DESIGN BRUSSELS 2008/2009

Posted on July 19, 2008
Filed Under design + products |

Shop design, distribution and visual merchandising
Flagey, Brussels, Studio 1, Tuesday 23 September 2008 from 9h to 19h, followed by a conference at 20h with Patrick Jouin in the context of Design September

DESIGN BRUSSELS 2008

In collaboration with the launch of the Competition for the Brussels Commerce Design Award, developed from an original concept of the City of Montreal, Pro Materia and Design September invite you to attend an international colloquium on this theme, organised for Tuesday 23 September 2008 at Flagey (Studio 1), in the locales of Design September. This day dedicated to news and exchange is open to professionals (those responsible for retail spaces, brands and distributors in design and architecture, architects, interior designers, designers, entrepreneurs, property promoters, communication and advertising agencies, government bodies…) and envisages a better economic and commercial development for Brussels by putting the accent on creativity and innovation in the design of points of sale and their impact on the quality and the improvement of urban life, the places and the attitudes of consumption and the capital’s image in Belgium and abroad. Key to success for the commercial activities and perceptions of a city, this colloquium proposes through the expertise and talent of professionals and companies active in the development of commercial spaces, adequate tools and lasting solutions for the promotion and distinctive distribution of products and services. It will allow, moreover, connecting the added value of the sales and well-being areas (shops and boutiques in all sectors, restaurants, bars, cafés, service oriented shops and shopping centres…) to the transformation of local urban spaces.

At the Commerce Design Brussels, shop design, distribution and visual merchandising colloquium at Flagey the 23 September 2008, the Commerce Design Brussels competition –Brussels Commerce Design Award– will be officially launched for the Brussels Region. Developed from an original concept by the City of Montreal, Pro Materia and Design September have organised this free competition with the support of the Brussels Region and of Design September, with the aim of awarding prizes to the best commercial redevelopments, in all business categories.

The call for candidates is made via a registration form which will be distributed at the time of the colloquium and to which must be attached specific documents such as images on a CD, project plans, descriptive texts… They will be distributed within a large network of professional partners, of press relations and on the internet site. Following the reception of the candidates dossiers, a jury composed of professionals from different disciplines (architecture, interior design, design, graphics, urban design …) will meet to select 20 businesses who will be nominated for the Grand Prix of the Jury and of which 1 will be chosen by a public vote at the end of a large promotional campaign. These 20 prize winners will then be ambassadors of quality in design and will be a source of inspiration for the shopkeepers who would like to call upon the services of an interior designer or of a creative for the design of their shop. The adopted criteria to evaluate the projects are as much the quality of design (aesthetics, creativity, coherence interior/façade/graphics, functionality, security, ease of upkeep, durability…), as the context and impact on the city and its tourists or inhabitants. The jury will select, where possible, projects which reflect the budgets, the commercial vocations, the identities and the cultures of the areas and their various styles.

The promotional campaign which will accompany this Commerce Design Brussels competition –Brussels Commerce Design Award– will allow the awarded businesses an increase in notoriety and commercial appeal. During the gala evening which will take place before summer, a trophy created by a Belgian designer, will be presented to the 20 winners of 2008/09, as well as labels to put in the window as a symbol of quality and of recognition. As for the public’s prize it will be proclaimed during an event organised for the press in the locales of Design September in 2009. The Internet site as well as the annual publications will also be permanent showcases for all the awarded businesses and for the dynamic retail market
in Brussels.

Timing Brussels Commerce Design Award
September 2008: call to candidates (official launch 23.9.2008)
January 2009: jury selection
April 2009: gala and announcement of the 20 Grand Prix winners with the launch of the public’s prize
May-August 2009: public’s vote (Internet site, on-line)
September 2009: announcement of the public’s choice, promotional press campaign and launch of call to candidates 2009/10 in the locales of Design September.

Lise Coirier & Klara Vanderhenst, Pro Materia
commercedesignbrussels.be

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