2019 Audi Innovation Award Theme is ‘Simplification’

Audi has announced that the theme for the fourth edition of the Audi Innovation Award is ‘Simplification’. Submissions for the contest can be made through the website, www.audiinovationaward.com. The contest is being held by Audi Middle East in collaboration with Dubai Design Week, and is meant to create a new generation of change-makers in the region, empower regional designers and create a record of intellectual progress.

Designers across the Middle East can submit their ideas and concepts through the website in line with the specific brief. The designer who submits the winning entry will get a once in a lifetime opportunity for mentoring, publicity and up to USD 25,000 in investment in the winning innovation in addition to a trip to the Audi headquarters in Ingolstadt, Germany. The deadline for submission of entries is 20th May 2019 and the winners will be announced at Dubai Design , the largest creative festival in the region which is scheduled to be held in in November 2019.

The Audi Innovation Award was established with the purpose of stimulating regional discussion regarding the journey towards a sustainable future in the Middle East, through the innovative use of energy, resources, as well as by promoting social awareness and the development of smart cities. The theme of the contest is inspired by the Audi brand every year and this year’s theme of ‘Simplification’ is based in the Audi global brand value of ‘Personal Freedom’. Simplification has been defined as ‘to make less complex or complicated’ or ‘to design for efficiency’, and this fits perfectly with Audi’s global ethos.

Designers are expected to propose design solutions which can affect the way even an everyday object is made, used, moved, or stored. The outcome of the contest would be that the products are simpler to use, or to transport, or will use less material or energy to be manufactured, or are easier to operate or store.

Carsten Bender, Brand Director of Audi Middle East said that the Audi Innovation Award has grown in popularity and stature since it was launched in 2016. The Audi brand stands for progressiveness and stylish design and hence the award aligns perfectly with Audi’s passion to inspire a new generation of designers in the Middle East.

The three designers who are shortlisted for the award will receive USD 2,500 to present their concepts at the Dubai Design Week in November 2019. The creator of the design that is chosen as the overall winner will receive a trophy and a trip to the Audi factory in Ingolstadt, Germany to experience the automotive design journey at the company’s headquarters. Audi Middle East will also give the winner USD 25,000 worth of consultancy to cover items like IP registration, legal counselling and business development. Audi will collaborate closely with the Dubai Design Week to provide design advice and mentoring to develop and protect the winning idea.

In 2016, the theme of the Audi Innovation Award was ‘Alternative’ while in 2017 the theme was ‘Autonomy’. For 2018, the theme ‘Connections’ was interpreted by the winner Elias Soueidi from Lebanon in the form of a design named ‘Ruin to Reality’ (R2R), which allows users access to virtual 3d models of ruined historical buildings and landmarks in order to reinforce the relationship between people and their immediate surroundings.