Make a Sign Contest 2026: Win $2000 NOW

By Angie 3 weeks ago

After two months of idea submissions, the Make a Sign Contest 2026 has already received more than 50 project applications from makers, developers, designers, and students across 14 countries and regions.

From Germany and India to the United States, South Korea, Canada, and China, creators around the world have been sharing their visions for the future of interactive restaurant signage, and honestly, some of the concepts have gone far beyond what we first imagined.

From projects like Pick a Coffee, AI Table-Side Menu Sign, and OptiServe AI, the community has been building solutions that are not only creative, but also genuinely useful for real-world restaurant and hospitality scenarios.

Last year, we received 156 innovative projects from 180 makers across 17 countries and 39 regions.

These projects showed how interactive signage can reshape the way we communicate, navigate, and experience our spaces. And we believe this year will be more fantastic.

The Make a Sign Contest 2026, creativity coming from the global maker community, has already been incredible to see.

We want to invite makers, engineers, designers, and innovators around the world to rethink restaurant signage from the ground up. Start small, think of a sign as the minimum unit of interaction then reimagine it across four key dimensions:

  • Technology — How can AI, IoT, computer vision, voice interaction, or advanced sensing reshape the dining experience?
  • Interaction — Can signage move beyond touchscreens with gesture control, touchless interfaces, or adaptive responses?
  • Materials — How can the physical design become more sustainable, modular, or adaptable to different environments?
  • Function — Can signs become context-aware, data-driven tools that actively improve restaurant operations and customer engagement?

The future of restaurant experiences will not just be digital, but interactive, intelligent, and human-centered, and we’re excited to see what the global maker community creates next.

Contest Rules & How to Enter

 
1. Submit your application via the designated Google form and apply for free hardware samples (up to USD $100 value per approved project, listed at the bottom) before June 30, 2026. And the total amout is 100 kits, the eariler apply, the earily receive.
 
2. Build Your Project: Use any Seeed Studio product as the core of your interactive sign (other brands are allowed as add-ons).
 
3. Submit a video that is 1 minute or longer demonstrating your smart sign in action. Both horizontal and vertical formats are welcome!
 
4. Once approved, your project video will be published on Seeed Studio’s official YouTube channel, which will serve as the promotional platform for public voting.
CLICK TO SUBMIT YOUR IDEA

Judging Criteria:

The competition consists of two main stages.
 
  1. Semi-Final Stage:
  • Participant Voting (2/3 weight): Each semi-finalist receives 5 votes to support other projects.
  • Public Voting (1/3 weight): Based on a combined score of YouTube views and likes on your Project video. (The top 50 projects from this stage will advance to the Final Round!)
  1. Final Round – Jury Panel:
  • Business Potential (30%): Can this realistically be commercialized and deployed in real restaurants at scale?
  • Replicability (30%): Can others rebuild and adapt your solution using your documentation and code?
  • Innovation (20%): How creatively do you rethink what a restaurant sign can do?
  • Fit with Restaurant Scenarios (20%): Does it solve real, practical needs in a dining environment?

Judges Panel

Benjamin Poilvé

Designer and engineer

Benjamin Poilvé is both an Engineer (specialised in advanced systems) and a designer (he studied at the ENSCI).
He now works at the French Data protection agency, but moonlights as an independent hardware designer. He designed and commercialise the minichord(minichord.com), a fully open source pocket sized chord machine, as part of Seeed Studio’s Co Create Program.

Eric Pan

Founder of Seeed Studio and Chaihuo makerspace 
Producer of Maker Faire Shenzhen

He endeavors to integrate the latest Al/blockchain/loT technology and supply chain resources to create an open platform for global developers. Since 2008, Seeed has been empowering millions of developers in over 200 countries to turn ideas into prototypes and advanced perception systems.

Huang Songhao

Shanghai-based artist and curator,graduated from the China Academy of Art, c urrently serving as the director of the non-profit art organization “RaidenINST”

Focusing on the impact of contemporary technology on artistic production. Also co-founded “Radical Space,” with works exhibited in art institutions both domestically and internationally.

Pierluigi Colangeli

Hardware Designer
System Integrator
OSHW Developer

Pierluigi Colangeli works spans embedded systems, PCB design, rapid prototyping, and product-focused hardware development. A committed KiCad user and open-source hardware advocate, he has developed projects including CM5 MINIMA and MOKA. His PhD in Biology also shapes the way he works, bringing scientific rigor, curiosity, and an ethical perspective to complex technical challenges.
 

Timeline:

 ·Idea Collection & Sample Application: March 5 – June 30, 2026

·Project Development & Documentation: April – August 2026

·Semi-Final: Community & Public Voting: August 15 – August 31, 2026

·Final Jury Evaluation: September 1 – September 15, 2026

· Winner Announcement: November 16-30, 2026

 👏Winning projects will be showcased during the Maker Faire Shenzhen event!
 
 

Prizes and awards:

 🏆First Prize (1 Winner | Total Value: $2,000+)

$1,000 Cash Prize ➕ $1,000 Travel Grant

*We’re sponsoring the winner’s trip to Maker Faire Shenzhen 2026 (November)!

 🥈Second Prize (2 Winners | Value: $600)

$300 Cash Prize➕Seeed Product Gift Pack (worth $300)

🥉Third Prize (3 Winners | Value: $200)

$100 Cash Prize➕Seeed Product Gift Pack (worth $100)

Special Category Awards:

👑Best In-Restaurant Experience Award (1 Winner | Value: $200)

Seeed Product Gift Pack (worth $200)

🤜Most Popular Award (1 Winner | Value: $100) 

Seeed Product Gift Pack (worth $100)

*Awarded to the video with the most YouTube likes!

🌱Sustainable Signage Impact Award – SDG (1 Winner | Value: $100)

Seeed Product Gift Pack (worth $100)

*All the winners could receive the free co-create service to make the prototype become products!

Resources Recommendation:

To support the participant´s Projects we offer free hardware samples (up to USD $100 value per approved project). If your project uses products outside the free sample list, approved projects may apply for a 20% discount coupon. Both options can be combined.

👉Participants may apply for free samples from selected categories:

(Updated: Two reSpeaker models newly added at the end)

* If you are working on a project that uses an ink display, we encourage you to use our no-code UI design platform, SenseCraft HMI, to design and deploy the UI for your screen, this is the introduction of our HMI(SenseCraft HMI)

APPLY NOW
Make a Sign (for Restaurant)” is more than a contest. It is an open call to rethink how small hardware solutions can reshape physical spaces.Interactive signage transforms everyday dining into a smoother, smarter experience.
 

Great designs don’t have to be complicated—your simple creative idea can absolutely shine as an amazing entry.

 

Come share your inspiration and join our Make a Sign contest right now!

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Angie

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