The Bureau du design of the Ville de Montréal is specifically inviting the designers-producers in any of the three editions of the CODE SOUVENIR catalogue to design original products representative of Montréal, exclusively for the city’s Bureau de l’accueil et du protocole (welcome and protocol office).
The Bureau, which is responsible for purchasing many gifts throughout the year, wishes to add to its selection of $30 to $50 protocol gift items given by elected officials to Canadian or international guests passing through Montréal or offered as gifts when officials are on trips outside Quebec.
The items proposed as part of this competition must evoke memories of Montreal and personify the city in visitors’ minds. They must create a representative and recognizable image of the city and its identity through their shape, graphic design, material, technique or use. They must be attractive, original and high-quality items, worthy of a UNESCO City of Design. They must tell a story, of a city, an object or its creator. Lastly, the way the item is presented, i.e. its packaging and the way it is given, will enhance the overall impact.
This is a one-step competition by invitation. Designer-producers are to submit a prototype of a new gift item with its packaging. The prototypes will be evaluated by a jury, which will select up to eight items that will become exclusive to the city, subject to its final approval. In return for this exclusivity, the designers whose items are selected will each receive a lump sum of $2,500 to refine their products and a firm order for $5,000. They will have support services and a three-month period to complete the development of their items. The city wishes to begin its first purchases in May 2015.
The jury responsible for choosing the gift items will have five members:
- François Blais, graphic designer, visual communications advisor, Service des communications, Ville de Montréal
- André Desrosiers, industrial designer, professor, École de design, UQAM
- Lynn Gagnon, protocol advisor, Bureau de l'accueil et du protocole, Ville de Montréal
- Pierre Laramée, publicist and design commissioner
- Lucie Lavoie, conseillère en relations internationales, Montréal City Hall, Ville de Montréal
Throughout the competition, any questions are to be sent only to the professional advisor for the competition, Véronique Rioux, industrial designer, at @email.
Each proposal must include:
- an identification sheet for the gift item (Schedule A) in paper and electronic form (electronic version to be e-mailed to @email);
- the item as it will be presented to the recipient, with its packaging.
Proposals are to be received at the address below, no later than noon, local time, on January 30, 2015:
Bureau du design de la Ville de Montréal
Attention: Béatrice Carabin
Design competition for protocol gift items
303, rue Notre-Dame Est, 6th floor
Montréal, Quebec
H2Y 3Y8