Lexus has announced the winning entries in the Lexus Design Award 2023, which include a device that captures water from fog, a recycled clay humidifier, a 3D puzzle for the visually impaired and a waste-reducing bag that removes chemicals from new clothes.
Fog-X by the Swedish designer Pavels Hedström is an expandable mobile device designed to collect fog to produce 10 litres of drinking water a day, to be used in arid areas where water is a scarce but much-needed resource.
Hedström began his career as an architect after earning his Master of Architecture and Extreme Environments from the Royal Danish Academy. His work explores holistic approaches to existing ecosystems.
Print Clay Humidifier by the Chinese industrial designer Jiaming Liu is a sustainable, 3D-printed clay humidifier made from recycled ceramic waste. It can stand alone or be used against a wall or window, making it suitable for small spaces. The design, which the judges defined as both functional and elegant, features unique shape which increase water absorption.
Born in China and recently graduated from Folkwang University of the Arts in Germany, Liu focuses on cross-cultural and sustainable design.
Touch the Valley by Temporary Office is a 3D topographic puzzle in which visually impaired people match adjacent contouring pieces to experience the physical world through touch.
Temporary Office is a design team, based in the USA, formed by Vincent Lai and Douglas Lee, graduates from the University of California, Berkeley. The team has worked on projects crossing the boundaries of architecture, public space, preservation and product design.
Zero Bag by Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo is a new clothing package with patterned paper detergents attached to water-soluble plastic. It dissolves in water and acts as a detergent, removing any chemicals from clothes, while also reducing packaging waste.
Kyeongho Park and Yejin Heo are students of industrial design at Hanyang University’s Erica campus in the Republic of Korea. They focus on social and environmental problems and explore user-centred solutions through design.
The judges of the Lexus Design Award 2023 were senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, Paola Antonelli and industrial designer Karim Rashid, and Simon Humphries, head of Toyota and Lexus global design.
The finalists were chosen from more than 2,000 entries submitted from 63 countries and regions, based on the originality of their ideas, created on the theme of “Design for a Better Tomorrow”.
Lexus said these projects met the judging criteria in expressing the Lexus core principles for creating a prosperous and better future: anticipate, innovate, captivate and enhance happiness.
“Having served as a judge since the first Lexus Design Award, I appreciate the generosity, talent and energy of hundreds of young designers from around the world,” commented Antonelli.
“I continue to note the design field’s evolution, as these designers take an increasingly visionary and yet realistic view that encompasses not only humanity, but also all the rest of nature.”
The winners are now being mentored by four world-class creators: Marjan van Aubel, Joe Doucet, Yuri Suzuki, and Sumayya Vally, to refine their ideas and develop prototypes based on their proposals.
First-time Lexus Design Award mentor Marjan van Aubel said: “We live in challenging times where the design we create for the future needs to be considered in terms of whether it will work in the years ahead. Will it be suitable, practical, and possible? I hope to give them a future-proof perspective. For emerging creative talents this offers a springboard for their careers. I am excited to be part of it.”
Lexus will present the winners’ prototypes in the spring. To raise public awareness of the award among a worldwide audience, the public will be invited to participate in the first People’s Choice Award. Details will be announced at a later date.
