Nominations are now open for the fifth annual Ringling College Innovation by Creative Design Award, a collaboration between the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County and Ringling College of Art and Design. The award honors a business or nonprofit for an innovative product or service that demonstrates a creative design solution that has earned market success. 

Previous winners were Osprey Biotechnics in 2015, Penta5 in 2016, Cruise Car in 2017, and Dealers United in 2018. Basic qualifications for nominations include:

•       Organization must be a profit or nonprofit business located in Sarasota County

•       A majority of revenues must come from outside Sarasota County

•       The specific product or service of the applicant must have been developed in the last five years

•       The product or service must be available in the marketplace and have demonstrated financial success

•       All application information must be verifiable and accurate

Judges from the EDC Board of Directors and Ringling College will rank nominees on the significance of the problem or issue that the design solution addresses; quality of design/innovation process, including research, conceptual development, prototyping and final solution; quality and success of the final design solution, including function and impact on the end user; and market success.

For more information, contact Kate Atkin at (941) 309-1200 or at [email protected]. To apply online, please go to www.edcsarasotacounty.com. The deadline for applications is Aug. 9. The winner will be announced during the EDC Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon Sept. 12, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota.