Now in its 10th year, the Beazley Designs of the Year exhibition presents a carefully curated selection of the year’s best designs spanning six categories: architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport. The show comprises a shortlist, of which category winners and one overall winner will be chosen and revealed in January.
As with every year, the 62 nominated projects paint a picture of the current state of the world, with several entries concerned with the refugee crisis and the political divisions that have rocked both Europe and the USA over the past year. Ecological change is, of course, still a theme which threatens us all. It's clear to see a strong focus on socially-driven designs in the exhibition this year, as designers and activists try to respond to the troubles of our modern world. In my own current practice and contextual research, I am very interested in how we as designers, can be a force for good in a turbulent world. This exhibition was an excellent opportunity to see how the frontrunners are dealing with ethical and moral issues in within their work.
Every year, the Design Museum has the not-so-easy task of making sense of the enormous stretch of disciplines which 'design' now encapsulates. The exhibition has been laid out into themes rather than keeping the competition categories together. Fashion designs by Kanye West go side by side with a rebrand for the English football Premier League, both a part of the branding section of the show. I thought this was a great decision by the curators, as it made the work far more digestible and allowed each entry equal attention. Ironically for an exhibition which celebrates the very best in modern design, the biggest flaw of the show, in my view, was the voting card. As you enter the exhibition, you are invited to take a voting card to select which nominee you think should win. Each nominee is listed by category. During my time exploring the exhibition I heard well over 10 people ask, mention and discuss whether one could cast a vote for a design in each category or just one overall winner. Exhibition staff confirmed to people who asked that it was in fact just one overall winner they should select - however I also heard several people assure their friends/family that the opposite was true. Clearly, that information was not communicated effectively by the voting card and I'm sure this led to many people voting for a nominee from each category. Just one simple line of copy clarifying that instruction could have rectified the confusion. Unfortunately, the 62 worthy candidates have been let down by a piece of bad communication design!
As for my vote, I opted for 'Scewo', the stairclimbing mobility device. Using a retractable set of rubber tracks, the wheelchair can safely and smoothly travel both up and down stairs, while an extra pair of wheels at the rear allow users to raise the chair so that they can engage with others at eye level. The fact that the project was self-funded by a group of university students makes it even more inspiring. The chair could allow disabled and elderly people to be far more flexible and independent than ever before and it's one of those designs which you can't believe hasn't been made before. Sadly, it's probable that if wheelchair users were in the majority rather than the minority, this technology would have been created a long time ago. Regardless, I felt this nominee would be a worthy winner of the top prize. As designers, we'd all like to think we can somehow remove obstacles and enrich the lives of others through our work, and this project is an excellent example of this. |
| Scewo, Thomas Gemperle, Adrien Weber, Naomi Stieger, Stella Muhlhaus, Bernhard Winter & Pascal Buholzer |
