The IFDA (International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa) has been held every three years since 1990. It is considered an important occasion for furniture makers in Asahikawa to exchange ideas with designers from Japan as well as from other parts of the world.

The International Furniture Design Competition, the main event of the Fair, serves as an indicator of the future of wooden-furniture designs. In addition, it is the focus of public attention because of its competition in cutting-edge designs.

Representation at this competition is not only for the purpose of being awarded prizes, but also to introduce a fresh current of designs into the Asahikawa furniture industry. Moreover, some of the works of the winners and finalists of past competitions have been commercialized by furniture makers.

Theme: Wooden furniture
Works (cabinets, tables, chairs and others) entered must be newly created and previously unpublished. "Unpublished" means that the work has never appeared on the market as a product, has never appeared in a newspaper, magazine, or exhibition, and has never been a winner in other competitions before the sponsor announces the results of the main selection process (please refrain from entering this competition and other competitions at the same time.) A work which has appeared in student exhibitions is considered unpublished. Works are considered "wooden" when their major component parts are made of wood.

Any individual, group or business will qualify. No limit is set on the number of entries from any one applicant.

Registration fee
- Registration on the Internet 5,000yen for each entry
- Registration by post 6,000yen for each entry

Deadline
- All Internet entries will be accepted until midnight Japan Time (GMT+9:00) on Friday, December 7, 2007.
- All entries by post will be accepted until the end of our business hours on Friday, December 7, 2007. 

Selection Process
The preliminary selection process on the basis of submitted images and the main selection process based on full-scale prototypes are carried out by an IFDA competition jury.

The applicants whose design proposals are selected for main evaluation will decide, before going into the main selection process, whether they will have full-scale prototypes made by furniture makers in Asahikawa or will make their own prototypes.

The former will submit both full-size and detailed plans of the designs. The sponsor will bear all costs of making the prototypes in Asahikawa. The applicants will bear traveling expenses when they voluntarily visit Asahikawa for discussions on this matter.

Those who wish to submit their own prototypes to the main evaluation process will bear all costs of transporting the prototypes to the IFDA Organizing Committee.


1. Preliminary selection process: Early - February, 2008
Thirty-five works will be chosen to proceed to the next stage on the basis of the submitted photos and the product outline given in the application.

Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by letter or e-mail by mid-February, 2008.

2. Main selection process: Early - May, 2008
The jury will examine the thirty-five full-scale prototypes and select eight winners and finalists from them. The thirty-five applicants will be notified of the results of the main selection process by letter or e-mail by mid-May, 2008.

The applicants will forward their prototypes to the IFDA Organizing Committee if they wish for them to be considered. They will be informed of the date and how to forward the prototypes after the preliminary selection. If the prototype is not received by the deadline, the applicant will be disqualified.

Jury
Chief judge: Motomi Kawakami, Designer, Japan

Judges
- Naoto Fukasawa, designer, Japan
- Noritsugu Oda, professor at Hokkaido Tokai University, Japan
- Peter Maly, designer, Germany
- Gunilla Allard, designer, Sweden
- Yeoh-Hang Yoon, designer and university professor, Korea
- Minoru Nagahara, chairman of the IFDA Organizing Committee, Japan

Awards
- Gold Leaf 3.000.000 Yen
- Silver Leaf (2) 1.000.000 Yen each
- Bronze Leaf (5) 300.000 Yen each

Exhibition of Winners' and Finalists' Works: June 2008
Place: Asahikawa Furniture Center