Third Lexus design award open for entries

• Exhibition of finalists and announcement of grand prix winner to take place at Milan Design Week 2015
• Entries accepted from 11 August to 3 November, via designboom website

The third Lexus Design Award is open for entries from today. Launched in 2013, the international competition aims to foster the talents of young creators for problem-solving design.

In its first two years it has gained worldwide attention for its mentoring programme, by which the top entrants are given guidance by world-renowned experts to turn their innovative ideas into working prototypes. Last year British designer James Fox was one of the competition’s two winning designers, rewarded for his children’s construction kit concept, Macian.

The theme for the 2015 award is Senses, offering participants a broad range of possibilities embracing seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling and tasting. This reflects Lexus’s focus on the driving experience being about sensations, from the appearance of a vehicle’s styling and the sound of its engine, to the feel of its interior.

The competition will produce 12 finalists whose work will receive wide exposure within the design community and beyond. The finalists will be announced in early 2015 and their work will be exhibited at Milan Design Week in the spring.

This year, four of the finalists (twice as many as last year) will enjoy the support of international design mentors in developing their prototypes. Taking part will be architect and engineer Arthur Huang; game designer Robin Hunicke; architects and interdisciplinary designers Neri & Hu; and designer Max Lamb.

The mentors will lead development sessions for production of the prototypes between January and March. The award will provide up to 2.5 million yen (about £14,500) for each project.

Lexus will host the presentation of the completed prototypes and make the announcement of the overall grand prix winner at Milan Design Week. The judging panel will include curators Paola Antonelli and Aric Chen, architect Toyo Ito, designboom chief editor Birgit Lohmann, design commentator Alice Rawsthorn and Lexus International president Tokuo Fukuichi.

Entries are being accepted now, via the designboom website at www.designboom.com/competition/lexus-design-award-2015.

For further information, please visit the Toyota and Lexus media site here or contact one of the following:

Nik Pearson on 01737 367264 or by e-mail at nik.pearson@tgb.toyota.co.uk
Richard Seymour on 01737 367272 or by e-mail at richard.seymour@tgb.toyota.co.uk
Erica Haddon on 01737 367308 or by e-mail at erica.haddon@tgb.toyota.co.uk
Scott Brownlee on 01737 367266 or by e-mail at scott.brownlee@tgb.toyota.co.uk