Within the creative industries we have become accustomed to awards and competitions as a legitimate and vibrant part of the landscape, and a valuable contributor to the development of discourse and opportunity. Competitions can form a pivotal part of a creative career providing a much-needed slice of the limelight, some business opportunity, and if the conditions are right, a lovely cash injection.

If approached correctly, and if the terms of participation are equitable, competitions can also provide the motivation to define and refine a concept to presentation stage and through the short-listing, judging, exhibition and promotional processes, to access a valuable platform for discussion and promotion of ones work.

So, given the diversity of competitions and awards currently on offer it is important to consider the benefits against the risks and costs of participation.

There are three broad types of programs on offer:

a) Industry programs which acknowledge excellence in a field of practice.

b) Philanthropic programs aimed at celebrating talent and promoting discourse.

c) Programs with a dual promotional / commercial outcome based on the implementation of the winning project(s) by the organisers.

In both industry awards and philanthropic competitions it is a safe assumption that the biggest risks apart from the time and money spent are the emotional bruising of being overlooked, or the more worrying commercial risk of losing your intellectual property rights through the competition guidelines, or by revealing speculative or prototype work to a broad audience through the accompanying publicity.

It is understandable to become sceptical of awards programs that ultimately provide design solutions to commercial entities at a reduced commercial cost – through the vehicle of an award or competition and the promise of celebrity. Consider the plight of those who do not win but through the process of entry assign their intellectual property to a commercial organisation.

It is essential to weigh up the factors well. Running any aspect of a business on the basis of odds isn’t strategic, so investigate the program; take a good look at the fine print, consider who will be judging and who are the sponsors, find out if there is an exhibition, any media coverage, is there feedback from the judges, are you required to sign away your intellectual property rights to a design, is there prize money and how much?

The business factors to weigh up when considering whether to enter an award with commercial outcomes (being published, manufactured, built and sold) are the need for transference of intellectual property, the level of payment for the design and the rights to the intellectual property, the attribution of the designer, and the capacity of the organisers to repurpose the design or take it to new territories. All of these factors should be weighed against the real promotional value of the opportunity. Would you sign this contract with a client? Is it still worth proceeding?

ADU wholeheartedly supports the many excellent awards programs on offer to the creative community and acknowledges the leadership and vision that drives their success and longevity. We encourage active participation, at the right time and for the right reason in programs that are founded on ethical values.

In the case of the programs that walk a fine line between celebration and exploitation we encourage entrants to resist – for without content there can be no prize.

Ewan McEoin & Heidi Dokulil

To garner a broader view of the impact competitions can have on a creative business, the ADU spoke with designers Adam Goodrum, Tomek Archer and Trent Jansen about their experiences entering design competitions, and discussed how to assess the 'fine print' with intellectual property lawyer Peter English, partner at Surry Partners Lawyers in Sydney, and business and intellectual property mentor in the Springboard: entrepreneurship for designers program.

You can read the interviews here:

Interview with Peter English, Surry Partners Lawyers

Interview with Adam Goodrum

Interview with Tomek Archer, Tomahawk Studios

Interview with Trent Jansen

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