Winning a designext award is like passing GO, jump-starting a career, leaping from student to professional almost overnight. One reason: the competition judges. When these seasoned professionals nod approval, everyone takes note. No wonder so many competition entries flood in from design schools around the world. The four finalists not only get to come show their work at SURTEX in New York, they have their portfolios professionally critiqued by top talents in the industry, the judges in this year’s designext competition:

Nancy Fire, Creative Director and Founder, Design Works International, and Design Director of HGTV;

Patti Carpenter, Creative Director/Development Consultant/Color + Trend Forecaster, carpenter + company;

Bonnie Mackay, Creative Consultant and author, BMackay Consulting;

Stacy Garcia, Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer, Stacy Garcia, Inc.

Oh, and did we mention the final Grand Prize Award that will be presented to one of the four designextfinalists during the show? Along with more fame and fanfare, there’s a $1,000 cash prize.