設計大抽獎

早前貪錢，參加了一個由 Design21 舉辦的撈稿設計比賽 —— ‘Stories from the Field’。頭獎乙名，US$5,000，最受歡迎撈稿 (不是男歌手) 乙名，US$500。最後，1604 份參賽作品中，無一奪魁*。頭獎無人中，獎金留作多寶，下次獎金 double。

設計比賽，有如「抽獎」，獎券的代價不是金錢，而是時間和點點腦汁。付出的越多，當然「中獎」的機會也越大。手無半獎的學子，顯然技未精，力未到。但設計 (verb) 設計比賽的設計水皮，蝦碌連連，就真的可鄰參加者的一片苦心和純真。以下一大段雞腸，是主辦阿頭的致歉書。唉 ... ... 下次唔好啦。

Dear Stories from the Field logo competition entrant,

I am well aware how disappointed and perhaps angry you must feel about the result of this competition. For that, everyone here at DESIGN 21 is deeply sorry. It was the most unexpected, difficult experience for us, too.

All we can do is to be honest. I'd like to tell you what happened, and how we came to this conclusion.

The Stories from the Field festival is presented by Media Communications Association International, New York Chapter (MCA-I NY) in partnership with the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNDPI) and The New School. They had agreed to our judging rules and procedure.

The day before the final selection was to take place, we were contacted by a representative of MCA-I NY who informed us that during the public vote they saw some designs that they felt strongly about and that these were not in the field of finalists who were selected by our panel of judges (whose names you can see at the bottom of the Brief). They requested that we add them.

This was not fair in our minds. All our entrants, judges, organizers had agreed to abide by the rules, and to change them in the middle of the game was not an option. This has been the most successful competition for us so far in terms of the number of entries (1604 from 78 countries), and we were more excited than anyone we know. But we also work very hard to execute a fair, honest and ethical competition.

Over the next 3 days, we conferred with UNESCO, our distinguished judges (who are also on our Advisory Board), and experts inside and outside the organization, trying to see if there was any other view or way to handle this situation. We of course agreed with MCA-I NY in that they should have a logo that they were really happy with. It was a matter of how we could accommodate that without bending our own rules. Unanimously, everyone agreed that their request jeopardized the whole concept of a juried selection.

In spite of our protest, MCA-I NY announced to us that their panel of judges including UNDPI, UN Graphic Design and New School selected a design from outside the field of finalists that we had sent to them. They are free to go with the design of their choice, but we feel that to declare that person a winner is an insult to the finalists. That is why we do not have an official winner of this competition.

We will take this experience to heart and make sure that we have a proper mechanism to avoid such a situation in the future. We are very sorry for any ill-feelings this may have caused, but please know that this does not make us any less appreciative of all your talent and effort.

The unawarded prize money will be added to the prize pool for our next competition. We might also consider other options -- If you have any feedback/suggestions, please send it on. We are listening. We hope that you will continue to be the creative force behind our community which is united by the single goal of promoting better design for the greater good.

Sincerely,
Haruko Smith
Director
DESIGN 21 Social Design Network

事後有少少火滾，但為咗名，為咗利，為咗想威，我惗，我會再接再厲。屢敗屢戰，讓我做一次幸運兒啦！

*部份 finalists 的確質素麻麻，難怪個客都揀唔落手。(嗱，咪話我吃不到的葡萄，我以事論事啫。)