IA students win the 2017 "Color Experience" Competition sponsored by Benjamin Moore and the LA Mart/The Reef Design Center

Published April 9, 2017

Color Experience entry wall with designer's presentation pan

Benjamin Moore and the LA Mart Design Center at The Reef created the 2017 Color Experience Design Challenge. This event was created as an opportunity for local design students to explore how this year’s color trends can be creatively expressed in interior spaces. Student-teams designed interior vignettes with furnishings supplied by the LAMDC showrooms and Benjamin Moore’s Color of The Year, Shadow 2117-30.

The challenge included 4 vignette categories: Outdoor/Indoor Living Space, Living Room, Dining Room and Bedroom. Student participants were grouped into teams of 2, and LAMDC randomly assigned each team with a category. Groups created a team name to represent their work throughout the challenge and could not include the name of their school.

Groups created concepts for their assigned category, incorporating Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year Shadow 2117-30 and furnishings from LA Mart’s Design Center Showrooms.

After a Semi-Finals Elimination Round consisting of 9 teams, 4 groups (1 from each category) were advanced to the Finals, where their concepts was assembled at the LA Mart Design Center and showcased during this year’s Designer Week. A panel of professional designers judged the submissions by students to determine who moved on to the final rounds and who received the Grand Prize Award.

Several of our sophomore BFA majors (recently accepted into the upper division) competed, and brought home awards! The final 4 teams all received “Rising Star Awards”, in addition to the following:

Grand Prize Awarded by Design Panel

Team NakID, Kelly Kim, Phuong Lam, and Arghavan Ozmaie

Team: NakID
Kelly Kim, Phuong Lam, and Arghavan Ozmaie.
Winners receive
  • a “Shadow Day” with a well-respected local designer/firm and will be eligible for consideration for any of their open internships.
  • $75 Hennessey + Ingalls Gift Card for each team member
  • Day on Us — free parking and lunch at LA Mart — for each team member
  • 1-yr Free Parking Pass at LA Mart for each team member
  • Trophy

Judging: Vignettes were evaluated on a scale of 1-5 for: Best Use of Space, Best Use of Color, Creativity and Originality, Presentation, Team Name and Branding, Use of Budget. Team with the highest total points wins.

People’s Choice Award

Team Iris, Georgina Jin and Yahui Ren

Team: Iris
Georgina Jin and Yahui Ren
Winners receive
  • $25 American Express gift cards for each team member
  • Day on Us — free parking and lunch at LA Mart — for each team member

Judging: Voting by the attendees during the 2017 Winter Market Week. Ballots were available at LA Mart During Designer Week (April 2-7, 2017). The team with the highest total number of ballots cast for each vignette won.

Social Media Engagement Award

Team Designer Denz, Jessica Smarker and Elizabeth Houlden

Team: Designer Denz
Jessica Smarker and Elizabeth Houlden

Team The Lumieres, Anar Sabbgh, Mingxu Yan, and Mo Ochoa

Team: The Lumiéres
Anar Sabbgh, Mingxu Yan, and Mo Ochoa
  • Winners receive
  • $50 American Express gift card for each team member
  • Day on Us — free parking and lunch at LA Mart — for each team member
  • 6-month Free Parking Pass at LA Mart for each team member

Judging: LAMDC and Benjamin Moore cast ballots on teams who best document the creative process and collaboration with LA Mart, as well as their team brand. Team name needed to be tagged with each post to be considered toward award.

The Jury
March 11th Semi Finalist Panelists
Bobby Berk, HGTV Designer
Jeannie Chung, Design Blogger
Fernando Diaz, ASID Interior Designer
Frank Joens, LA Mart General Manager
Kali Sipes, Benjamin Moore Arch & Design

April 8th Final Panelists:
Bobby Berk, HGTV Designer. designcampus.com/blog/designing-model-homes-bobby-berk/
Jeannie Chung, Design Blogger. www.cozystylishchic.com/blog/
Fernando Diaz, ASID Interior Designer. www.fernandodiazinteriors.com/

 

Social media coverage of the event may be found here:
LA Mart 
https://www.instagram.com/lamartdc/
https://www.facebook.com/lamartdc/
https://twitter.com/Lamartdc1
  
Color Experience 
https://www.facebook.com/Color-Experience-LA-586881798186309/
https://www.instagram.com/colorexperiencela/
https://twitter.com/Colorxla

For additional information, contact competition organizer Kali Sipes Kali.Sipes@Benjaminmoore.com