Awards 2003

The “Career Award”, the “Award for Young Talent”, the “Award for Best Product” and the “Award from the Public” are being presented for the tenth time. The prizes are traditionally being worth at 2 500 €, with trophy and certificate. The “Award for a Company” is being presented for the ninth time. The prizes remain the most prestigious prizes for design in Flanders, which gain a certain value because of the appreciation of like-minded people, colleagues, experts and the public and not because of the (relatively low) amount of the cash prize. Just like last year, we asked the opinion of some experts from outside VIZO, who could indicate their favourite candidates. The experts were Lieven Daenens (Design museum Ghent), Farida O’Seery (Interieur), Luc De Buyser (Visa Versa), Veerle Wenes (Scritto and Sfeer), Lise Coirier (Pro Materia), Linda Raets (Surplus) and Guy Vermeirsch (Huis van Oordeghem). They were asked to give their written votes, and they could add names which didn’t figure on the shortlist.

For the Award for Best Product, Richard Hutten (NL) and Luc De Buyser from Visa Versa enlarged the Design Committee. This renowned foreign and internationally known designer and Belgian expert must intensify the quality of the prizes.
The criteria that the internal and external jury used made it possible to discover additional quality which justifies a prize among a group of highly qualitative designers.

Bob Daenen received the Career Award. So this time no furniture designer, but an industrial designer. In 1966, he started working for the new establishment of Tupperware in Aalst. His main task was on the one hand to set up a European design centre of the company and on the other hand to accentuate the production in Europe as soon as possible. He succeeded in doing this and that’s why he became, after 37 years, Vice President Innovation of the company while the former design centre of Tupperware in Orlando, Florida has been called after him.

Xavier Lust received the Award for Young Talent thanks to his great success during his early career. He got a lot of appreciation at the Furniture Fair in Milan with “Le Banc”. MDF Italia got really impressed by the pure graphic line of the bench and the technological innovation behind it. Two years later, he created a cupboard with the same technique for De Padova.
Xavier Lust strives for a cut back on materials and for their optimal use, in a technical as well as in an aesthetical way. The PicNik table which he developed together with Dirk Wynants is also being selected in the category Best Product.

There was a unanimous preference for Jaga to get the Award for a Company 2003. This company, especially known for its radiators with innovative heating concepts and refreshing new designs, has been awarded with internationally renowned design prizes and is the only Belgian company listed in the European Design Ranking. Since the beginning of the nineties, designer Ivo Nijsten is responsible for the whole development process.

Danny Venlet received the Award for Best Product with the Easy Rider which is developed for Bulo.
Wonderful. That’s the only way to describe this product. An open circle with a sunken sitting part and three legs - with or without wheels - constitute the most innovating desk of the last years. This mobile workplace combines the warmth of a clubbing seat with shapes of tomorrow to become the desk of the future: only recognizable as a desk when you open your laptop. That’s why the jury was motivated to choose this product as Best Product.

We noticed that the four prizes have been awarded to designers who work for the industry in one or another way. The jury recognized an intelligent conceptual creativity supported by an intensive research in the works of all of them.

The Jury 2003
The Jury was composed of members of the VIZO Design Committee. Luc De Buyser (business manager Visa Versa) and Richard Hutten (Richard Hutten Studio, the Netherlands, Droog Design) have assisted the committee members.

The criteria
To be eligible for the “Career Award”, a designer must have been active and productive for more thirty years, preferably displaying innovation within the discipline. He or she must have acquired an international reputation and still be active.
The criterion for the “Award for Young Talent” is still that one must have graduated at least five years previously and over a span of maximum ten years, have built up a homogeneous portfolio, with an emphasis on innovation and international interest.
The “Award for the Best Product” was allocated after all the selected studios, this year numbering 450, all in Flanders, had been invited to submit a piece of maximum one year old.
The “Award for a Company” is attributed to a company which implements consciously design in its functioning and production in a renewed, qualitative and economic manner.