TOKYO, Japan (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 honor 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 behavioral 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 honored 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.
