What do you do if your design doesn't win a competition?

If your design doesn't win a competition, reflect on the feedback, seek constructive criticism, learn from the experience, reevaluate your approach, stay positive, consider participating again, network with participants and organizers, and showcase your work for future opportunities. Embrace the experience as a chance to grow and improve as a designer.

Yes competitions are fantastic and exciting but the true design criticism comes from the end user, not the opinions of peers and professionals, its something that seems a little lost in todays society of immediate gratification and recognition......as many good posters have said on this thread, learn from others and adapt and grow......just a humble opinion

Here are some important points to better analyze the reviews feedback: - Instead of skimming the reviews, try to pay attention to the details and detailed explanations of the reviewers. They may have pointed out specific points that will be effective in improving your work. - Instead of taking negative feedback as criticism, see it as an opportunity to improve. - Check if there are common patterns in the feedback. This can help you identify key areas for improvement.

What is the actual context of "winning" a design competition? Is this a contest? I get that everyone needs to be a rockstar and champion nowadays, but if you're in the business of "winning" a design, maybe not play the game..

Competitions are great learning platforms for any field of interest or expertise. Winning shouldn't be the sole objective; instead, view it as an opportunity to gather feedback from esteemed judges, experts in the field. Reflect on their insights, identify gaps in your design, and learn from others' successes. Use this feedback to iterate and improve your design, ultimately making it stronger for future competitions. Stay resilient, knowing setbacks are part of the journey, and keep seeking opportunities to showcase your skills and grow as an architect.

Analysis of winners is a great start. Learn from ur shortcomings and do collaborative discussion. Start exploring new ways and techniques for future competitions.

Assess the winning team and submission against your own. If feedback is not possible from the client then try to do your own research to find the deciding factors that resulted in their choice. Design, fees, experience, team size? It could be something as small as a typo that swung things in the other's favour. Adjust, improve and be ready for the next opportunity

To truly understand why a design won, I dive deeply into the winners' work. I analyze how they met the requirements, designed the details, and presented their concepts. Often, it is not just the design itself but how it's presented that makes the difference. A weak presentation can cost you the win. Effective presentation isn't just about real renders or beautiful sheets; it’s about clear visual storytelling. Pay close attention to how winners have created a logical flow in the presentation that guides judges through the design process and final solution.

Studying winning designs can provide valuable insights into current trends and preferences in architecture. Analyze what set these designs apart, whether it was innovation, sustainability, cultural relevance, or cost-effectiveness. This exercise is not about copying, but about understanding elements that resonate with judges and clients. Incorporating these insights into your designs can help you stay relevant while maintaining your unique architectural style.

Architectural competitions are a fundamental practice in our office. They drive us to maintain a constant level of excellence in every project we undertake. While winning is always the goal, what we truly value is the challenge these competitions present and the opportunity they give us to explore innovative and competitive solutions. If we don't win, we see it as part of our creative process. The proposals we develop for competitions are carefully documented and become part of our office’s repository. Often, these proposals serve as the foundation for future projects, reflecting the reflection and learning that each competition has enabled us to achieve.

Normalmente hacemos, junto con el equipo que ha trabajado en el concurso, una reflexión sobre las bases del concurso, nuestra propuesta y la propuesta ganadora. De ese análisis solemos sacar conclusiones muy interesantes. Hacemos una pequeña memoria de las mejoras apreciadas en el ganador, de los puntos mejorables de nuestra propuesta y lo mas importante, hacemos una relación de las precauciones que tenemos que tomar en una nueva licitación similar y esto los guardamos en el expediente del concurso. Generalmente cuando concursamos nos apoyamos en licitaciones anteriores.

Si la verdad cada quien tiene su estilo de presentar los trabajos, en estos consursos de diseno hay creatividad no solo en el diseno y en el proyecto en si, sino en la forma de presentar y exponer la idea, viendo los demas trabajos, hay un proceso de mejora en uno viendo la forma de presentar los trabajos de los demas, y no me refiero precisamente en copiar a los profesionales sino en crear un estilo unico a partir de como yo lo presento con mi creatividad y como lo presentan los demas uno hace un analisis y crea una forma mas creativa de presentar los trabajos, se mejoran conceptos de diseno, Mejora nuestra innovacion, es una lluvia de ideas. Tambien uno puede nutrir a los demas con su forma de exponer las ideas en una presentacion

Según mi experiencia no siempre se gana, pero uno debe aprender a generar una autocrítica del trabajo propio... aprender a agudizar la vista y mirar desde otra perspectiva el proyecto muchas veces es de buena ayuda. Es una manera de evolucionar y desafiarnos a nuevos retos con una mirada menos sesgada y abierta a interactuar con los pares dando el lugar al crecimiento propio.

Perder um concurso pode ser desafiador, mas reagir com resiliência permite que esta experiência ajude no seu crescimento profissional. Refletir sobre o que poderia ter feito diferente e entender as causas é importante para aprender como agir numa situação futura. Use esta experiência como motivação para tentar novamente pois a persistência é crucial para o sucesso a longo prazo.

Don't isolate yourself after a loss. Instead, collaborate and network with peers. Join forums, attend workshops, and engage with fellow architects. Sharing experiences and learning from others can open new doors and offer different perspectives on design challenges. Networking may also lead to collaborations that combine strengths and result in more competitive submissions in the future.

Not placing in a design competition is not a FAIL. It is a First Attempt In Learning It's a integral part of your journey of professional development. Reflect, do a project SWOT, and enter another competition with your "lessons learned"

Joining forces and teaming up with other designers often makes sense from my point of view. But as in any partnership, it is important to look at whether there is a good fit on a human level in order to be able to carry out such a project together.

Suck it up, buttercup: Competition is tough, and losing happens to the best. I Don't let it discourage me. Hit the feedback button: See if the competition organizers offer any insights on my design. Chat with other architects who entered – what worked for them? Stalk the winners: Analyze what made their designs stand out. Maybe there are some cool trends I can incorporate in future projects. Don't toss your hard work: Use the strong elements of my design in my portfolio or tweak them for another competition. Those late nights weren't wasted! Remember, it's not me, it's them (probably): Judges have specific tastes, and sometimes a design just doesn't click. Keep my head up and focus on how I can improve as an architect.

Regroup, collect the feedback, learn from mistakes/pitfalls/trapdoors/whatnot, learn some more, and try again. This is the way, on any level, in my opinion and experience, to stimulate growth, learning, improving, in your organization as well as in your career (and even life in general).

Try again, plan your next steps and stay inspired. Even if your entry did not win there were so many new things you learned during the process ✨

Don't measure your worth by wins or losses, but by the lessons learned and progress made. Every design, whether winning or not, brings you closer to mastery. Use each experience as fuel to innovate and push boundaries. Keep designing, learning, and growing – that's where true success lies. #design #growthmindset #softwarearchitecture

Architectural competitions are a fundamental practice in our office. They drive us to maintain a constant level of excellence in every project we undertake. While winning is always the goal, what we truly value is the challenge these competitions present and the opportunity they give us to explore innovative and competitive solutions. If we don't win, we see it as part of our creative process. The proposals we develop for competitions are carefully documented and become part of our office’s repository. Often, these proposals serve as the foundation for future projects, reflecting the reflection and learning that each competition has enabled us to achieve. .

En la carrera de arquitectura como en las carreras que son de arte la inspiracion es necesaria, tener creatividad ser innovador, tener ideas para solucionar problemas de diseno Mantenerse inspirado es esencial en la arquitectura

Nur durch Erfahrung kann man gewinnen. Das nächste Glück gehört dir. Jeder Wettbewerb ist ein Sprungbrett auf Ihrer architektonischen Reise, das Sie zu größeren Erfolgen führt.

Review your methods, process and tools and seek feedback to see how you can improve. Learn from it. Outcomes are starting points.

En ocasiones los parámetros del jurado no coinciden con tu visión, y eso no significa que tu diseño este errado. Es una oportunidad para ganar experticia en cierto ámbito y la solución a la que se llega con el proyecto puede ser empleada en algún encargo futuro.

The great gift of creative people is that they are always generating new ideas. I like to be inspired when traveling, at exhibitions, in nature or when visiting architecture in all areas. Conversations with interesting people can also lead to new approaches. If you are open, you can find inspiration in everything: in colors, shapes, movements, structures, textures, materials, technologies, etc. The world is our source of inspiration!

First and foremost, it's important to acknowledge that in a design competition, the outcome is influenced by the judgment of evaluators or judges. Their decisions can be impacted by various factors such as biases, differing perspectives, or individual design preferences. Even if you've presented a revolutionary design, it's possible that the judge may have a different viewpoint. Losing a competition shouldn't deter you; it's just one instance among many. Remember, you can't judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.

Design can be subjective and influenced by investors but if we want to keep the profession on a high standard and ethics, the Professional Jury has to be ethically above personal interest and be trusted by all the Architects/Designers who submitted their work. In that case I would trust the decision to be objective and that the chosen design is the truly the best and congratulate the winner!

Stay Engaged: Stay engaged with the design community by attending events, workshops, and exhibitions. Participate in design discussions, follow industry trends, and continue expanding your knowledge and skills.

Don't enter design competitions it's a waste of time. Acquire projects by referral and enquirey. Good designs sell themselves and create future work. Focus on content a pretty face is just that.

SELF Root Cause Analysis It is important to have the self-awareness. First thing we need to analyze the where it needs improvement. It could be due to gap in design approach & coverage, value selling, Influencing factors, etc,.. We need to work on - to improve deigning skills further in case RCA results indicating that one is the reason for the failure. - to improve our articulation & impactful demonstration skills further in case RCA results indicating that one is the reason for the failure. - to let it go and try for the best for next design if it is due to purely some influencing factors. Suppose in self RAC analysis, we could not able to arrive the exact reason for failure, then we need to seek for the feedback from others.