The 2018 PAVE Students Design Competition was sponsored by The Home Depot. The international annual competition was open only to college students enrolled in retail design, retail planning, visual merchandising, or branding programs.
For the DIY new homeowner or even the seasoned Pro contractor, home improvement projects can be exciting and exhilarating. But getting the right tools, the right materials, and the right know-how can make home improvement projects daunting as well.
The 2018 PAVE Design Challenge invited students to rethink and reinvent how The Home Depot stores can provide customers with the know-how they need to tackle their home improvement projects with confidence. As a company, The Home Depot challenges itself continuously to bring fresh thinking and customer-centric innovation every day.
The Challenge
For this challenge, like in other PAVE Design Challenges, students were encouraged to:
- Think beyond current trends (set the standard for others to follow)
- Combine Design Fields (Architecture, Interior Design, Visual Merchandising, and Graphic Design)
- Expand the way we encourage our customers (to create a one-of-a-kind in-store environment)
Students were strongly encouraged to push the boundaries of their thinking and develop creative solutions for home-improvement presentations.
Prizes included grants to students and schools and winning students might even see their designs come to life. The competition was open to undergraduate students only.
The Prices
First Place – $8,000
Second Place – $5,500
Third Place – $3,000
Honorable Mention – $1,000
The winners also received a travel stipend that was honored at the 2018 PAVE Gala on December 5, 2018, in New York City, and prizes awarded to teams of two were split between both team members.