Formica Corporation Launches Eighth Annual FORM Student Innovation Competition
September 10 2024 - 9:54AM
Formica Corporation announces the opening of the 2025 FORM Student
Innovation Competition. Now in its eighth year, this annual
furniture design competition invites students studying architecture
and interior design in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to share their
inventiveness through original designs that feature Formica® Brand
products with this year's theme “Designing for Well-being.”
The rising understanding of neuroaesthetics, the field
concerning how the aesthetics around us can impact our mental and
physical health, is making an impact in interior design, and
Formica Corporation has made this the focal point of the 2025
competition. “Designing for Well-being” will allow students to
demonstrate how elements like color, sound and patterns can have a
positive impact on one’s well-being. Students entering will provide
a project statement and color rendering of their furniture design
that includes at least three or more Formica® Brand or FENIX®
products.
“This competition continues to grow each year — not just in the
number of submissions but the sheer creativity we see from
students,” said Meghan Howell, North American design and creative
director at Formica Corporation. “While well-being is an evergreen
idea, its importance has been increasingly emphasized by Gen Z and
we’re excited to see how students can bring this mindset to
furniture design.”
Each entrant will have the chance to win cash prizes and
national recognition, including the opportunity to have their
design showcased at NeoCon 2025, the leading design and event for
commercial interiors. The competition is open from Sept. 10, 2024,
through March 7, 2025, with winners announced in early May. A
distinguished panel of industry leaders will judge the students’
work.
The grand prizewinner will receive a $2,000 cash award and their
design will be fabricated and displayed during NeoCon 2025 in
Chicago. The second-place winner will be awarded $1,000 and the
third-place winner will receive $500. The top three winners will
also be invited to attend NeoCon as guests of Formica Corporation
for the opportunity to network with industry professionals and gain
exposure to the design community.
Inspired By Design Industry LegendsThe annual FORM
Student Innovation Competition continues to grow as more students
across the U.S., Canada and Mexico submit their inventive and
thought-provoking designs, with last year's competition seeing a
26% increase in entries from the previous year. The current
iteration of FORM is inspired by a challenge Formica Corporation
held in 2008, when the company invited design greats — including
Jaime Velez, Zaha Hadid, Michael Graves, Bernard Tschumi and
Massimo Vignelli, among others — to create works of art from
Formica® Brand products. Their designs, which ranged from domestic
pieces to conceptual sculptures, were then exhibited at the
Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati.
Keeping the spirit alive from the original challenge, the 2025
FORM Student Innovation Competition invites the next generation of
designers to express their creativity in these original furniture
designs, showing attention to detail, inventive design and a unique
point of view.Entries Now OpenEntries will be accepted Sept.
10, 2024, through March 7, 2025. Competition submissions can be
emailed to designcontest@formica.com. For more information,
including complete competition details, resources and rules, visit
formica.com/studentcompetition.
About Formica CorporationFounded in 1913, Formica
Corporation, part of the Formica Group of companies, is a leader in
the design, manufacture and distribution of innovative surfacing
products for commercial and residential applications. For more
information about Formica Corporation, its products, special
programs and promotions, visit www.formica.com or call
1-800-FORMICA™.
About Formica GroupFormica Group is a global group of
companies consisting of Formica Canada Inc., Formica Corporation,
Formica de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Formica IKI Oy, Formica
Skandinavien AB, Formica Limited, Formica S.A., Formica S.A.S.,
Formica Taiwan Corporation, Formica (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Formica
(Asia) Ltd., Formica Decorative Materials (China) Co., Ltd. and
Homapal GmbH, among others.
Formica® and the Formica® Anvil Logo are registered trademarks
of The Diller Corporation. 1-800-FORMICA™ is a trademark of The
Diller Corporation. All rights reserved. ©2024 The Diller
Corporation.
FENIX® is a registered trademark of ARPA Industriale S.P.A.
###
Emma Mazour
Carmichael Lynch Relate
612-375-8532
emma.mazour@clynch.com