Samsung Electronics has announced a partnership with design and architectural magazine Dezeen, inviting designers to create graphics for the Ambient Mode feature on Samsung’s QLED TVs.
Running until August 3, the contest offers 29 500 Euros (R468 969) in total prize money.
To enter the contest, designers need to submit their best Ambient Mode designs using either static or animated images.
Samsung’s Ambient Mode does away with the black screen that dominates a room when the television is not in use. Built into the 2018 QLED televisions, Ambient Mode makes the screen appear transparent by mimicking the appearance of the wall behind it, while also enhancing its environment by overlaying additional imagery and information – such as the weather – if desired.
“Ambient Mode creates a useful and innovative experience for users, even when their television is turned off. Knowing that this experience is unique to every user, the Ambient Mode design competition is meant to develop imagery that resonates with each of our consumers,” says Jongsuk Chu, senior vice-president: visual display business at Samsung Electronics. “We hope that designers will take this opportunity to show off their creativity and help us grow the library of designs available to consumers on Ambient Mode.”
In order to enter, contestants must pick one of the four backgrounds provided by Samsung and develop concepts that build on both the television’s environment and the time of day in which the feature would be utilised. Designers can base their entry on one of Samsung’s existing Ambient Modes – décor, information or personal photos – or they can propose a completely novel mode.
In addition, as Samsung and Dezeen are looking for concepts that highlight how Ambient Mode can mirror the environment and blend into the aesthetic of consumers’ homes, entrants will need to specify a particular lifestyle for their design.
Justin Hume, chief marketing officer for Samsung South Africa, says: “This is where exceptionally innovative design and creativity come together – we are looking forward to seeing what the participating artists come up with.”