Freshkills Park Call for Designers: FAQs

05.25.16

NYC Parks and the Freshkills Park Alliance have issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ)  for skilled designers to develop a digital project that will engage New Yorkers across the five boroughs with the evolving Freshkills Park on the west shore of Staten Island. This project will illustrate several aspects of New York City history through the lens of the park project and site composition over time.

Call for Designers: Request for Qualifications (RFQ)
RFQ Submission Deadline: June 8, 2016, 5pm Eastern
Project Budget: $30,000 (designer fee, materials, supplies, installation)

NYC Parks and the Department of Sanitation are transforming what was once the world’s largest landfill into New York City’s 21st century park. In partnership with NYC Parks, the non-profit Freshkills Park Alliance is working to provide public education about the park project while it is being built incrementally.

A qualified design team will be selected to translate complex information into an environmental media installation for an off-site, public location to educate a general audience about the site’s history, engineering, and ecological restoration as part of park design. Freshkills Park is looking for design teams who are experienced in creating accessible digital explanations based on complex information through innovative approaches to storytelling. Interdisciplinary teams (designers, artists, illustrators, photographers, etc.) are encouraged to apply.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is it possible for one designer to submit proposals as part of more than one team?
Designers can be included on multiple proposals from different teams.

Is there a specific amount of deliverables? Are there any expectations for the amount or quantity of deliverables?
The deliverables are expected to be a digital file and any material objects that may be important to the project for the designers. The RFQ outlines the project as a digital/environmental media installation, but we do not want to limit designers to a single medium if their practice blends digital with physical and if they see opportunity to develop an approach we haven’t yet thought of. The digital file, to be presented in a public environment, could be edited/reformatted for different presentations. The deliverables in that regard are flexible, and may be outside of the scope of this initial project iteration.

What is the specific format where the final designs will live? Will it live on a website as well as specific venues/surfaces/screens?
The final site for public installation is not yet confirmed. It could be projected on a surface or presented on a screen. The decision about web formatting will come out of the process with the designer, and may be a follow-up project depending on necessary resources/funding.

Will designers be creating all of the assets (images, illustrations, videos, etc.) or will some of those be provided?
We have archival and contemporary photos and videos for the designer’s use, but expect that the designer would want to make illustrations for consistency in style.

What is the deadline?
Submissions must be received by June 8, 2016 at 5pm (Eastern Time).

How can designers apply?
Email the following materials, as a single PDF, to design@freshkillspark.org with the subject heading “Section Story design applicant” followed by your last name or studio name.

Please do not exceed page limits. Only complete applications will be reviewed. Individuals may submit as part of multiple teams.

Submissions must include:

• Letter of interest (one-page maximum), addressing the following:
  • What interests you about collaborating with Freshkills Park?
  • What special qualifications does your team have?
  • What is the role of digital storytelling in today’s society and how do you see it impacting everyday life?
• CV or bio, including contact information (email and phone). Please specify roles of each team member and contact information for a team leader who will receive notifications
• An edited portfolio of up to five projects, no more than ten 8.5” x 11” pages (additional pages will not be reviewed by the jury). Environmental media and film/animation projects that reflect an ability to organize complex information or explain natural and scientific processes to a general audience are especially helpful. Each project should include:
  • a concise description of the project (up to one paragraph)
  • your role in the design
  • captioned still images
  • links to videos as appropriate/available

Read the full Request for Qualifications here.

Image via GIPHY

Tags: art, design