LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 Welcomes New Judge and Mentors

TORONTO, ONTARIO - SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 - Lexus is thrilled to announce the addition of Karim Rashid as a judge and Marjan van Aubel, Yuri Suzuki, and Sumayya Vally as mentors for LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023, the unique international design competition dedicated to creating a better future by supporting and nurturing the next generation of creators. With the three already announced, a total of seven judges and mentors will work together to create a better tomorrow by supporting and nurturing the next generation of creators.

The global designer Karim Rashid's legendary work straddles the spectrum from industrial design to interior design. With more than 4,000 designs in production across more than 35 countries, Karim Rashid is in high demand for collaboration with famous brands. As a judge, Karim will join Paola Antonelli and Simon Humphries in their quest for the creators of a better tomorrow.

In appreciation of the opportunity to collaborate with the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD, Karim Rashid said, "It is an honour to review such a vast body of work and ideas in the promotion of design as the definitive shaper of the future and culture.  I encourage all designers entering the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD to find new languages, new semantics, new aesthetics, experiment with new material, and behavioural approaches. Competitions such as this were formative to my creative and professional growth, and I look forward to seeing the beautiful individuality and originality that will result.”

After selection by the judges, the four winners will be invited to mentorship sessions with Dutch solar designer, Marjan van Aubel, whose innovations integrate sunlight and technology for a sustainable future; Japanese sound artist and experience designer, Yuri Suzuki; and South African architect, Sumayya Vally, who expresses hybrid identities and territory for African and Islamic conditions.

Sumayya Vally stated, "I am honoured to be a part of the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD mentor team, and to support and nurture the creative empowerment of the next generation. Listening to and drawing on voices of difference, to innovate design-led ideas, plays an important role in shaping our future. Beauty and social justice are not mutually exclusive. Beauty is social justice."

These three creators will join fourth-time mentor, Joe Doucet, to form a dynamic team to steer the next generation of creators. Their diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise will make the mentorship program a deeper experience than ever. Lexus is looking forward with confidence to mentor-mentee collaborations pursuant of a better future. After three months spent developing and refining the four winning concepts, winners will present their work in the spring of 2023.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 is open for entries through October 16, 2022.

For those who are interested in entering, Lexus will hold an orientation webinar for creators around the world who may be interested in applying for the LEXUS DESIGN AWARD so they can get a deeper understanding the award’s purpose and features, and also learn about how to participate.  During this orientation there will also be a session where past award winners will talk about their personal journeys to creative award success. Sign up to get valuable pointers on competition entry and to learn more about the program.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 ORIENTATION WEBINAR

• September 16^th, Friday: EDT 11:00 / PDT 8:00 / SGT 23:00 / CEST 17:00
• September 21^st, Wednesday: EDT 23:00 / PDT 20:00 / SGT 11:00 / CEST 05:00

Pre-registration is required. Participation is free of charge.

For details and registration go to  https://forms.gle/UF4vipJrpW4YPsY39

For more information, please visit LEXUS DESIGN AWARD.com 

Official Hashtag: #lexusdesignaward

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 PANEL OF JUDGES

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 everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science, and technology.

 She has curated shows, written books, lectured worldwide, and taught in several schools, including Harvard and UCLA. Among her most recent exhibitions and books are Broken Nature, devoted to the idea of restorative design (conceived as the XXII Triennale di Milano); Material Ecology, on the groundbreaking work of architect Neri Oxman; and Never Alone, about interactive design and video games. She is currently working on several new sessions of her MoMA R&D Salons and on the Instagram series @design.emergency, conceived with design critic Alice Rawsthorn and devoted to the role of design in the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond. Alice and Paola’s book, Design Emergency, was published in May 2022.

Karim Rashid
Designer, Karim Rashid Inc.

Visionary and prolific, Karim Rashid is one of the most unique voices in design today. Over 4000 designs in production, over 400 awards, and operating in over 35 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. His award-winning designs include democratic objects like the ubiquitous Garbo waste can and Oh! Chair for Umbra and interiors like the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia and Nhow hotel, Berlin. Karim has created noteworthy designs for clients Method and Pepsi, furniture for Artemide and Vondom, brand identity for Citibank and Hugo Boss, high-tech products for LaCie and Samsung, and luxury goods for Veuve Clicquot and Christofle, to name a few. Karim is a perennial winner of the Red Dot award, Chicago Athenaeum Good Design award, Interior Design Best of Year Award, and IDSA Industrial Design Excellence Award. Karim is a frequent guest lecturer at universities and conferences, globally disseminating the importance of design in everyday life.

Simon Humphries
Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design

Born and educated in the UK, he started his career as a product designer in 1988 before joining Toyota Motor Corporation in 1994. At first, he worked in advanced design and in 2002 played a leading role in establishing and implementing the Toyota (Vibrant Clarity) and Lexus (L-finesse) design philosophies. After managing various projects in both advanced and production design, he was appointed president of ED2 (Toyota European Design Development), where his team spearheaded various projects to define Toyota’s transformation to a mobility company. In 2018, he was assigned to the role of head of design, overseeing both the Toyota and Lexus brands.

As Head of Lexus Global Design, he seeks to define Lexus' unique values in the form of a brand philosophy, incorporating a clear cultural reference to Lexus' Japanese heritage and building a design direction that is relevant to users around the world. In his spare time he enjoys carpentry and is restoring a 100-year-old Japanese farmhouse.

LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2023 PANEL OF MENTORS

Marjan van Aubel is a Dutch solar designer whose innovations integrate sunlight and technology for a sustainable future. Her studio, Marjan van Aubel Studio is an award-winning innovative solar design practice that brings solar energy into daily life. Designing for a positive future through combining the fields of sustainability, design and technology.

The studio is creating lasting change through solar design, integrating solar power seamlessly into our environments such as in buildings and objects. With the goal to make solar power more accessible for everyone. Most notable works are Sunne, Current Table, Power Plant and the roof of the Netherlands Pavilion at the World Expo 2020 in Dubai.

Marjan has collaborated with global brands such as Cos, Timberland, Swarovski with the aim of accelerating the global energy transition to solar. Graduating from the Royal College of Art (Design Products MA) in 2012 and the Rietveld Academy DesignLAB (BA) in 2009.

Joe Doucet
Designer/ Founder, Joe Doucet x Partners

A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer’s thought process can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.

Doucet’s work has been exhibited globally and has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. Doucet was named the Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer—the highest honor in his field. He was also Designer of the Year finalist by Dezeen, and a recipient of Fast Company’s Most Important Companies in Design.

Yuri Suzuki
Artist and Designer/ Partner, Pentagram

Yuri Suzuki is an artist, designer and electronic musician. He explores sound and visual language through artworks and projects that examine the relationship between people and their environments, questioning how both visual art and sound evolve to create personal experiences. Suzuki has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally, including at Tate Britain, V&A, the Barbican and MoMA New York. 

Central to Suzuki's practice is collaboration – he has worked with various musicians including will.i.am and Jeff Mills, as well as commercial clients such as Google and Roland, creating music-based products and digital experiences that explore the relationship between sound and technology.

As a Partner at Pentagram London, Suzuki and his team work internationally pushing the boundaries between art, design, technology and sound, crossing the fields of both low and high technology.

Sumayya Vally
Architect/ Principal, Counterspace