Last chance to enter Samsung and Dezeen's contest for innovative recycled cardboard designs

There are just three weeks left to enter the Dezeen x Samsung Out of the Box Competition to design household objects made from repurposed cardboard packaging.

The contest, which is free to enter for anyone over the age of 18, closes for entries on Friday 29 May. Click here to find out how to enter.

With many countries in lockdown around the world, the design challenge provides people with an opportunity to express their creativity at home.

Interest in the contest has been extremely high, with over 200 articles from media outlets around the world reporting on it.

"Repurposing cardboard packaging is not an idea that electronics companies have generally applied to their products," said Samsung. "The high interest in the Eco-Packaging and the competition with Dezeen validates this unexpected idea to help improve the environment."

The competition challenges entrants to create innovative designs for the home that can be made by repurposing cardboard, with total prize money of $20,000.

Contestants are free to design any kind of functional object for the home that can be made by reusing cardboard packaging.

The design must be something that anyone could build for themselves at home. It must be practical to assemble with everyday household tools and not require any specialist skills or equipment.

Entrants should also consider who their product is designed for and how it will fit in with and enhance their lifestyle.

Entrants must submit a short description of their concept explaining what lifestyle the object has been designed for and how it is assembled. In addition, they should submit up to ten images showcasing their design.

Click here for more information about how to enter, including the brief and entry rules.

Competition inspired by Samsung's Eco-Packaging

The competition is inspired by Samsung's Eco-Packaging, which was named an honouree at this year's CES Innovation Awards.

The packaging is part of Samsung's ongoing efforts to make its business more sustainable, which it set out in a report last year, by making its components and manufacturing more environmentally friendly, and reducing greenhouse emissions and other waste.

Electronics companies use thick, corrugated cardboard boxes for shipping in order to properly protect the goods inside.

These boxes often end up as waste, as the size and weight of the cardboard boxes means they are difficult to recycle in an average home, which contributes to around 90 billion cardboard boxes being discarded after a single use every year in the US alone.

The Eco-Packaging concept, which is a first in the industry according to Samsung, aims to reduce this waste by providing customers with a way to repurpose its television packaging into new household items.

Samsung currently uses Eco-Packaging to ship its The Serif, The Frame and The Sero televisions to customers and plans to introduce the concept to more televisions in future.

The Serif television features a distinctive I-shaped profile. Designed by French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, it is intended to be more like a sculptural item of furniture than a piece of technology.

The Frame is designed to look like a framed piece of art, either hung on the wall or on an easel. Users can choose to display a range of artwork on the screen when it's not in use, so that it disappears into the decor of the room it's in.

The Sero, which means "vertical" and "new" in Korean, is a television with the ability to pivot between horizontal and vertical orientations. It has been designed to smoothly display both traditional video content, as well as vertical video formats designed for mobile consumption.

Each Eco-Packaging cardboard box is printed with a special dot matrix pattern, which, when the box is opened out flat, can be used as a guide to create a range of different objects for the home by cutting and reassembling the box.

The sturdy nature of the cardboard makes it suitable for constructing a range of different objects. Samsung provides instructions for different furniture designs through a QR code located on the box. Currently available designs include a TV console, a storage box, a magazine rack and even a cat house.

By launching the design contest, Samsung hopes to increase awareness of its Eco-Packaging concept and get more people thinking about and sharing ideas for how cardboard packaging can be repurposed.

"The competition with Dezeen is a way to make our eco-friendly message more widespread, with innovative ideas from entrants," said Samsung. "It is a chance for audiences to consider how to help protect our environment by thinking 'out of the box' about how we can reuse cardboard packaging."

Competition closes on 29 May

Entries for the Samsung Out of the Box competition close at 23:59 BST (UK time) on 29 May 2020.

A shortlist of the best designs will be published on Dezeen in July, with five finalists announced in August.

A jury comprising Samsung executives and Dezeen editors will select first, second and third place. These will be announced on Dezeen and published on Samsung’s @SamsungTV Instagram account in September 2020.

The winner will receive a top prize of $10,000, the runner up will receive $5,000 and third place will receive $3,000. The fourth- and fifth-placed entrants will receive $1,000 each.

For more information about how to enter, including the brief and rules, entry form and full terms and conditions, go to www.dezeen.com/outofthebox.

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