Finalists for Prestigious Lexus Design Award 2018 Announced

Lexus International recently announced the 12 finalists who have been shortlisted for the Lexus Design Award 2018, an international design platform that identifies and recognizes the next generation of global creators and designers, and gives them the opportunity to receive mentorship from established global designers, prototype funding, and an invitation to exhibit at the Lexus Design Event during Milan Design Week.

Now in its sixth consecutive year, the theme for this year’s award is ‘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 ensuring the harmonious co-existence 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, said: “It has been thrilling to gain insight into how the next generation of designers is translating new concepts and philosophies into innovative solutions to answer the fundamental concerns facing us today.”

The creations of former Lexus Design Award finalists and winners have been drawing positive attention at prominent industry events, including ‘Iris’ by 2014 finalist Sebastian Scherer that won the German Design Award 2016 and ‘Sense-Wear’ by 2015 finalist Caravan that won Venice Design Week’s Wearable Technologies Contest in 2016.

Yugo Miyamoto, Chief Representative of Middle East & North Africa Representative Office, Toyota Motor Corporation, said: “It has been exciting to follow the journey of the 12 finalists and the promising work they have delivered to create innovative solutions that can help shape a better future. Through the Lexus Design Award, Lexus is supporting the next generation of designers and creators by offering them a platform to explore their creativity, visualize, and develop their unique design ideas, and work under the expert guidance of distinguished mentors, to showcase their designs to the world. We thank our customers and fans for their support, which serves as a constant source of inspiration for us to continuously create amazing experiences.”

The 12 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 Sir David Adjaye and Shigeru Ban. Four of the 12 finalists (listed below) were selected to prototype their designs under the guidance and mentorship of an elite team of established creators, namely 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, aesthetid {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 – Co-fusion 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 designs of the other eight finalists 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.