Huawei Themes, a pre-installed app on Huawei devices has launched the 2021 Next Design Awards, to discover and celebrate the highest quality design work in Africa and the Middle East. Huawei aims to push the boundaries of design in the world by offering creators the opportunity to produce digital aesthetics. This year’s theme Let your inspiration flow. Deadline for applications is 31st July, 2021.
Designers have been invited to submit work across 7 categories including Phone Themes, Watch Faces, Cities in Bloom, Foldable Screen Themes, Enjoy the Moment, Original IP, and Wallpapers. The judging panel includes leading designers and global artists such as Song Xiewei, Klaus Hesse, and Takashi Akiyama.
The winners of the Next Design Awards 2021 will win cash prizes totaling to Ksh. 21,550,000 ($200,000). The competition categories are Grand Prize, Stars of Tomorrow, International Artists, and Amazing Animators. The winner of the Grand Prize will be awarded Ksh. 2,155,000 ($20,000), which includes $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in grants, a Huawei Mate 40 smartphone, and the Huawei Watch 3. Winners will additionally be credited with the title of Huawei Themes-certified designers, and thus eligible to earn revenue from Huawei Themes.
Adam Xiao, Managing Director of Huawei Mobile Services in the Middle East and Africa, Huawei Consumer Business Group said, “We are thrilled to kick start the 2021 edition of the Next Design Awards by Huawei Themes. Last year’s edition saw over 500 competitors from the MEA region alone, which shows the calibre of design-centric and creative minds. We invite our 2021 participants to Let your inspiration flow and bring forward their best work for the world to appreciate and enjoy.”
Last year’s Next Design Awards attracted over 41,000 entries from 90 countries, and over 100 designers were certified by Huawei Themes. The prestige earned from winning the competition resulted in substantial commercial success for a number of themes designers in the region.
Huawei Themes is available in over 170 countries and regions, it features a global user base of 600 million users, and 120 million monthly active users. Huawei Themes has helped build a vibrant community of over 10,000 creators.
Interested participants can sign up for the 2021 Next Design Awards through their Huawei ID, with both pictures and videos. Pictures submissions must be higher than or equal to 3,000 pixels, and under 20 MB in size, while videos submissions must be in MP4 or GIF format, editable, and under 20 MB in size. Participants can submit up to 30 entries each.