Rethink the Everyday: A Design Challenge
A High School Open Call Presented by BFA Interior Design: Built Environments
The BFA Interior Design: Built Environments Department at the School of Visual Arts invites high school students to enter our 2026 design challenge: Rethink the Everyday.
We challenge you to take a single everyday object—such as a chair, phone, backpack, or skateboard—and redesign it for a completely different type of user.
How would your object change if it were meant for a dancer, an astronaut, a dolphin, a dog, or even another high school student with a totally different lifestyle than your own? The possibilities are endless!
This is your opportunity to share your creativity with the design community—and for a chance to win free tuition and housing for a Summer 2026 Pre-College course in BFA Interior Design at SVA.
Submission Guidelines
- Choose one everyday object to redesign.
- Create one version of that object for a different user, context, or setting.
- Submit 1 image showing your design (sketch, collage, rendering, or mixed media).
- Include a brief caption (50 – 75 words) explaining your concept or idea.
- Submit as a single PDF or image series.
Prizes
- Top Prize (for grades 9 – 11): Free tuition and housing for a Summer 2026 Pre-College Interior Design course at SVA.
- Fee Waiver (for grade 12): All participants will receive a $50 application fee waiver to apply to SVA for Fall 2026.