Winners of Second Lexus Design Award Announced

The winners of the second annual Lexus Design Award (which launched in August last year) have been announced. Ranging from a new design for telling time to an electric wheel for bicycles, the diverse entries came from various European countries as well as China, India, Japan and Vietnam.

The Lexus Design Award is an international competition that provides an opportunity for up-and-coming innovators from around the world to showcase their works while receiving feedback from renowned design professionals. Last year we had the privilege of attending the inaugural award ceremony, which included the works of finalists as well as a display of the massive ‘Amazing Flow’ sculpture at the Museo della Permanente.

This year, the Design Award was based on the theme ‘curiosity’. Six judges — from curators to design writers and including global head of Lexus Design, Tukuo Fukuichi — were asked to whittle the 1,157 entries received in the two and a half month application period down to just 12 finalists.

Sebastian Scherer of Germany was one of the two winners chosen by the judging panel to create a prototype of his design, ‘Iris’ – a handblown glass lamp with shimmering iridescent coating. He will be mentored by Robin Hunicke, a designer who has made her mark on the gaming industry, first as a video game designer and producer and most recently as the co-founder of Funomena, a California-based independent game studio.

The second prototype to be created between January and March comes in the form of the ‘Macian’, a kit to build more creative forts for kids by UK designer James Fox. Arthur Huang, co-founder of MINIWIZ, a Taipei-based company dedicated to upcycling trash to create materials suitable for consumer products and architecture, will mentor Fox through the development of the prototype.

The two prototypes, together with panel displays of the other 10 winning entries, will be exhibited in the Lexus space at Milan Design Week in April.  Through this initiative, Lexus hopes to continue to nurture and support world-enriching creators.