Lexus Design Award 2022 entries are now open. Image supplied.
Entries are now open for the Lexus Design Award 2022, an international design competition that is now in it’s tenth year. Over the past decade, Lexus has invited many distinguished leaders of the design world to contribute to the Lexus Design Award’s mission of nurturing and supporting the next generation of creators. The Lexus Design Award continues to evolve as a platform for design innovation that leads to a better tomorrow.
Andrew Davis, General Manager of Lexus New Zealand says the award presents an opportunity for Kiwi youth to prove their innovation talents and earn mentorship from global industry leading professionals. “Lexus New Zealand encourages young New Zealand designers to take part in the global hunt for imaginative and creative solutions that anticipate and shape a better future for generations to come,” says Andrew Davis.
Lexus New Zealand has also partnered with AUT for a second year to run a localised Lexus Design Awards competition as a pre-cursor to the international competition.
“We have amazing emerging designers in this country and the partnership with AUT aims to ensure we have strong representation at the 2022 Lexus Design Award. It gives New Zealand designers an opportunity to shine on the world stage,” adds Andrew Davis. “We are also thrilled to have been able to open this opportunity up to more students this year, including those studying Industrial Design and Creative Technologies.”
Entrants will need to demonstrate how their creative ideas express three key principles of the Lexus brand: Anticipate, Innovate, and Captivate. Their design should anticipate global challenges facing future society and imagine engaging and innovative ways to contribute to a sustainable future, while seamlessly enhancing the happiness of all. The local competition will be judged by Lexus Ambassadors, Resident, who will also mentor the students that will submit entries into Lexus Design Award New Zealand.
“We have been active in recruiting AUT students in the past and now in our capacity as proud Lexus ambassadors, we are thrilled to be involved with the Lexus Design Awards,” says Resident’s Managing Director, Scott Bridgens. “From a mentoring and judging perspective, we are excited to collaborate with designers who can anticipate the needs of tomorrow and translate a sustainability-focused design premise into bright new ideas which make the world a better place. There is no limit to the scope of ideas that can be considered for this Design Award, so we wait with baited-breath to see the submissions.”
Two Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies students – Gayle Lee and Jessica Vea – were chosen as one of six finalists in the 2021 Global Lexus Design Award competition off the back of the local competition run in partnership with AUT in 2020. The pair were chosen from more than 2,000 submissions from 66 countries for their ‘Heartfelt’ device that reimagines what being ‘present’ means in an isolated world.
“We were extremely proud to see two AUT graduate students named as 2021 finalists,” says Dr Yvonne Chan, Associate Dean & Director, External Engagement Office, Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies at AUT. “Their success in the 2021 award speaks to the growing profile of thoughtful and considered New Zealand design in the world spotlight, and we can’t wait to see the talent on display in 2022.”
Over the past nine editions, the Lexus Design Award has showcased 90 creative works and celebrated the talents of 139 individuals and teams who are helping shape a better tomorrow through the power of design.
The judging committee will review the entries from around the globe, choosing six finalists to be announced in early 2022. The finalists’ Prototype development is funded by Lexus with a budget of more than USD $25,000 per finalist. In the Autumn of 2022, the six finalists will present their final proposals to the judges, who will then select one Grand Prix winner.
Entries to the Lexus Design Award 2022 competition will be accepted from July 13 through October 10, 2021.