Entries open for 2025 Furniture Design Competition
This year’s theme, 'Alien Invasive Species of Wood, calls on local design students and professionals to create indoor or outdoor furniture for the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) using woods such as pine, gum, wattle (blackwood), or poplar.
The brief challenges participants to transform these problematic species into functional, meaningful, and proudly South African pieces of furniture.
Turning environmental challenges into design opportunities
While this initiative is driven by the DTIC, SAFI is assisting with marketing and working alongside to ensure it reaches design students, professionals and organisations across South Africa.
“By using alien invasive species of wood, we are not only encouraging sustainable practices but also demonstrating the potential of these materials to produce high-quality, innovative furniture,” says Lynn Adonis, SAFI’s administrator and qualifications manager.
“This competition is about more than aesthetics; it is about solving real-world challenges through design.”
Entrants are encouraged to draw inspiration from South Africa’s cultural and natural heritage. Designs can incorporate colour, pattern, or references to the country’s rich tapestry of symbols, fauna, flora, landscapes, and geography, but the emphasis is on being selective and considered, creating work that is distinctive and commercially viable.
Categories and prizes for emerging and established talent
Two categories are open for entries – one for students currently registered at a South African educational institution and another for professionals or manufacturing businesses with design capability.
In the student category, prizes include a one-year internship in the furniture industry, media profiling, and a six-month Furniture Design Incubation Programme with Furntech.
Professional winners will receive a one-year Proudly South African membership, a one-year membership with the Institute of Interior Design Professions, opportunities to exhibit at selected platforms and national media exposure. Technology prizes such as laptops or graphic tablets are also on offer.
“The exposure and opportunities that come from this competition can be career-defining,” says Adonis. “For students, it is a launchpad into the professional world. For professionals, it is a chance to gain recognition, expand networks and explore new design directions.”
A competition with purpose
The Furniture Design Competition is a key part of the DTIC’s broader commitment to skills development and design innovation. SAFI’s role is to help amplify the message, connecting the initiative with as many potential entrants as possible.
SAFI has engaged with the Durban University of Technology (DUT), which has expressed strong interest in participating in the Furniture Design Competition. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to finalise discussions and to support DUT with the accreditation process so that they can offer the Furniture Designer qualification once the review process is concluded and the updated learning material has been approved.
In addition, SAFI has initiated engagement with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and is in the process of arranging a virtual meeting with their Design Faculty to encourage the uptake and implementation of the Furniture Designer qualification.
Judging, deadlines and how to enter
The judging process will assess entries on concept, functionality, innovation, ease of manufacturing, use of local materials, commercial viability and appeal to both local and export markets.
Finalists will be announced by 30 November 2025 and will be invited to exhibit their pieces. Final judging will take place between February and March 2026, with winners announced shortly thereafter.
A call to South Africa’s boldest design minds
“Whether you are a student just starting out or a seasoned professional, this is your opportunity to make a mark on South African design,” concludes Adonis.
“The DTIC is looking for ideas that are bold, sustainable, and uniquely South African – furniture that improves lives, tells a story, and stands the test of time.”
No registration fees apply, and multiple entries are allowed, provided each has its own entry.
Entry forms are available online.