Design

In the field of design, we support contemporary professional design across areas such as textile, fashion, industrial, product, service, and graphic design, among others. Architecture, art projects, and photography projects are not included in this category, as they are supported through the Visual Arts division. 

In the field of game design, we support professionally developed digital content for devices such as computers, game consoles, mobile devices, and mixed reality devices. The use of this content must require a high degree of interaction and have a major impact on the content itself.  

Yes. Fields excluded from design support are, among others, the production of unique pieces, collectible projects, craft projects, new editions as well as comissioned works, or work for commercial or advertising purposes.  

In general, most of our support formats are aimed at emerging talents. By this we mean professional (game) designers who have been professionally trained or (formally) registered for less than seven years.  

In the field of design, applications must be submitted by a self-employed individual, a sole proprietorship or a company registered as such for no more than seven years, provided the associated education or training was completed more than seven years ago. 

In the area of game design, access to support also depends on the project phase for which you are applying: 

• Applications for a pre-production grant do not necessarily need to be submitted by a legal entity (e.g. Ltd, PLC) that was demonstrably founded in the last seven years. A self-employed individual, a sole proprietorship or a firm demonstrably registered in the last seven years may apply, provided the associated education or training was also completed in the last seven years. 

• Applications for a production or post-production grant must be submitted by a legal entity (e.g. Ltd, PLC) that was demonstrably founded less than seven years ago. A sole proprietorship is also eligible if the associated education or training was completed within the last seven years and if the person in question is willing to transform their business into a corporate entity. 

For both areas, evidence of the ‘emerging talent’ status must be submitted together with the application so that it can be verified.  

The experts assessing the application are all obliged to sign a confidentiality agreement in advance. Moreover, the (game) designers will be contacted before any information about the supported projects is published.  

Our experts sign a confidentiality agreement before selecting a project. The designers will be contacted prior to information about the supported projects being published.

As the Design division at Pro Helvetia works with an international jury, applications should generally be submitted in English. In exceptional cases, a summary of the application’s key points (one A4 page at most) may be submitted in German, French or Italian. This will then be translated into English by Pro Helvetia for the jury.  

Pro Helvetia’s production grants are a form of complementary funding (‘matching grant’). This means applicants need to provide evidence of own or third-party funding for the production phase of their project. The sum provided by Pro Helvetia will be equal to that of the own or third-party funding (‘matching’) and amount to CHF 50,000 at most. 

In connection with the own or third-party funding, a signed document must be added that confirms that the stated amount will be used exclusively for the production of the project concerned.  

No. Incomplete dossiers are not presented to the jury. The documents must be submitted in PDF format in the order described in the guidelines. No additional documents are accepted after the elapse of the deadline.  

The value proposition should reveal, in a few sentences, the markets and target groups that the project is aimed at, and the goals that are pursued. A document serving as a template for this can be found on the application portal’s Attachments’ page. It can be downloaded as soon as an application is opened.  

Support for a specific project may be applied for twice, subject to the condition that the project has been substantially enhanced in the meantime. The new project version should contain visible changes to fundamental parts of the content, which in turn has a noticeable impact on the concept. In such cases, we recommend that the applicants point out and explain the changes compared to the former (rejected) version.  

In connection with our design support, we organise presentations and exhibitions at relevant events in Switzerland as well as at international events such as the Design Days Lausanne/Geneva, Milano Design Week and the matchmaking programme in Copenhagen. 

• In connection with our game design support, we organise delegations from young Swiss studios to the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Gamescom in Cologne und the Nordic Game Conference in Malmö. 

Participation in these platforms is decided based on a call for applications. The selection of events and platforms is regularly reviewed with an eye on the requirements and potential on the part of (game) designers.  

If you are selected for participation on an international platform, for a residency or for a research trip abroad, or if you have received individual support for participation on an international platform, Pro Helvetia contributes to additional expenses for childcare up to a maximum amount of CHF 250 per week or CHF 1,000 per month.   

Pro Helvetia can assume the following costs:   

• additional childcare at home or at the place of destination  
• additional travel expenses to the country of destination for the children and a carer, e.g. the applicant’s partner or another family member 
• accommodation for the children and a caretaker at the place of destination