ENSURE THAT ALL YOUR PROJECTS PUT THEIR BEST “FOOTPRINTS” FORWARD

1. Follow the rules and formats provided. Your entries will fare better.

2. Despite its many positive qualities, your project will be critiqued primarily on the images submitted. When possible, contract with a professional photographer. A list of photographers used by previous award winners is available here.

3. If taking your own pictures, make sure that they are high resolution. Use a digital camera of at least 5 megapixels. Make sure that the camera is set for the highest possible resolution AND highest possible image quality (with least image compression).

4. Make sure you have good lighting when photographing the store or fixture. Use additional lighting or adjust the room lighting as necessary.

5. Clear unnecessary items from the area before you photograph so the judges can concentrate on the design.

6. If your store element has a unique function that can be demonstrated, take a picture showing that. Again, make sure the picture is well lit and organized.

7. If your store element has a special component, include a close-up of the element so the judges can better understand its uniqueness.

8. Send enough visuals to adequately tell your project’s story. If 4−6 images are requested, send 6 whenever possible. The judges need ample visual information to judge your project.

9. Be concise and provide specifics in your project descriptions. Use bullet points as much as possible. Judges have little time to review the descriptions, so help them identify important points at a glance.

13. Make sure you have copyright permission from the photographer and/or the retailer and that you have provided an accurate list of contributors to the project.

ENTRY PREPARATION TIPS FOR SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

If you have submitted this project already in the A.R.E. Design Awards, all you have to do is complete the Sustainability Description on pages 6-8 and pay the additional $100 fee. If you are only submitting your project into the A.R.E. Sustainability Awards, please complete only the green and black sections of the entire 9 pages of the Official Entry Form.

On the Sustainability Awards Description form, select the Standalone category for projects in freestanding buildings. Select the Tenant Improvement category for projects in malls, shopping centers, or other sites that involve a landlord.

For General Information questions, use bulleted lists. List as many sustainable elements as possible, using a short phrase for each. Avoid using brand names in your descriptions; these will be blacked out anyway for the judges.

For Innovation in Design questions, provide detailed information to give judges a comprehensive understanding of what’s special about your project.

For Integration questions, be sure to list any solutions that resulted from disparate entities working together.

For Benchmarking questions 8, 9 and 11, click in each field to select the appropriate response from the drop-down menu and type other responses in the fields provided. For instance, if the project was built to LEED Gold standards, select LEED, choose the project’s current status in the certification process, and enter “Gold.” If all wood used in the project was FSC-certified, enter “wood,” select FSC, and enter 100%. Continue for other materials used in the project. If no recognized industry project standards were used, leave “Not applicable” selected; if no certified materials were used, leave “None” selected.

Benchmarking question 10 provides for measurable goals not listed in questions 8 and 9. List any metrics defining success of the project that go beyond merely complying with government mandates. Examples of topic areas include, but are not limited to: waste reduction, water usage reduction, energy usage reduction, lighting power load reduction, plug load reduction, construction waste diverted from landfill, waste capture and reuse, recycled content (indicate pre- or postconsumer wherever possible), salvaged/reclaimed/repurposed/reused content, certified wood content, regional sourcing, and on-site power generation. For each metric listed, ensure that the following is clear wherever applicable:

• the unit of measurement (such as percentage, tons, watts or dollars)
• the area of applicability (such as per square foot or for the entire project)
• the time frame applicable (such as per month or annually)
• what the numbers are being compared to (such as local code, industry standard, previous experience in the same space, or other stores by the same retailer. When referring to industry standards, be specific — e.g., ASHRAE 90.1-2004 vs. 90.1-2007.)

If you are entering the A.R.E. Design Awards and would like to refer to some or all of the same images used for your Design Awards entry, simply enter the appropriate image number and indicate the sustainable elements shown for each image. Additional images are permitted. It is recommended that you provide a few images showing the overall design as well as images that hone in on sustainable elements. The latter may be close-up photos, diagrams, or renderings. For instance, a diagram may illustrate a waste-to-energy solution better than a photo.