A snapshot of the contemporary concerns of the design world.
8 years of #designsoftheyear: The Designs of the Year 2015 nominees @ Design Museum London.
Frank Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton, Google’s self-driving car, Asif Kahn’s Sochi Olympic Megafaces are just some of the high-profile projects represented in the exhibition of The Designs of the Year 2015 nominees opened at the Design Museum in London. 76 nominated projects include microchips that mimic human organs, an off-grid eco toilet, a book printed without ink, and a campaign promoting ugly vegetables. A specially selected jury chooses a winner for each category and an overall winner.
Now in its eighth year, Designs of the Year celebrates design that promotes or delivers change, enables access, extends design practice or captures the spirit of the year. The international awards and exhibition showcase projects from the previous year, across six categories: Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Product, Graphics, and Transport.
A strong theme for 2015 is the desire to harness new technologies to solve long-standing problems, as seen in projects as diverse as the world’s first lab for 3D printing prosthetic limbs, and the Moocall sensor which is connected to a cow’s tail and texts the farmer when calving is imminent.
An interest in democratising design and empowering users can be seen across the board, notably in AL BORDE’s architectural school for an Ecuadorian fishing community, and Technology Will Save Us’s DIY Gamer Kit which encourages everyone to get coding.
Beauty combined with utility never goes out of style – Paul Cocksedge Studio’s Double O bike lights and Marjan Van Aubel’s phone charging Current Table are as pleasurable to look at as they are to use.
The Designs of the Year category winners are announced on Monday 4 May, with the overall winner being revealed at an event at the Design Museum on Thursday 4 June.
