BRAZIL – The judging panel of the 2017 Salão Design Award announced the selection of 130 entrees for the next phase. The finalists are expected to submit their products or life-size prototypes in early May for the winners selection. 

This year, the exhibition of the award winners and the award ceremony will be held in São Paulo, in August, during the High Design Home & Office Expo.

Considered one of the main product design awards in Latin America, the competition that has been held since 1988 by Sindmóveis Bento Gonçalves, a pioneer in highlighting the furniture sector through design. The 21st Salão Design will award up to R$ 205,000 in prizes in the Student, Professional and Industry categories.

The judging committee of the 21st Salão Design Award brings together young Brazilian designers that are making their mark in the design world, with the debut of designers Brunno Jahara and Nicole Tomazi as judges of the awards. The judging members also include designers Glaucia Binda, Paulo Biacchi and historian Ivens Fontoura.

The 2017 Salão Design Award received 776 entries. This year, the awards were restructured into five new categories: Social Spaces; Private Spaces; Work Spaces; Innovation in Materials and Surfaces and a specific category for E-commerce. In addition to the cash prizes, the traditional Master Teacher trophy will be awarded to the professors linked to the projects of the winning students, and the Alternative Woods Award, which awards this year’s best project made from rare wood species according to the Brazilian Forest Service.