Friends of Little Saigon and InterIm Community Development Association (ICDA) are seeking, artists, architects designers or group of designers to submit applications for the opportunity to design a sign in the Little Saigon community in Seattle’s International District. This sign will represent the experiences of the Vietnamese American and ‘Little Saigon’ community. The sign will also provide a map to help people navigate through the Little Saigon neighborhood.
An advisory committee has been assembled to develop the process. The committee will also select the final three to five proposals. The three to five finalists will then produce their work on 24” x 36” presentation boards that will be presented at the 2012 TET festival for public voting. The winner of the competition will then work with this committee to finalize any technical drawings needed for the installation of this sign.
The site for the project will be at or near the intersection of South Jackson Street and 12th Avenue South. The sign will be situated in the City of Seattle right-of-way. This sign must interact well with its surrounding environment and be relevant to the community.
This Little Saigon sign will need to include:
— A 2’x2’ wayfinding map of the Chinatown/International District (you will not need to create the map)
— The title “Little Saigon” must be 8 inches to 10 inches tall, all in CAPS and on at least one side of the sign.
— The height of the sign should be 6 ½ to 9 feet. If the sign is more than 7 feet, the sign will have to go through the City’s Design Review Board. The width and depth of the sign must not be more than the height of the sign, and additionally, must conform to the City of Seattle standards section 307 – protruding objects: http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/standards/files/10_ADA_Information_Standards.pdf
— Ease of maintenance should be considered.
— $7500 will be allocated for the budget for construction and implementation.
— The design of this project should be a genuine representation of this neighborhood’s cultural makeup, specifically the Vietnamese American community.
— Consideration of a bilingual design (Viet-Eng) is encouraged
— Multiple design proposals are allowed
$100 will be allocated to the 3-5 designs selected. $2,000.00 will be allocated to the winner of this contest.
Submission deadline is Dec. 30. Finalists will be notified by Jan. 6.