Public search for Rotterdam Design Prize

Everybody has an opinion about what’s beautiful or not. Several tv-programmes already tap in to that and let viewers eventually decide who wins during talentshows such as X Factor, The Voice, Dancing with the Stars and more concepts like that. The organisation of the Rotterdam Design Prize now also let the (specialised) public decide.

The biennial prize was founded in 1993 and ‘believes its duty is to stimulate thought and debate on design’s role in the cultural and social field’. It’s the only prize which covers all the disciplines such as graphic design, product design, fashion, communication and interior design. Nowadays it is considered one of the more prestigious awards for Dutch Designers in the Netherlands. Former winners include

Studio Wieki Somers (which resides in Rotterdam), Studio Dumbar (also based in Rotterdam), Hella Jongerius and Joost Grootens.

Recommend a project

This eleventh edition is a joint project by Premsela Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion, Foundation Designprize Rotterdam and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. They agreed to also find nominees by a new procedure. The public, especially those working in design, can find a button on the website to 'recommend a project'. This is still possible until the end of august. So if you want to recommend a project that made an exceptional contribution to the development of Dutch design the past two years you can still do so for a little while.The site shows which projects are submitted until now. Among the submissions are the design Unit of Dutch clothingbrand G-Star, Piet Hein Eek, all designs by Scholten & Baijings and bicycle manufacturer Koga. 

From the end of august five scouts will take notice of all the tips submitted through the website and will eventually nominate three designers or projects each. The five renowned professional designers that are chosen to scout are fashiondesigner/artist Aziz Bekkaoui, designer and critic Sophie Krier, industrial designer and professor at the Delft University of Technology Matthijs van Dijk, designer partners Blom & Moors and graphic designer, head of the Information Design MA at the Design Academy Eindhoven and winner of the Rotterdam Design Prize 2009 Joost Grootens.

     

Exhibtion in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen

The fifteen scouted projects will be presentend in an expo at the contributing museum Boijmans van Beuningen from the end of november until february. During the runtime of the exhibition the still-to-be-named international jurors will decide which project will win the Rotterdam Design Award. But also the general public will once again have a saying, they can vote for the Premsela Public Prize. The winners of the awards will eventually be revealed on 12 february.

 

                                                                                                                                                     All 3 photos: Rotterdam Designprize