LONDON.- The Design Museum announced an exciting new annual exhibition and awards to celebrate the most innovative and progressive international design over the last 12 months – the first ever Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition and Brit Insurance Design Awards. Nominated by a team of internationally respected design experts including Nick Knight, Philipp Rode and Wayne Hemingway, the comprehensive shortlist reflecting the best designs of the last 12 months is announced today. This spans seven categories to cover all design disciplines: Architecture, Graphics, Fashion, Product, Furniture, Interactive and Transport.
The shortlist of 100 designs will be on show at the inaugural Brit Insurance Designs of the Year exhibition at the Design Museum from 13 February until 27 April 2008. Designs range from Thomas Heatherwick’s East Beach Café, to SANAA’s New Museum, New York; United Visual Artists’ Volume; with sound by Onepointsix (3D installation at the V&A) to the Fiat 500 and JCDecaux’s Velib Communal Bicycles, Paris.
The Brit Insurance Design Awards will recognise the very best in the seven categories, with individual category award winners announced on 11 March to then go forward to compete to be the overall winner, which will be announced at the Awards Dinner on 18 March. This year’s shortlist will be judged by a high profile panel including Nadja Swarovski, Rolf Fehlbaum and Antonio Citterio.
Deyan Sudjic, Director of the Design Museum said: “We are delighted to be working with Brit Insurance to make possible what will be one of the key parts of the Design Museum’s programme for the future. Their generous sponsorship will make possible the most authoritative international design award in the world and an accompanying unique annual exhibition putting together the best of contemporary design in one place.”
Brit Insurance Chief Executive, Dane Douetil said: “The Brit Insurance Design Awards and Brit Insurance Designs of the Year Exhibition are an exciting and important new development for us. There is a very clear link between good design and the management of risk, which is critical to our business as insurers. We look forward to working closely with the Design Museum over the coming years and firmly establishing our mutual association with design excellence.”
Curator Nina Due applauded the strength and diversity of the first shortlist, with nominations for many well-recognised designs from 2007 as well as a wide selection that have not as yet had their work seen on such an international platform.
Shortlisted Designs: Architecture: Thomas Heatherwick, East Beach Café (Littlehampton, UK), Michel Rojkind, Chocolate Museum (Mexico City), KOKO Architects, Fahle Building (Tallinn, Estonia), Studio Archea, Municipal Library (Nembro, Italy), Coop Himmelb(l)au, BMW Welt (Germany), SANAA, The New Museum (New York, USA), Eduardo Arroyo, Casa Levene (Spain), Adjaye/ Associates, Stephen Lawrence Centre (Lewisham, UK), Herzog & de Meuron, National Stadium, Beijing (Beijing, China), MAD Studio, MA Yansong, the Hong Luo CLUB (Beijing, China), Zaha Hadid Architects, Nordpark Cable Railway (Innsbruck, Austria).
Graphics: Non-Format, Varoom Magazine, Association of Illustrators edited by Adrian Shaughnessy, Peter Bilak, Greta family typeface, Jeremy Leslie, magCulture website, Creative Director Paul Buckley, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, Penguin Group USA, Initiative by Sao Paulo municipal, Clean City Law, Jonathan Ellery, Unrest Exhibition, The Wapping Project, Mike Mills, Silently, Titus Nemeth, Nassim ( a Latin/ Arabic script), Manuela Pfunder, Swiss Bank Note (Bank of Switzerland), AMO, Prada Prototypes Auction, Prada, Olafur Eliasson, Your House, Kremo, Jop van Bennekom, The Butt Book, Butt Magazine, Daniel Mason, Monograph, for Creative Review, Paul Barnes and Peter Saville, Kate Moss brand logo, The Partners, The Grand Tour, National Gallery, Gary Hustwit, Helvetica documentary, The Museum Fur Gestaltung, Zurich’s exhibition poster series, Peter Saville, Sticker for Creative Review, Ian Cartlidge, Cartlidge Levene – Wayfinding, Selfridges, Oxford Street, Paul McAnelly, Hawaii, Designersblock Illustrate and Designersblock Graphics, Guang Yu, MEWE Design Alliance, 2007, Adidas catalogue, APFEL (A Practice For Everyday Life), Identity for Performa, New York.
Fashion: Ronaldo Fraga, Autumn/ Winter 07 (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Ma Ke, WuYong (Useless) (China), Danielle Scutt, Spring/ Summer 07 (UK), Osman Yousefzada, Autumn/ Winter 07/08 (UK), Peter Ingerswen, Noir Collection, Illuminati (UK), John Galliano, Spring/ Summer Haute Couture, Dior (France), Hussein Chalayan, Autumn/ Winter 07 (UK) – also in Interactive, Raf Simons, Spring/ Summer 08, Jil Sander (Germany/ Italy), Dai Fujiwara, Spring/ Summer 08, Issey Miyake (Japan), Uniqlo, cashmere project with PANTONE, Japan (UK), Nick Knight/ Simon Foxton, Cover Shoot, Summer/ Autumn 07, Arena Homme Magazine (UK), Pierre Hardy, Fashion Accessories Spring/ Summer 08 (US/ France), Yves Saint Laurent, Downtown tote bag (France), Giles Deacon, Spring/ Summer 08 (UK).
Product: Anthony Dickens, Fifty Table Light (UK), Toyo Ito, Mayhuana Light, Yamagiwa (Japan), Barber Osgerby, Tab Light, Flos (Italy/ UK), Jasper Morrison, Smithfield Light, Flos (Italy/ UK), Ron Arad, PizzaKobra, iGuzzini (Italy/ UK), Jonathan Ive + Team, iPhone, Apple Inc. (USA), Toshio Iwai, Tenori-on Musical Instrument, Yamaha (Japan), Naoto Fukasawa, Infobar2 Mobile Phone, KDDI (Japan), Tokuhin Yoshioka, Media Skin Mobile Phone (Japan), Nintendo, Wii Game Console, Plus Minus Zero, Electronic Calculator, Ippei Matsumoto, Ten Key Calculator, IDEA International (Japan), Ross Lovegrove, Moun Loudspeakers, Yves Bhehar, A Laptop per Child/ $100 Laptop, Quanta Computer (USA/ China), Yohei Kuwano, LED Torch, Muji (Japan), Yohei Kuwano, Muji, Wind Up Radio (Japan), Eva Solo Bin, Eva Denmark. Design by Tools, Henrik Holbæk & Claus Jensen (Denmark), Jasper Morrison, Refrigerator, Samsung (Korea/ UK), Gear Wrench, XL Xbeam Spanner, (USA).
Furniture: Ineke Hans, Neo-Country Chair, Cappellini, Philippe Starck, Moore Chair, Driade, Patricia Urquiola, Volant Armchair, Moroso, Martino Gamper, 100 Chairs in 100 Days, FRONT, Sketch Furniture, Campana Brothers, Transplastic Series, Albion Gallery, Tokuhin Yoshioka, Panna Chair, Moroso, Thomas Heatherwick, Piggyback table, Magis, Ron Arad, Wavy Chair, Moroso, Henrik Tjaerby, Bambu Table and Chairs, Artek, Peter Marigold, Make/Shift Shelving, Movisi, Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Facett Sofa and Chairs, Ligne-Roset, El Ultimo Grito, Bench System, Casa Encendida Madrid, Barber Osgerby, Saturn Coat Stand, Komplot, Nobody Chair (stackable).
Interactive: United Visual Artists, Volume; with sound by Onepointsix, V&A (UK), Paul Cocksedge Studio, Private View for Palazzo Trussardi Alla Scala, Trussardi Spa (Italy), POKE, Unlimited Web Page, Orange, Trulia Hindsight website by Stamen, (USA), Sharkrunners.co.uk (US), Fixmystreet (UK), Klaus Obermaier/LPO, Rites for Royal Festival Hall (UK, Germany), TED website, Ross Phillips, SHOWstudio – The Replenishing Body Kiosk (UK), Usman Haque, Burble London (UK), Hussein Chalayan, Autumn/ Winter 07 (UK) – also in Fashion, Transport, JCDecaux, Velib Communal Bicycles (Paris, France), Fiat 500 (Italy), Tom Tom Go 720 portable Sat Nav device (UK), Airbus & Priestman Goode: Concept mock-up for A3XX, Wheel Chair for Kids for Meyra Ortopedia (Germany), Skysail (Germany), Streetcar (UK), Extension of Congestion Charging (UK), Christoph Behling, Serpentine Boat (UK).
