Top tips for entering the James Dyson Award 2018
As a budding professional, stepping out on your own can seem pretty daunting. Participating in competitions such as the James Dyson Awards is an opportunity to help give you the experience and confidence you need to pave your career path and build your professional future.
1. Fulfil the brief
Design something that solves a problem. This problem may be a frustration we all face in daily life, or a global issue such as world hunger. The important thing is that the solution is an effective and well-thought through solution. The best entries are always realistic and sustainable, show iterative development, solve a real problem and tell a story.
2. Keep your eye on the prize
No one can deny that a lot of effort goes in to making an award winning design and the added hard work can seem quite gruelling. Stick it out because it may well be worth it in the end. The cash prize is a big bonus but the real prize is the exposure you will get through your participation.
3. Be confident
Don’t forget that you will be bringing in your own unique view to the discussion board. So don’t be afraid to ask questions and provide your own insight.
4. Set aside time
Take time to thoroughly read the brief and understand the entry requirements and check the website FAQs if in doubt. With a limited word count available be concise and to the point. Remember you are competing with the rest of the country and the world so be sure give yourself enough time to present your very best.
5. Communicate your design idea clearly
Your application will also be what the judges see when deciding the national and international winners. So make to communicate clearly how your design solves a specific problem. Images are very powerful so be sure to include sketches, plans, 3D CAD renderings, and photos of prototypes/models or
videos. Also remember that what you write will be visible on the James Dyson Award website once your application has been approved. This will be visible to the public and media.
6. Get a second opinion
Have other people check over your submission before sending it through. Getting a second opinion can be very helpful as being the creator of a design it’s not always easy to be objective about your own work. It’s always good to sense check your entry with someone who will be reading through it for the first time.
7. Novelty
To challenge the status quo, you need to show us something we’ve never seen before. Be sure to tell us exactly what is unique about your design and make sure to do your research - we can’t progress any entries which infringe on the intellectual property rights of other products.
8. Project name
If successful your project name will appear on all communications and media coverage. Make sure this is something you could see on a newsstand
9. Development
To understand more about your thought process, cycles of iteration and the functionality be sure to provide a description of the development process as well as your next steps.
10. Tell us a story
We want to know exactly what your product or idea achieves, so provide us with a succinct description clearly outlining its purpose, function and how it works. The brief is to solve a problem, the more we know about the problem and your inspiration for solving it, the more we can immerse ourselves in your story