Lexus announces finalists for its 2018 Design Award
MUSCAT: Lexus Design Awards encourages talents from across the world to showcase their skills on a platform that will forever alter their future for the better.
Breaking conventions and going beyond the boundaries of imagination are at the heart of Lexus’ approach to design, and the Lexus Design Award offers an opportunity to take this approach forward and continue the passion for creating amazing experiences that ignite emotions.
Recently Lexus International announced the 12 finalists for the prestigious Lexus Design Award 2018. Now in its sixth year, this distinguished international design competition invites young designers to propose ideas based on this year’s theme “CO”, derived from the Latin prefix meaning “with or together in harmony”. “CO-” explores the possibilities of how design can seek solutions and overcome barriers for a range of global challenges by harmonious integration of nature and society.
This year’s Lexus Design Award involved an unprecedented level of participation attracting over 1,300 entries from 68 countries. Sir David Adjaye, one of the judges remarked, “It has been thrilling to gain insight into how the next generation of designers translate new concepts and philosophies into innovative solutions to the fundamental concerns of today.” Past Lexus Design Award finalists and winners have garnered further success including 2014’s “Iris” by Sebastian Scherer that won the German Design Award 2016 and 2015’s ‘Sense-Wear’ by Caravan that won Venice Design Week’s Wearable Technologies Contest in 2016.
Twelve finalists were chosen after considerable deliberation by a panel of prestigious judges, which was further strengthened this year with the addition of world-renowned architects David Adjaye and Shigeru Ban. Among the 12 finalists, four, listed below, were selected to prototype their designs under the guidance and mentorship of an elite team of established creators: Lindsey Adelman, Jessica Walsh, Sou Fujimoto and Formafantasma.
CO-RKs, DIGITALAB {Brimet Fernandes da Silva(Portugal), Ana Trindade Fonseca (Portugal)}:
Mentored by Lindsey Adelman. A system connecting cork thread, a sustainable material and computational process that generates design products.
Honest Egg, aesthetic {Paul Yong Rit Fui(Malaysia), Jaihar Jailani Bin Ismail (Malaysia)}:
Mentored by Jessica Walsh. Connecting Technology (Intelligent Ink Pigment) and Design (Indicator) to show egg’s edibility.
Recycled Fiber Planter, Eriko Yokoi(Japan):
Mentored by Sou Fujimoto. Cofusion textile and green design to repurpose used clothes.
Testing Hypotheticals, Extrapolation Factory {Christopher Woebken(Germany), Elliott P. Montgomery (USA)}:
Mentored by Formafantasma. A collaboratively imagined test site that explores speculative relationships between society, technology and the environment.
The four prototypes and detailed presentation boards from the other eight finalists’ designs will be showcased as part of the Lexus Design Event at this year’s Milan Design Week in April. The 12 finalists will present their work to the judging panel and international media. Following the presentation, a Grand Prix Winner will be selected.
This prestigious international competition seeks to discover and nurture a new generation of talent. The event attracts thousands of aspiring creatives from around the world and inspires them to challenge common paradigms with unconventional design ideas to make our world better. Twelve winning finalists selected by an elite creative design panel of judges will have their concepts showcased at Lexus Design Event in Milan, 2018. An experience of a lifetime awaits four of these finalists, who will be mentored by some of the world’s top designers and architects.