PAVE Launches 28th Annual Student Design Competition in collaboration with City Relief

PAVE (The Planning and Visual Education Partnership) is pleased to announce the launch of the 28th Annual Student Design Competition in collaboration with City Relief, proudly sponsored by edesign group. An excellent opportunity to gain “real-life” design experience, this annual international competition is geared toward undergraduate and graduate-level college students involved in retail planning, interior design, architecture, industrial design, visual merchandising, UX/UI design, branding, and similar programs.

Building off of Urban Sociologist Ray Oldenberg’s concept of “The Third Place,” this year students are challenged to design and enhance a mobile/pop-up, guest experience for City Relief, connecting friends and guests in need, with much-needed resources while creating an equitable sense of place for friends and neighborhoods. “Too many organizations that exist to serve the unhoused community are trying to do as much as they can with as little as possible. This mindset can lead to transactional interactions that communicate a message of dependency instead of dignity. City Relief is proud to partner with PAVE to help our guests feel seen and cared for by creating a customized retail experience that will inspire hope for those we serve and those we serve with,” said Josiah Haken, City Relief’s Chief Executive Officer.

This year, the top 3 concepts will be awarded $3,000 each, and an additional $1,000 will be awarded to each of their schools. The winning students will also be invited to attend the PAVE Gala in New York City (travel expenses covered) where they will be recognized for their achievements. Plus, the winners may even have the opportunity to work alongside one of the industry’s leading design and manufacturing teams to bring their ideas for City Relief to life! Information on the PAVE 2022 Student Design Competition in collaboration with City Relief, including the competition brief, registration, and FAQs is now available at www.paveglobal.org/sdc.

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About City Relief, www.cityrelief.org Founded in 1989, City Relief has mobilized thousands of volunteers to compassionately serve those struggling with homelessness by providing hope & resources that lead toward life transformation. We leverage our mobility to consistently show up every week for the people in our cities who are struggling with homelessness. Our pop-up, drop-in style outreaches create safe and welcoming environments where our guests can feel a sense of normalcy, even for just a few minutes. Our model emphasizes COMPASSION by offering hot meals, health/hygiene supplies, as well as other urgently needed items like cell phones and on-site access to community partners, which lead to CONNECTION and hope that tomorrow can be better than today. Our Follow-up Team provides wraparound care coordination and advocacy that allows our friends on the street to be part of our COMMUNITY. About PAVE, www.paveglobal.org Founded in 1992, the Planning and Visual Education Partnership's (PAVE) objective is to encourage students to study in the fields of retail design, planning, and visual merchandising. Additionally, PAVE seeks to encourage retail management, store planners, visual merchandisers, architects, designers, and manufacturers to interact with and support design students. These objectives are accomplished through competitions, projects, seminars, workshops, grants, and scholarships funded by PAVE’s signature events and other fundraising activities. PAVE is a 501(c)(3) educational foundation.