FORM Student Innovation Competition Winners Excel in Design Careers

The Career Impact of the FORM Competition  

Launched in 2017, the annual FORM Student Innovation Competition invites architecture and design students in the U.S., Canada and Mexico to design a theme-based furniture piece featuring Formica^® Brand Products and FENIX^® Innovative Materials. Entrants have the chance to win cash prizes, invaluable networking opportunities, and national recognition – including the opportunity to have their fabricated design showcased at NeoCon, the leading design event for commercial interiors.

We caught up with 2021 winner Martin Gonzalez Godoy and 2024 winner Cali Pitcher to learn how the FORM Competition has helped them succeed in their careers thus far. You can also read our interview with inaugural winner Rachel Marie Thompson.  

2021 Winner Martin Gonzalez Godoy 

Martin is an Industrial Designer at Eureka in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, designing lighting fixtures for interior spaces. “Eureka allows designers to have a lot of creativity,” he says. “I'm there from the creative process all the way to the launch of the product.”

An avid believer in sustainable design and the concept that form follows function, Martin likes the problem-solving aspect of his job. “I always tackle the project as what's the problem to solve and then what’s the best possible solution for it,” he says.  

Martin is always exploring new surfacing materials and manufacturing processes. He also finds his cultural background to be inspiring when it comes to adding unique touches to his work. Born in Bogota, Colombia, he studied at a German school before moving to Montreal for college. “What makes it yours is what you can bring as a designer,” he says of his aesthetic.  

2024 Winner Cali Pitcher

Cali is a Residential Designer at Justin Sherry Design Studio in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, where she designs the interiors of luxury residential homes. When she won the FORM Competition in 2024, she was in her final year studying interior design at Georgian College in Barrie, ready to transition from her role as an intern at Justin Sherry to a full-fledged designer. She had entered and won several contests before winning FORM, but nothing on the international scale of the Formica Group competition. 

Today she leverages her FORM furniture-designing experience to incorporate custom millwork in many of her interior designs, adding built-ins and clever storage solutions that enhance spaces with multifunctional capabilities. “I design for the whole house, every room,” she says. “I actually do quite a lot of work that is similar to what I did for the FORM Competition with multifunctional pieces. I'm always trying to design with functionality in mind, searching for new ways to get the most out of a footprint.” 

The NeoCon Experience  

Both winners found the immersive NeoCon experience to be exciting and eye-opening. During their time at the show, each had the opportunity to visit showrooms, network with design company representatives, and present their winning pieces onstage to an audience during the NeoCon Talks segment.

Martin was a second-year industrial design student at the Université de Montréal when he and fellow student Bénédicte Laurent won the 2021 FORM Competition with their design, Toboom. “It was a really wonderful experience,” he recalls. “Being at NeoCon opened up my eyes to how broad the furniture industry really is. As a student, you're not aware of all that yet. It really built my confidence to then believe in myself and trust my gut when I know that something I've done is really good.”  

Martin says having the award-winning Toboom project in his portfolio helped him stand out when applying to job opportunities. “It really gives a great highlight to your portfolio, the fact that you have won this big international competition. It has helped me also to be more confident in other projects and during interviews.”  

For Cali, seeing her project, Notions, come to life at NeoCon was an amazing experience. “I'd be walking around the show and see people eating lunch at my table,” she says. “To see people actually gravitate toward it and use it in the way I had intended and imagined, it was an amazing experience.”  

Cali believes the FORM Competition was life changing. "Being at NeoCon and connecting with industry professionals, you never know where that can lead you,” she says. “I'm really grateful for the experience. It's something that I still think back on as a pivotal moment, bridging the gap from student to designer. The competition helped accelerate my career in interior design, and it made me feel confident in taking on bigger projects.” 

Advice for Design Students 

Martin encourages young designers to believe in themselves and their work. “Trust your gut. Trust your process,” he says. “There will be some bumps along the road. If you work through it and you persevere and find solutions to those problems, you can really create something that is unique and interesting that will stand out in the end.” 

Cali urges students to enter the FORM Competition to kickstart their design careers. “It's really important to put yourself out there and grow as a designer by putting yourself out of your comfort zone,” she says. “I had never designed furniture before, and what I didn't expect was that I'd end up doing it for almost all of my professional projects. The FORM Competition offers the opportunity to create a portfolio piece that will catch the eye of employers and provide you with an amazing experience to discuss in interviews.” 

An Ongoing Legacy 

Each new class of students brings fresh design energy and innovative ideas to the FORM Competition. Competitors like Leah-Marie Boak — the 2025 winner and a rising senior at the New Jersey Institute of Technology — represent the future of creative innovation in architecture, industrial and interior design. We look forward to hosting future student winners and seeing what they bring to the design world! 

Learn more about the FORM Student Innovation Competition.