giving this information in advance is considered positive.
  10. Eligibility Conditions URL, Score++5
    Giving this information in advance is considered positive as participants can look for further eligibility conditions or prerequisites.

Maximum Possible Score (150) is achieved with a competition with the following configuration:

Eligibility Conditions Score Sheet:

  1. Age Restrictions, Score++
  2. The way of multiple design submissions
    1. Multiple Submissions can be made With a Single Registration, Score++10
  3. Maximum number of submissions per team or entrant, Score++
  4. Ability to join as teams, Score++
  5. Maximum team size, Score++
  6. Regional or territorial scope
    1. International, Score++50
  7. Regional or territorial eclusivity, Score++
  8. Students' or Professionals' Competition
    1. Open to All, Score++50
  9. Openness
    1. Open To All, Score++30
  10. Eligibility Conditions URL, Score++5

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.

Relevant Articles

 

 

design award logo

BENEFITS
THE DESIGN PRIZE
WINNERS SERVICES
PR CAMPAIGN
PRESS RELEASE
MEDIA CAMPAIGNS
AWARD TROPHY
AWARD CERTIFICATE
AWARD WINNER LOGO
PRIME DESIGN MARK
BUY & SELL DESIGN
DESIGN BUSINESS NETWORK
AWARD SUPPLEMENT

METHODOLOGY
DESIGN AWARD JURY
PRELIMINARY SCORE
VOTING SYSTEM
EVALUATION CRITERIA
METHODOLOGY
BENEFITS FOR WINNERS
PRIVACY POLICY
ELIGIBILITY
FEEDBACK
WINNERS' MANUAL
PROOF OF CREATION
WINNER KIT CONTENTS
FAIR JUDGING
AWARD YEARBOOK
AWARD GALA NIGHT
AWARD EXHIBITION

MAKING AN ENTRY
ENTRY INSTRUCTIONS
REGISTRATION
ALL CATEGORIES

FEES & DATES
FURTHER FEES POLICY
MAKING A PAYMENT
PAYMENT METHODS
DATES & FEES

TRENDS & REPORTS
DESIGN TRENDS
DESIGNER REPORTS
DESIGNER PROFILES
DESIGN INTERVIEWS

ABOUT
THE AWARD
AWARD IN NUMBERS
HOMEPAGE
AWARD WINNING DESIGNS
DESIGNER OF THE YEAR
MUSEUM OF DESIGN
PRIME CLUBS
SITEMAP
RESOURCE

RANKINGS
DESIGNER RANKINGS
WORLD DESIGN RANKINGS
DESIGN CLASSIFICATIONS
POPULAR DESIGNERS

CORPORATE
GET INVOLVED
SPONSOR AN AWARD
BENEFITS FOR SPONSORS
IMPRESSUM IMPRINT

PRESS
DOWNLOADS
PRESS-KITS
PRESS PORTAL
LIST OF WINNERS
PUBLICATIONS
RANKINGS
CALL FOR ENTRIES
RESULTS ANNOUNCEMENT

CONTACT US
CONTACT US
GET SUPPORT

Good design deserves great recognition.
A' Design Award & Competition.