When
Design Museum
Where
8th February - 4th July 2012
The Designs of the Year exhibition London event is now open to members of the public, who are able to see all the shortlisted favourites at the Design Museum. Seven design categories are shortlisted for the award, spanning architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive design, product design and transport.
Design of the Year exhibition
London is once again set to celebrate the very best in design from around the globe and features some of the most exciting, unusual and innovative design products from the past 12 months. This year the exhibition features the London 2012 Olympic Torch, the Vivienne Westwood Ethical Fashion Africa collection and a wind propelled Landmine Detonator, meaning this year there will no doubt yet again be a wealth of progressive design on show.
Diversity in design
Nominees for the Designs of the Year 2012 Award span an eclectic range of designers and creative teams. The line up includes a an earthquake proof table in the furniture category, the Duchess of Cambridge's wedding dress in the fashion category, a comedy carpet from the Blackpool seafront in the graphics category and an invisible cycle helmet in the product section.
Celebrating UK design
A unique showcase which celebrates world design as a whole whilst highlighting the work of UK contemporary designers, across their various fields, design enthusiasts will not want to miss the opportunity to see the best in modern design, and to get up close and personal with some of the most unique products and concepts created around the world. With a virtual Tesco store, Kinect for the XBox 360 and the Textile Field at the V&A Museum on show at the Designs of the Year exhibition, London art and design fans are able to see just how diverse the world of design is in 2012.
Find your favourite
The public can visit the Design Museum for the duration of the Designs of the Year exhibition this year to find their favourite designers. On show from 8th February until 4th July 2012, the shortlisted designs are spread out over seven categories, with entries coming from all over the world. On 24th April 2012 the category winners will be announced, with all seven up for the top prize of Design Awards overall winner, which will then be announced on the same date.
Seven category winners
The winners of the seven different Designs of Year categories for 2012 included the London 2012 Velodrome by Hopkins Architects, 1235 by Issey Miyake Design Studio and the redesign of an emergency ambulance by Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design and Vehicle Design. The overall winner was the Lodnon 2012 Olympic Torch by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.
Previous winners
Since the awards were launched back in 2008, various different designs and products have taken the winners podium, with the clever concepts and ingenius designs. From the likes of the One Laptop per Child from Yves Behar of Fuseproject in 2008, the Barack Obama poster by Shepard Fairey in 2009, the Folding Plug by Min-Kyu Choi in 2010 to the Plumen Lightbulb 001 by Samuel Wilkinson and Hulger in 2011, there is always something intruging and innovative, yet simple and effective, chosen as the winner.
Famous faces
With so many different design ideas competing with one another for the top spot, the Designs of the Year exhibition judging panel is crammed full of renowned artists and designers who are up to the task of picking their favourites. Chairing the judges in 2011 was designer Ilse Crawford, along with fellow panel member Dutch designer Hella Jongerius, Chairman of the Canary Wharf group Sir George lacobescu, Wallpaper editor-at-large Henrietta Thompson and entrepreneur Evgeny Lebedev. More illustrious names will take to the panel for 2013.
The Designs of the Year London exhibition takes place at the Design Museum from Wednesday 8th February – Wednesday 4th July 2012. Admission to the Design Museum is £10.00 for adults, £9.00 for concessions, £6.00 for students. Free entry for children under 12.