GDW Applications - FAQs - Geelong City of Design

Geelong Design Week – FAQs

Why should I get involved in Geelong Design Week?

Geelong Design Week celebrates our city, our people and the creativity and innovation that makes us a UNESCO City of Design. No other city in Australia has this accolade and we are one of only 38 cities worldwide to have this designation – it’s a really big deal! Businesses, not-for-profit organisations, community groups, schools and individuals in Greater Geelong have amazing projects and stories to share. They are designing and creating new products, services, systems and processes that help improve our way of life – and we want to tell the world about them. Hosting a Geelong Design Week event gives you an opportunity to engage with a wide audience, celebrate your work, honour Geelong’s design history and promote our vitality and character.

What are the dates for Geelong Design Week?

Geelong Design Week will be held from 18 – 28 March, 2021.

What type of event can I host?

Geelong Design Week events should be engaging, creative and interesting. Here are some format ideas for your event:

Exhibition
Open house, gallery, studio or workshop
Product launch
Pop up shop or market
Competition
Talk or lecture with guest speaker
Film screening
Concert or live performance
Product launch or demonstration
Art installation or projection
Tour of a place of interest
An event tailored to pre-school, primary, secondary or tertiary students
Webinar or podcast
Food and/or beverage event
Networking or social event
Or something totally different. We love creativity!

Who is organising Geelong Design Week?

Geelong Design Week is organised by the City of Greater Geelong as part of the UNESCO City of Design designation. A curatorial working group has been established to oversee the delivery of the program. This group will be responsible for the selection of events and will assess each application against the criteria. The group members consist of:

Dr. Yolanda Esteban, Lecturer in Architecture and Urban Design, Deakin University
Padraic Fisher, Director, National Wool Museum
Jason Smith, Director and CEO, Geelong Gallery
Dr. Mary-Jane Walker, Director, The School of Lost Arts
Kevin Foard, Engineering Network Manager, Geelong Manufacturing Council
Dr. Fiona Lee, Creative Geelong
Christine Silvestroni, Coordinator Economic Development, City of Greater Geelong, UNESCO City of Design Project Lead
Alex Boyle, Senior Business and Industry Engagement Officer, Economic Development, City of Greater Geelong, UNESCO Stakeholder Engagement and Communications
Nerilee Jones, Business and Industry Engagement Officer, Economic Development, City of Greater Geelong, Geelong Design Week Project Lead

Is there a fee to participate in Geelong Design Week?

Geelong Design Week is an inclusive and accessible community event and there is no registration fee.

What support will my event receive as part of the program?

As part of the program, your event will receive:

Event listing in the Geelong Design Week program
Geelong Design Week logo to use in your event’s marketing and communications
An invitation to the official Geelong Design Week launch
Inclusion in a dedicated social media campaign promoting Geelong Design Week
Print and online advertising across a range of media outlets, within promotion of the overall Geelong Design Week program
Event hosting support from the Geelong Design Week team

We are also assisting potential event hosts during the application process with a series of ‘drop-in’ sessions. If you would like to discuss your application further or have a question to ask, please register to attend one of these sessions. Click HERE to view dates and times.

Will I incur any costs as an event host?

Hosts are responsible for all event costs including venue hire, catering (if applicable), speaker fees, live streaming or recording (if applicable) and marketing and promotion costs such as printing of flyers, paid social media and other collateral for your event. There is no fee to participate in Geelong Design Week.

Can my event charge an admission fee?

Yes, you can charge a fee for your event.

To ensure Geelong Design Week remains inclusive and accessible, we recommend events are either free or cost only a small fee to attend.

Can Geelong Design Week organisers provide a venue for my event?

For events that are being held in-person, hosts are responsible for arranging their own venue. A list of potential venues in Greater Geelong can be found here: https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/halls/default.aspx

Please note that any venue hire fees are the responsibility of the event host. This includes any hire fees for City of Greater Geelong-owned venues.

Can my event have its own sponsors or partners?

Yes.

When will I find out if my application has been successful?

All applicants will be notified by 30 September 2020.

How should I use the Geelong Design Week logo and marketing materials?

All event hosts will receive a press kit with the Geelong Design Week logo and marketing and communications guidelines. This will be made available to event hosts in January 2021.

For further information please contact

The Geelong Design Week team can be contacted via email [email protected].

If you have a question about submitting your application or would like to discuss your proposed event, please register to attend one of the ‘drop-in’ sessions, click HERE to view dates and times.

What events were included as part of the 2020 program?

Please click HERE view the 2020 Geelong Design Week program.

I was an event host for the 2020 program – do I have to reapply for 2021?

Yes. We welcome all event hosts who were involved with the 2020 program to join us again in 2021. If you wish to submit the same event, please review the content to determine how it relates to next year’s theme. You may even like to make some changes to how you planned to deliver your original event.

What are the requirements to be an event host?

The Geelong Design Week Curatorial Group will assess applications against the following criteria:

Is the proposed event relevant to the 2021 theme ‘Unpredictable’?
Is the proposed event scheduled between 18 and 28 March 2021? (Multi-day events can start prior to the 18 March and finish after 28 March.)
If the proposed event is face to face, is an online alternative in place that meets any changes to government health directions? (Click here for up to date information on restrictions)
Is the proposed event accessible and open to all members of the public to attend?
Does the proposed event support and build awareness of Geelong’s UNESCO City of Design designation?
Does the proposed event celebrate and showcases design and creativity?
Does the application demonstrate capacity, skills and resources to deliver a high-quality event including managing event ticketing and associated data collection?

2021 contingency requirement:

If the event is to be held in-person, hosts must have an online delivery plan in place in case of further government restrictions or other unforeseeable circumstances arise. This will ensure that Geelong Design Week 2021 events can proceed.

Reporting requirements:

All event hosts will be required to provide the following information at the conclusion of their event:

Number of people who attended your event
Postcodes of people who attend your event – this can be easily collected as part of the ticket registration process and a simple report download. If you choose not to use an online ticketing platform then a manual tally of numbers and postcodes must be collected
Distribute a post event survey to people who attended your event (this will be provided by the Geelong Design Week team)
Complete a post event host survey at the conclusion of Geelong Design Week

Do you have any data from the 2020 event?

Although the 2020 event was impacted by COVID-19, we were still able to produce a data snapshot that tells us about our audience and the potential for Geelong Design Week to grow bigger and better each year. Click HERE to take a look.

Do I need to organise ticketing or online registration for people to attend my event?

All event hosts will be responsible for their own ticketing. We recommend using an online ticketing platform such as Eventbrite or TryBooking, even if your event is free. This will enable you to keep in touch with people who register for your event, particularly if changes occur or you have pre-event information to share.

Once you have set up your ticketing, you must provide us with the URL link as part of your final event content, no later than Friday 13 November. A reminder will be sent to event hosts in January for ticket links to then be activated.

If you require assistance with setting up ticketing, the Geelong Design Week team will be happy to assist you during the host help information sessions which will be available after 30 September. Registration details will be provided closer to the time.

If you choose not to use a ticketing platform then we ask that you manually collect a tally of the number of people who attended your event and their postcode. This information will be used for reporting purposes.

Do I need to have a social media account such as Facebook or Instagram to be part of Geelong Design Week?

We strongly recommend event hosts have their own active social media accounts to promote their own event and the wider program. Geelong Design Week 2020 data showed a social media audience reach of 374,000 people.

If you are not on social media, please schedule a time to visit one of the host help sessions available after September 30 and we can assist you to set one up. Registration details to attend one of these sessions will be available closer to the time. You don’t need to be on every social media platform, just choose one you can easily manage.

What if Geelong Design Week is forced to cancel again like it was in March 2020?

We were all disappointed that many Geelong Design Week 2020 events were cancelled due to COVID-19.

Luckily, several event hosts were able to deliver their event online with great success.

For Geelong Design Week 2021 we require event hosts to have an online contingency plan so that their event can proceed even if in-person events can’t be held. This may include delivering the event as a webinar, YouTube presentation, digital exhibition or Facebook Live event, or via another online platform. Please consider this requirement when planning your event.

When do I need to have my event finalised by?

If your application is successful, your final event content must be submitted no later than Friday 13 November 2020. Content received after this date will not be included in the program.

Final event content includes:

Venue address or webinar/online link (for online events)
Date and time of event
Link for ticketing (if applicable)
Event description and image.

This will ensure we have enough time to prepare the website and final program for launch in late January.

Back to Geelong Design Week 2021

Download FAQs (PDF)