Talented Creatives Called on for Design Competition

The competition, Drink Outside the Square, calls on students and working creatives to design for the Thirst Impressions range of high-end coasters for the home.

The competition will culminate in an exhibition featuring the work of twenty finalists.Three winning designs, including a people’s choice, will be included in the Thirst Impressions range and retailed in boutique stores and online in 2012. Participants can enter in either the Student or Designer categories.

Industry partners for Drink Outside the Square are currently being sought.

Thirst Impressions launched just this year after graphic designer Annabelle Howie discovered a gap in the market for a product that combined the practicality of the often-pilfered cardboard bar coaster with the visual appeal of high-end homewares.

The Australian-made, Sydney-designed coasters are made from plantation stock cardboard, to give them all the liquid-soaking quality of a bar coaster but in beautiful designs for the home.

Belle Howie said the aim of the competition was to encourage designers to think about being artistically expressive in a way that was also commercially viable.

“Thirst Impressions is proof that sometimes the best designs are the most obvious,” she said.

“The product also opens up the imagination as to the possibilities in functional, yet artistic, design. I hope it inspires other creatives to take the plunge and combine art with a commercially viable product, taking art to the masses.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what my product inspires in the budding and established designers who participate in this competition.”

Create or Die co-founder Deb Morgan said the partnership was a natural one for the new online collective which aims to support creatives who don’t make their primary living from their art.

The platform www.createordie.com.au meshes online projects and a blog with offline events, projects and exhibitions, and even extends to the online store www.robio.com.au, offering creatives the chance to collaborate with other artists, designers, photographers and writers a platform to showcase their work.

“Create or Die is a platform for people who hold true to the notion that if they are not creating, pieces of them are slowly dying,” Deb Morgan said.

“Create or Die is for those among us who, due to the pressures of this modern life, spend their time working for a client and haven’t managed to get their own art out there.

“Create or Die looks forward to working with Thirst Impressions to bring Drink Outside the Square to life.”

Drink Outside the Square Key Dates:

Drink Outside the Square is seeking industry partners – please contact Pitch PR director Ilona Marchetta, 0416 156 136, ilona@pitch-pr.com.au .