László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant

The László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant (MNL) aims to foster the development of Hungarian design, to integrate design into the national economy and to raise the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy by promoting the professional development of Hungarian designers. The competition is open to qualified designers and handicraft artists under 35 with a professional programme that is either independently developed or designed in partnership with the manufacturer. The grant programme is announced and managed by the Office of the Hungarian Design Council.

The grant is HUF 900,000 (paid quarterly in two instalments) with a payment period of 6 months. At present, the grant programme is jointly financed by the Ministry of Human Capacities, Herend Porcelain Manufactory Plc. and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, financially coordinated by the Hungarian Artists Non-Profit Ltd.

The László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant is announced in early spring every year, in the following categories:

  • Projects on themes specified in the appendix of the call for entries realised in cooperation with a manufacturer;
  • Design projects on freely selected themes;
  • Projects on theoretical or research themes.

Evaluation of applications

The applicants are awarded on the basis of a decision made by a professional body that continuously monitors and annually assesses their work. Granted designers showcase their results annually at public exhibitions. Aspects of evaluation are the innovation content, the social and economic importance and the novelty at the international arena of the theme.

History of the Grant

The Moholy-Nagy Design Grant was founded in 1988 by three ministries on the initiative of the Industrial Design Council with the objective of promoting the professional development of talented young designers, contributing to the flourishing of Hungarian material and environmental culture and raising competitiveness of the Hungarian economy through the integration of design into innovation.

The Hungarian Design Council started to update the application process on the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the grant in 2008. As a result, designers may apply now with entries realised in cooperation with a manufacturer, under the conditions of an extended payment period and an increased amount of the grant. Designers may choose from applications realised in partnership with a manufacturer; theoretic applications related to education or research or any combinations of such applications. The objectives of encouraging entrepreneurs to support the grant and young designers to establish a working relationship with adopters of the latest technologies and scientific results have been achieved as the Herend Porcelain Manufactory Plc. joined the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office and the Ministry of Human Capacities to finance the grant programme from 2013. By the announcement of specific design tasks to encourage goal-oriented design, a number of companies such as Alu-Style Ltd., Balaton Bútor Ltd., B&K Ltd., Crea Form Ltd., Digiterm Ltd., ICO plc., Je suis Belle, Herend Porcelain Manufactory Plc., Mobisola Ltd., Multinetwork Ltd., Polyduct Plc. and TUNGSRAM-Schréder Plc. have become new partners of the Hungarian Design Council in the recent years.