Lexus is excited to announce the addition of visionary architect Sir David Adjaye as the newest judge for Lexus Design Award 2018. Adjaye, one of the most influential architects of his generation, complements an already world-class panel of judges that also recently added innovative architect Shigeru Ban. Through the Lexus Design Award, Sir David Adjaye and other judges will identify and recognize the next wave of global creators and designers.
Each year, thousands of young creative talent from around the world aspire to be selected to participate in Lexus Design Award, where they have an opportunity to receive mentorship from established global designers, prototype funding, and an invitation to exhibit at the Lexus Design Event during Milan Design Week. Sir David Adjaye and the other judges will select the 12 finalists that best embody this year’s theme, “CO-“ and reflect the Lexus brand belief that great design can make the world a better place. At Milan Design Week 2018, Adjaye and his fellow judges will award the coveted grand prix award to one of the finalists.
Named as one of the world’s 100 Most Influential People by Time Magazine, the Ghanaian-British architect was knighted in 2017 for services to architecture. In 2016, he received the Panerai London Design Medal. Among his recent accomplishments, Sir Adjaye, designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture — a Smithsonian Institution museum, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. — featuring a crown motif from Yoruba (native Nigerian) sculpture.
Entries to the Lexus Design Award 2018 competition are accepted from July 24 through October 08. The 12 finalists will be announced in January 2018 and the Grand Prix winner will be announced during Milan Design Week — April 16th 2018. For more information on Lexus Design Award 2018, see LexusDesignAward.com
Judge and Mentor Profiles
Judges:
Sir David Adjaye / Architect
Shigeru Ban / Architect
Paola Antonelli / Senior Curator, MoMa
Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, as well as MoMA’s founding Director of Research & Development. Her goal is to promote design’s understanding until its positive influence on the world is universally acknowledged. Her work investigates design’s impact on the everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science, and technology. She has curated numerous shows, written several books, and lectured worldwide. She has taught at the University of California, Los Angeles; the Harvard Graduate School of Design; and the MFA programs of the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is currently working on an exhibition on the 111 garments that changed the world; on Design Bites, a book about foods from all over the world appreciated as examples of design; and on a book collecting her essays on the different fields of contemporary design.
Birgit Lohmann / Chief Editor of designboom
Alice Rawsthorn / Design Commentator
Yoshihiro Sawa / President of Lexus International
Yoshihiro Sawa graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Design from Kyoto Institute of Technology. He has held a number of design-related positions since joining Toyota Motor Corporation in 1980, including Chief Officer of Global Design, Planning Division. He became President of Lexus International in April 2017.
Mentors:
Formafantasma / Designer
Sou Fujimoto / Architect
Lindsey Adelman / Designer
Decades before founding her eponymous studio, Lindsey Adelman was already designer — just not publicly so. First, she was simply a precarious, curious child, building endlessly in the backyards of suburban New York, uncertain of how to make a career of it; then, an English student at Kenyon College; then, on the editorial staff at The Smithsonian Institution. Fortunately, there, her accidental discovery of industrial design — in the literal form of a fabricated foam French fry — propelled her off to RISD to make a life of that childhood passion. Today, from her studios in New York and Los Angeles, she manipulates light to create fixtures that are as emotive as they are physically transformative — objects imbibed with their own history and meaning, often unselfconsciously so, that give color and texture and depth to the world around them.
Jessica Walsh / Graphic Designer
Jessica Walsh is a designer and art director working as a partner at NYC based design firm Sagmeister & Walsh. She lectures about design at creative conferences and universities internationally and teaches design at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. Her work has won numerous awards from most major design competitions including Type Director’s Club, Art Director’s Club, SPD, Print, New York Festivals, D&AD, TDC Tokyo, and Graphis, among many others. She has been awarded Forbes “30 under 30 top creatives designing the future” and Ad Age’s “Top 10 Visual Creatives". Her work has been featured in numerous books & magazines. Clients include the Museum of Modern Art, The Jewish Museum, Jay-Z, Snapchat, Barneys, The New York Times, Levis, Adobe, and Her blog & book “40 Days of Dating” received over 10 million readers and is currently being turned into a movie by Warner Brothers.