Judges Confirmed for the New “Designed for Business” Competition From SBID and BE OPEN

"Designed for Business" is the life-changing competition that will showcase emerging talent, provide an essential link between creative academia and the business community. It is a collaboration between SBID and BE OPEN, the humanitarian think tank founded by international philanthropist and entrepreneur Elena Baturina.  

Chosen based on their relevance to the four different disciplines in the competition: Interior Design, Interior Decoration, Fashion, Art and Product Design, the expert will look for qualities such as originality of expression, individualism, creative use of materials and presentation skills.

Sebastian Conran - Trustee of the Design Museum in London   

Maria-Christina Alvarez-Talty - Senior Product Manager for Amazon   

Jane Hay - International Managing Director of Christie's Education   

Philippa Prinsloo - Design Manager at John Lewis   

Kaye Newman - Head of Interiors at Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design  

Russell Gagg - Interior Design Expert and Programme Director at Bournemouth University   

Eujin Pei - Programme Director at Brunel University   

Hywel Davies - Programme Director at Central St Martins & Director of Writers Bloc  

The overall winner will leave with a cash prize of £30,000 and winners from each category will receive £1,000. The finalists will be announced on October 29^th, 2018.

SBID founder Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, says: "SBID are delighted with the engagement in this brand new competition which identifies, recognises and promotes creative talent of young students, their university and achievements learned. In keeping with the aim for global design excellence for the next generation, we have gathered some of the world's best experts across five competitive creative sectors and look forward to presenting the winner with a life changing prize in the House of Commons on 29 November 2018."

BE OPEN founder Elena Baturina, says: "We are honoured and excited to collaborate with SBID on such an important project and delighted to work with the judges in this groundbreaking initiative. We strongly believe in the potential of the young, creative generation, their ability to look at the world with fresh eyes and find solutions no one has ever found before. That is why it is vital to give them the support they need to bring their ideas to fruition."