WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.–The New York International Gift Fair has partnered with collaborative product design studio Red Clay for a crowd-sourced design project of a NYIGF branded tote and a new design concept for NYIGF’s Accent on Design award. The “NYIGF Design Project: Red Clay Concept Showcase” will debut at the next NYIGF, Jan. 26-30, 2103, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
“As NYIGF evolves towards the culmination of its Focus Forward 2013 strategic reorganization, we look for new opportunities to incorporate fresh design into our at-market activities,” said Christian Falkenberg, NYIGF director and GLM vice president. “Red Clay brings talent, innovation, and a built-in design community to the process.”
Founded last year, Red Clay is a product design platform that allows designers, brands and consumers to collaborate on design projects online. The first NYIGF project will be the branded tote bag, which will be produced and distributed at the summer 2013 market, and Red Clay is already soliciting design concepts for the bag on its website, redclaydesign.com. A select few designs from all of the submissions will then be chosen as finalists and displayed in the Red Clay Concept Showcase at the winter show. All market attendees will be invited to vote for the winning design, and the designer with the most votes will receive $1,000.
The second part of the contest is to create a new design for the Accent on Design Award, which has taken different shapes since its inception in 1985. Again, Red Clay will solicit design concepts for the award, and the Accent on Design selection committee and several guest design luminaries will select one winner. The winner will receive $1,000 and the award will be produced for distribution to winners beginning with the winter 2013 NYIGF.
“Red Clay is driven to bring innovative ideas to the home and gift category by using technology to bring people together,” said Abigail Kiefer, founder of Red Clay. “Partnering with NYIGF to bring this platform to the industry is a natural step, as this show is at the center of the home and gift industry. We’re excited to see what our design community and the NYIGF show participants create together.”