The Lexus Design Award India aims to identify and award the best works of industrial design created by Indian designers. The award looks to recognize and reward designs that anticipate challenges facing future society and imagine engaging and innovative ways to contribute to a sustainable future, while seamlessly enhancing the happiness of all.
Click on each category to view the details
This years’ theme for the Student Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate, Innovate, Captivate”.
This category will consider original works of a conceptual nature by students who are currently enrolled in design schools across India. All entries submitted in this category must be in accordance with the above theme.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
Cookmate
View SubmissionCookmate is a product that aims to offers a flexible way of cooking with minimal reliance on space. Cooking has always been a core survival trick for humans. It has a close relationship with the space we live in. With the change in cooking culture and real estate prices, it is expensive to always have a fully equipped kitchen wherever you go. It has become a luxury to cook comfortably. Especially people who live in rental places and keep switching places. Cookmate offers a flexible way of cooking with minimal reliance on the kitchen. The neat integration of utensils like a fry pan and saucepan all in one package along with the heating induction element makes it versatile for cooking in compact spaces. Through research, it was made possible to design a product that can toast bread, make dosa, gravies, and rice all in one single product. It covers the food for your entire day. With utensils, ladle, and heating unit all packed in one compact package makes it a great choice for tiny spaces. Cookmate is a product to rekindle the joy of cooking even in smaller space
This years’ theme for the Open Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate. Innovate. Captivate.”
This category is open to design professionals, teachers, thinkers and design enthusiasts. The Open Category will consider original, conceptual work that is in keeping with the above theme. Entrants are welcome to interpret the theme in accordance with their understanding of the challenges of designing for a better tomorrow.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
Drishyam
View SubmissionDrishyam is our effort towards an inclusive world. Visually impaired people are often excluded and alienated from the rest of society due to their handicap. And this alienation can happen within families too when one of the family members loses his or her vision due to an accident or a medical condition. Such people who would have gone on to live a normal lives, are all of a sudden subjected to a great handicap. Coupled with the alienation that occurs, they can get into depression and mental health issues. Board games are generally loved by people of all ages and social backgrounds. They are great tools for learning, socialising, and enjoying leisure time. Unfortunately, there are many games that are not adapted for the blind or people with low vision. For children, It is well-acknowledged that board games are great tools to learn mathematical concepts, abstract and strategic thinking. They help develop arithmetic skills and logical thinking and improve cognitive skills such as memory, focus, and attention. Playing board games in a team improves self-control and regulation skills and teaches children patience and tolerance. We have a design concept called ‘Drishyam’, a version of Braille Scrabble. Our vision is to have Drishyam, bridge this gap between the visually impaired and a normal person by having them engage with each other in a board game thereby improving inclusivity in the society. This could be a visually impaired grandparent playing with a grandchild, two adult friends playing with each other, children in a visually impaired school learn and improve their cognitive skills etc.. The possibilities are endless. The Product comprises of alphabet chips with braille alphabets alongside a normal alphabet. The visually impaired person can use his tactile abilities to read the letter while the normal person can see the printed letter. The score on each alphabet is indicated by a shape and the scoring board allows for both the participants to score. The rest of the game follows the same.
India has a large majority of people who rely on their craft making skills to earn a living. The handicraft industry is a big contributor to India’s GDP and employs millions of people. The Award for Design for Craft seeks to acknowledge designers who work with craftspeople and crafts collectives to help create products/services that in turn help craftspeople improve their skills and design abilities and simultaneously opens up new sources of income for them.
Rafiq Ni Sujani
View SubmissionSujani is hand woven quilt from Bharuch, Gujarat. Its a stuffed double cloth where pockets are made by interchanging warp and weft and the cotton is stuffed inside it during weaving. Rafiq Bhai belongs to the Sujaniwalas of Bharuch. He is currently the last artisan who has the last traditional loom where two artisans sit on either sides and throw the 2 shuttle alternately to weave. The loom has 8 shafts and 2 sets of 8 pedals are there where both the artisans need coordination to weave. The cotton to stuff picked by hand has a standard amount and they are practised to do it swiftly. There were 3 families who used to practice this craft but almost everyone has moved on to a different occupation around 30 years ago due to poor sales. Rafiq bhai and his family have been struggling to keep the craft alive. Rafiq bhai , Ameen Bhai (Rafiq bhai’s brother) and Famitha (Rafiq Bhai’s wife’s sister) are the only weavers left in their family and take shifts to sit in the loom to weave. This collection "Rafiq Ni Sujani" is about making the quilts one of the kind, a free flow in weaving and co-creating with artisan’s design sensibilities. We included surface techniques to the quilts to make it one of a kind textile. The goal of this project was to keep the craft intact, encourage and give employment to artisans and to bring global attention to sujani Quilts.
The Award for Eco-Innovation seeks to recognize designs, products, and processes that contribute to the creation of a sustainable environment. This can include ideas ranging from environment-friendly technological advances to socially acceptable innovative paths towards a sustainable future.
SunHarvested CoolRooms
View SubmissionAll along the winding road of the Nilgiri Hills, my head held a whirlpool of thoughts, wondering how I could a smile on the faces of those tribal farmers I knew, so well. The most important one being my mothers. Initial months were invested, on secondary research figuring why harvested grains, fruits and vegetables, rot. Related to this need for refrigeration, nature inspired me to mimic its magic to save Mother Earth from excessive refrigeration-related effluents that deplete its ozone layer. As a science student based in Chennai, I observed that day temperatures soar to 45°C+ but magically, evenings become windy & cool due to convection currents. I replicated this process in the working model of a Draft Tube made of aluminium lined wooden tray, phase change material and arched glass cover. It was attached to a brick room and an exhaust chimney. The tray filled with phase change material absorbed the heat of the sun to create convection currents facilitating wind movement from the environment into the room. To dehumidify the enclosure desiccants were used and to facilitate evaporative cooling khus was used. This ‘SunHarvested CoolRooms’ can be used to extend shelf-life of perishable agri-produce, thus assuring food security, farmer prosperity etc. This grid-less mechanism can also be used to cool places of entertainment, health, storage like granaries.
LDAI 2023 Jury chairperson - This year, the jury evaluated and considered all the entries in the category of product design, textile design, lifestyle accessory design, and furniture design. After much deliberation the jury decided not to award a trophy for these categories. The Lexus Design Award India and ADI team thank everyone for their participation and sincerely expect all designers continue pushing themselves and striving for excellence. We look forward to your entires next year.
The Matlab
View SubmissionIt is currently visualized for craftsmen artisans and designers but we welcome any potential individuals with Ideas-who want to realize it, Individuals with problems–trying to find solutions, and people with Resources–trying to find opportunities. The matlab attracts users through the Local Craft Directory, Material and makers inventory, periodic Exhibitions and events, etc. It enables problem-solving and prototyping, Design build and fabrication, research and development, Networking and knowledge sharing, and intercultural discussions and conversations. The resources are scavenged from the local region and an inventory of material samples, and a material bank is set up. There will be no more local materials. Materials are available everywhere to everyone. The regenerative generation who will be more aware of the product lifecycle, depending on the needs, will source material from the material library based on the various assessments. Hybrid models are developed as an outcome of this intimate collaboration and cross-cultural conversations. Interbreeding of local with global occurs, which generates exaggerated polymorphism of objects(Forms, elements, parts, systems). The physical space is set up across the country from remote rural to cosmopolitan urban areas and supported by an online platform.
Inclusive Communication Mediums for Deafblind Person
View SubmissionAn Inclusive Communication Medium for people with Deaf blindness also known as Multiple Sensory Impairment. Representing between 0.02% to 0.2% of the population, people with Multiple Sensory Impairment-MSI, also known as deafblindness, are a massively under-represented part of society. This condition often develops from prenatal malnutrition and other biological factors. As a result, most individuals hail from the poor and unemployed, belonging to lower educational & socio-cultural backgrounds. Deafblindness develops an additional barrier to communicating and accessing information across various platforms. The person requires specialized physical assistance and tactile interaction for communication and accessing information. Also, the knowledge of tactile sign languages and an understanding of braille scripts is essential to successfully communicate with a deafblind person. Learning through braille is one of the most crucial parts of the educational curriculum for Visually Impaired-VI and MSI students. Braille is an effective way to read and write; it also provides access to information. Considering the fast flow of information in the digital world and having braille script as a medium to access information for VI and MSI person, the project focuses on bridging the communication gap and improving the affordance of information for deafblind people to achieve a stable lifestyle. Figuring out a successful braille input and output mechanism, with smooth interaction of pressing a button to receive tactile braille, was the primary attempt of prototyping. Further, the mechanism was developed with specially manufactured springs, a tension spring, and the rope wire, with customized buttons and braille outputs. The prototype is agronomically designed for two-way communication between a person with deafblindness as well as visual impairment.
Inclusive Communication Mediums for Deafblind Person
View SubmissionAn Inclusive Communication Medium for people with Deaf blindness also known as Multiple Sensory Impairment. Representing between 0.02% to 0.2% of the population, people with Multiple Sensory Impairment-MSI, also known as deafblindness, are a massively under-represented part of society. This condition often develops from prenatal malnutrition and other biological factors. As a result, most individuals hail from the poor and unemployed, belonging to lower educational & socio-cultural backgrounds. Deafblindness develops an additional barrier to communicating and accessing information across various platforms. The person requires specialized physical assistance and tactile interaction for communication and accessing information. Also, the knowledge of tactile sign languages and an understanding of braille scripts is essential to successfully communicate with a deafblind person. Learning through braille is one of the most crucial parts of the educational curriculum for Visually Impaired-VI and MSI students. Braille is an effective way to read and write; it also provides access to information. Considering the fast flow of information in the digital world and having braille script as a medium to access information for VI and MSI person, the project focuses on bridging the communication gap and improving the affordance of information for deafblind people to achieve a stable lifestyle. Figuring out a successful braille input and output mechanism, with smooth interaction of pressing a button to receive tactile braille, was the primary attempt of prototyping. Further, the mechanism was developed with specially manufactured springs, a tension spring, and the rope wire, with customized buttons and braille outputs. The prototype is agronomically designed for two-way communication between a person with deafblindness as well as visual impairment.
Click on each category to view the details
This years’ theme for the Student Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate, Innovate, Captivate”.
This category will consider original works of a conceptual nature by students who are currently enrolled in design schools across India. All entries submitted in this category must be in accordance with the above theme.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
This years’ theme for the Open Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate. Innovate. Captivate.”
This category is open to design professionals, teachers, thinkers and design enthusiasts. The Open Category will consider original, conceptual work that is in keeping with the above theme. Entrants are welcome to interpret the theme in accordance with their understanding of the challenges of designing for a better tomorrow.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
Click on each category to view the details
This includes all products and product systems that are designed for use by end consumers and intended for mass manufacture. This includes (but is not limited to) consumer appliances, consumer electronics, and products for home and office. This award will not consider product designs that are intended as one-offs or artistic installations. This category includes all types of products except automobiles and automobile related design.
This will include all design work that uses textiles and fabrics as an integral part of the design project. This category includes textiles for use by the apparel industry, the home furnishing industry, and other allied business that use textiles as an integral part of a product experience.
The award for Lifestyle Accessory design will consider (but is not limited to) the design of jewellery, personal accessories, bags, luggage, footwear, clothing, lighting, interior objects and other lifestyle associated products. Like all the other award categories, this award will consider only those entries that are intended for mass or batch manufacture. This award will not consider designs intended as one-offs or custom-made pieces.
This award will recognize the best design work in furniture and products intended for use in residential or commercial interiors. Here again, the design work must be intended for mass manufacture and end-user consumption. This includes (but not limited to) seating systems, office systems, home furniture and lighting. Custom built retail interior design that is location specific and intended as a one-off will not be considered.
India has a large majority of people who rely on their craft making skills to earn a living. The handicraft industry is a big contributor to India’s GDP and employs millions of people. The Award for Design for Craft seeks to acknowledge designers who work with craftspeople and crafts collectives to help create products/services that in turn help craftspeople improve their skills and design abilities and simultaneously opens up new sources of income for them.
The Award for Eco-Innovation seeks to recognize designs, products, and processes that contribute to the creation of a sustainable environment. This can include ideas ranging from environment-friendly technological advances to socially acceptable innovative paths towards a sustainable future.
Click on each category to view the details
This years’ theme for the Student Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate, Innovate, Captivate”.
This category will consider original works of a conceptual nature by students who are currently enrolled in design schools across India. All entries submitted in this category must be in accordance with the above theme.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
This years’ theme for the Open Category is “Design For a Better Tomorrow – Anticipate. Innovate. Captivate.”
This category is open to design professionals, teachers, thinkers and design enthusiasts. The Open Category will consider original, conceptual work that is in keeping with the above theme. Entrants are welcome to interpret the theme in accordance with their understanding of the challenges of designing for a better tomorrow.
Entries submitted in this category must be industrial design ideas, concepts and explorations that attempt to embody the values of innovation, sustainability, usability, aesthetic refinement and industrial craftsmanship.
Click on each category to view the details
This includes all products and product systems that are designed for use by end consumers and intended for mass manufacture. This includes (but is not limited to) consumer appliances, consumer electronics, and products for home and office. This award will not consider product designs that are intended as one-offs or artistic installations. This category includes all types of products except automobiles and automobile related design.
This will include all design work that uses textiles and fabrics as an integral part of the design project. This category includes textiles for use by the apparel industry, the home furnishing industry, and other allied business that use textiles as an integral part of a product experience.
The award for Lifestyle Accessory design will consider (but is not limited to) the design of jewellery, personal accessories, bags, luggage, footwear, clothing, lighting, interior objects and other lifestyle associated products. Like all the other award categories, this award will consider only those entries that are intended for mass or batch manufacture. This award will not consider designs intended as one-offs or custom-made pieces.
This award will recognize the best design work in furniture and products intended for use in residential or commercial interiors. Here again, the design work must be intended for mass manufacture and end-user consumption. This includes (but not limited to) seating systems, office systems, home furniture and lighting. Custom built retail interior design that is location specific and intended as a one-off will not be considered.
India has a large majority of people who rely on their craft making skills to earn a living. The handicraft industry is a big contributor to India’s GDP and employs millions of people. The Award for Design for Craft seeks to acknowledge designers who work with craftspeople and crafts collectives to help create products/services that in turn help craftspeople improve their skills and design abilities and simultaneously opens up new sources of income for them.
The Award for Eco-Innovation seeks to recognize designs, products, and processes that contribute to the creation of a sustainable environment. This can include ideas ranging from environment-friendly technological advances to socially acceptable innovative paths towards a sustainable future.
Click on each category to view the details
This includes all products and product systems that are designed for use by end consumers and intended for mass manufacture. This includes (but is not limited to) consumer appliances, consumer electronics, and products for home and office. This award will not consider product designs that are intended as one-offs or artistic installations. This category includes all types of products except automobiles and automobile related design.
Companion
View SubmissionCompanion is a concept bag that is multipurpose for travelers as it follows the circular design philosophy. During the research, I observed that travel is of no use when kept at home. They usually are kept on the top of the cupboard until and unless we use them while traveling. It takes up space, the material gets deteriorated eventually affecting the life of the bag. I followed the circular design philosophy to design this product and tested it with some monster prototypes and 3D visualization.
Library Pod
View SubmissionIt all started with my father, saying when there is bus stops in each village then there should be a library stop too.” This is the vision shared by our patron, an artist Rajshri Deshpande. She is also the founder of Nabhangan foundation. The design conceived as Knowledge pod. A place to learn, contemplate & play all around. Pod has potential to form communal space, where villagers with diverse age can gather, accomplish the reading habit and also a perfect setting for storytellers too. A deliberate attempt to insert the library pod within the existing rural school & our intent is to shape it as part of the school & surrounding. Pod amidst existing rain tree, pipal tree and also encircled by graffiti art works created by local artist & students. It creates the colourful and shaded foreground. This inserted library pod serves as the two parallel worlds, A one being introverted book shelf & other as vibrant scribble or black board. Book shelf positioned to create intimate seating possibilities with existing steps around and rubber wood bench as part of the pod. The large overhang serves the purpose for seating area. Black board oriented towards larger shaded open space, Creates the place under shade to serve as outdoor classroom. A backdrop for early morning gatherings & lunch time play activities. Library pod Insert accomplishes the multifaceted activities for students and villagers.
Mission Mangal Yug Board Game
View SubmissionMission Mangal Yug is a futuristic space-age board game that helps kids and adults experience interplanetary missions. It educates the players about science, the difficulties of such space programs which also involves multiple success and failures, and space exploration planning. The game is intended to be the first release, with advanced versions coming later, elevating it to the level of the board game community. The game is played simultaneously on 2 boards enhancing the idea of interplanetary space travel. The game combines competitive gaming with entertaining learning. The dice-based play on earth is inspired by scientific facts. The gameplay on Mars is tactical where one must compete, visualize future moves and anticipate opponent moves, and build a complete colony, here the resources become the currency for trading and building assets. This board game is designed and made in India, using earth-friendly paper-based boards, cards, and packaging manufactured with advanced technology. The key feature of the game is handcrafted rockets, assets, and pegs made by artisans of Channa Patna using traditional turned lacquer ware techniques and are colored using natural dyes and are eco-friendly and child safe. They are made using locally available soft wood called Ale Mara and uses natural lacquer and vegetable dyes like turmeric, spinach and indigo.
Sleefe
View SubmissionSleefe is a specialised Internet of Things device that enables fast, accurate, and hands-free Video Calling, video recording, scanning without requiring any significant changes in user behaviour. It slides over to any cap/visor/bump cap and converts it into smart cap. Dual cameras with an ultra-wide Field of View are integrated, along with stereo speakers, 4G+LTE connectivity, GPS, an incredibly long battery life, IP 65 protection, and four programmable touch sensors. Based on business requirements, Sleefe provides on-board computing and AI algorithms with real-time access to the main backend dashboard. The sleefe was initially developed as a product to connect with users' one-way live video feeds, but as industrial use cases for things like food delivery, pilferage detection, POV video recording, on-site scanning, document capture, etc. proliferated, there was a significant increase in demand for the product. In accordance with industry requirements, the product is made to be strong and long-lasting. The material chosen for the application is Polycarbonate due to its high strength and industry acceptance. In terms of aesthetics, the product is unique due to its form. The mounting position gives it a very stable feed without 3D first person view fatigue and makes it quite comfortable to wear. Thanks to its mounting location above the neck, it imitates the motion of a gimbal.
Zella Immersion Water Heater
View SubmissionZella immersion water heater addressed and resolved the problems related to installation challenges, safety hazards, storage difficulties, minimum heat control, and etc. - Ease of installation: The immersion water heaters (portable) need support to immerse the heating element in the bucket of water to heat it. Zella has flaps that open 90 degrees outwards to expose the heating element to water, and the flaps sit on any size of bucket’s(16-25L) rim to hold on to the middle of the bucket to provide uniform & quick heat. - Safe usage: The flaps keep the bucket safe from the heating element when installed. When the flaps are closed completely, it leaves no heating element exposed, and the smart switch will cut the power until the flaps are open completely. Clearance between the high heat resistant flaps and the heating element keeps the flap safe from melting. - Sensible Storage: Zella can be stored safely anywhere by just closing the flaps. And the flap allows wrapping the cord around to store when the heating element is hot. Zella's minimal footprint provides freedom to place anywhere in any position. - Temperature control: Zella has a temperature setting knob that allows controlling the temperature of water based on the needs. Auto cut-off shuts the electric power to the heating coil when the water reaches the desired temperature. The indicator on the top communicates the heating state.
This will include all design work that uses textiles and fabrics as an integral part of the design project. This category includes textiles for use by the apparel industry, the home furnishing industry, and other allied business that use textiles as an integral part of a product experience.
Aankade
View SubmissionAankade is a contemporary women's wear collection created by developing hand-woven fabric with Silk and Banana yarns. The surface of the fabric is hand painted and dyed with natural colors using Ajrakh craft techniques. There are seven styles with prints. 1. Concept: The concept behind the print development was to use real-life smartphone usage data from people and convert it into an interesting graphical representation. 2. Fabric Weaving Technique: The fabric is developed on handloom using Banana yarn in the weft and Silk in the warp. Plain, twill, and zig-zag twill weave were three weave variations woven. It resulted in interesting fabric fall, shine, and dye intake. 3. Fabric Printing: Handwoven banana silk fabric was processed through several stages of Ajrakh craft to create prints and dying of fabric. All the graphical representations were hand painted with natural colors and resist of Ajrakh. 4. Theme: The idea behind the theme aankade is to create awareness regarding smartphone usage. There was a sharp rise in the usage of smartphones during the covid period, and it made smartphones a necessary companion to deal with all sorts of situations. Things slowly went back to normal, but smartphone usage habits remained, and smartphone still consumes lots of time. Being mindful we can convert this overuse of phones to something useful like talking to our parents or our kids, planting a tree, or doing anything which can bring change in our lives.
Crafting Intangibles
View SubmissionCrafting Intangibles brings together a project resulting from an amalgamation of locally sourced materials, manual weaving on handloom, and some advanced materials and technology to create an artefact that is neither a piece of art nor a piece of technology when seen in isolation. The artefact exists in a symbiotic relationship with the people around it. The technology and cultural symbolism of the Bhujodi motifs create an audio-scape that completely transforms every being that experiences it. We have woven an aesthetically pleasing and functional fabric-digital music synthesiser. The project uses the fabric's all-natural, locally sourced 'Kala cotton' (translation: Black cotton). Chill wood is used for the frames, all hand crafted. The symbols represent the local culture of the 'Bhuj-Kutch' region of India, where the weavers community has lived for hundreds of years in sync with nature. We bring together these elements of culture and natural material. With our research into weaving, we have fused relevant electronics to create an E-textile artefact that makes a direct, tactile encounter with the audience and opens up new social spaces when exhibited. One of the main highlights of our project is that except for some electronics rest of the process is built using locally sourced natural materials and is entirely built using hands in a very scalable process. Thus, we present a very ecological approach to building functional, simple, and aesthetically beautiful E-textiles.
THE SPEECH OF ANGELS
View SubmissionThomas Carlyle likened music to “the speech of angels.” We see Indian classical musicians as angels for the transcendence we experience in the expression of their art. In both practice and rendition, our master musicians have helped forge our connection with the eternal in their own quest for the sound that is God, Nada Brahma. In the true syncretic spirit of the Indian musical tradition, this joyful raag durbar unites Hindustani with Carnatic, the shehnai and nadaswaram, voice and instrument. Original illustrations have been painstakingly created in a style that echoes both Kalighat paintings and the stylized figures of Jamini Roy. Each character has a distinct personality even as they play in consonance with the others. The collection is sustainably printed using the digital process which allows us to print-to-order, generating very little waste, as compared to the hundreds of metres per design that rotary processes require. Digital printing is far more sustainable by every important parameter: raw materials, use of dyes (Azo-free, GOTS certified and meet Inditex ‘Clear to Wear’ criteria), consumables and, most importantly, consumption of water and electricity.
zero to iro iro
View SubmissionDecolonising our bodies and mindscapes, the collection evokes discovering and reclaiming aspects of the Self by finding and joining the puzzle pieces of our identities to find a story within. We reclaim the space of abstract art as we take inspiration from tantric art, a geometrical and spiritual art-from indigenous to Rajasthan. The pieces are playful and kindle childlike curiosity in the wearer, challenging them to decipher their true selves in uncharted territories. They are designed to instil a spirit of investigation into our bodies, hearts and psyche to find our one true home- our sanctuary- within and without.
The award for Lifestyle Accessory design will consider (but is not limited to) the design of jewellery, personal accessories, bags, luggage, footwear, clothing, lighting, interior objects and other lifestyle associated products. Like all the other award categories, this award will consider only those entries that are intended for mass or batch manufacture. This award will not consider designs intended as one-offs or custom-made pieces.
Indu
View SubmissionIndu, waxing and waning; goes from a table lamp to a night lamp, the moving brass shade modulating the mood. Indu has a base carved out of reclaimed teak wood, its minimal form displaying the majestic wooden grains. A moon-like glass globe sits on this base, with a hand-bent curved brass shade. The brass shade fits into a groove in the wooden base, encircling one hemisphere of the globe, leaving the other half open. When lit, the unshaded globe throws an ambient warm light. As the brass shade is rotated along the groove, it covers the light globe. The warm light becomes softer, bouncing off the brass, illuminating with a subtle golden glow.
MIZALA Planters
View SubmissionThe Mughal Era can be described as the era of grandeur and splendor, and it heralded the beginning of a unique Indo-Islamic style of architecture Abstracting cues from the Mughal era and blending it in the contemporary senses, we introduce a new collection of Planters to bring home the best of both worlds. MIZALA – which in Arabic means an umbrella, is inspired by art and motifs of the Mughal era. This collection of characteristic planters has a rich feel and focuses on essential design. Entire range is handcrafted by the kaarigars of the Pital Nagri (Brass city) of India- Moradabad. Design is a fusion materials like Stainless Steel, iron and Aluminum. After lot of exploration, each design is meticulously created by the local skilled artisans. Collection has a distinctive blend of various metal working techniques like, metal casting, hand forming, drawing, etching etc. Mizala Planters lend plants a place to be enjoyed in their full glory. These hanging planters maximize space for greens while being a piece of art themselves!
QQ's Jute Eyewear
View SubmissionThe limitations of our wooden and jean eyewear drove us to explore more natural materials that could help us achieve something that will ultimately have a greater impact through greater reach, at a greater speed and in a meaningful manner. That brought us to Jute - a strong durable natural fibre, that is easily accessible (ease of harvesting) and affordable for all. Our passion for upcycling helped us create our first jute eyewear using waste jute fabric, where in due course we started sourcing it from artisans in Andhra Pradesh, to ensure we create an eyewear that ticks off global standards. The jute eyewear was born during our toughest, roughest days - and hence just like a roughened jute, gets stronger and better - we too commit ourselves to that. With the pandemic, we launched the jute eyewear in an exhibition in Milan - the fashion capital of the world, their acceptance was our first win. Specifications: Jute Eyewear Dimensions (mm): Small 49-17-140; Medium 52-17-140mm; Large 52-19-140 ; Weight (med): 27g (23g w/l) Material : Jute fabric is solidified using traditional techniques of gluing 8-11 layers of jute and compressing them for absolute strength and durability. Built with SS spacers & hinges, the temples are made of sustainably sourced acetate and shot with metal wire for stability. A layer of beauty certified skin-friendly enamel is used to make it water & scratch resistant,. The nose pad is handcrafted, designed for comfort. A desired bend is achieved by hot-cool process.
Raincloud
View SubmissionWe envisioned a soft floating cloud breaking into fragmented cirrus clouds on either side. Stark, long brass lines cut through the clouds in a flurry of rain and flickers of light shine through the clouds. Inspired by the indomitable style of Gustav Klimt, this piece is gilded, full of irregular circular shapes and with a surprising amount of detail visible at every turn. Titled ‘ Raincloud’ , this large light installation floats in the centre of the space creating a surreal experience for the viewer.
Stardust
View SubmissionWe all agree that nothing is more beautiful than dancing under a sky full of stars. The idea behind our project Stardust was to emulate the open skies and a starry night and bring our dreams to reality. The aim was to be able to give people the impression they were dining and dancing under a sky full of stars. It was a large-scale project – 1000 sq ft composed of 24 chandeliers and 2400 glass globes, all automated to dim and brighten as per the requirement. The inspiration was derived from a structure of icosahedron and glass clusters forming a starry constellation. Each cluster size was up to approx. 36 x 36 “with two different sizes of glass balls in the hues of amber and light yellow. The biggest challenge in the project was to have a complete automation system installed to control the light and have it as per the client’s preference. Creative visualization along with effective coordination with various technical teams is what led to the successful implementation of this project.
This award will recognize the best design work in furniture and products intended for use in residential or commercial interiors. Here again, the design work must be intended for mass manufacture and end-user consumption. This includes (but not limited to) seating systems, office systems, home furniture and lighting. Custom built retail interior design that is location specific and intended as a one-off will not be considered.
Animal
View SubmissionThe animal resembles a monolith sculpture in the urban environment of contemporary institutional and public spaces, inviting the user in with curiosity and awe. It is designed to be a transient work space enabling quick virtual meeting outdoors or sitting down to write down some notes in the common areas. The furniture's form, which resembles an animal, was created through a subtractive exercise on a solid cuboid, in which volume was systematically eliminated from the outside in to make room for the form of a person seated in a working position. The animal is designed to be made with the rotational moulding process in post-industrial high-density poly-ethylene[HDPE] making it completely hollow with a wall thickness of not more than 5mm. In addition to contributing to the furniture's sculptural appeal, the "animal's" free-flowing form makes it possible to manufacture it using a rotational moulding process, that makes it simple for molten plastic to flow within the mould. To evaluate the ergonomics and form of the furniture during prototyping, the furniture was originally built in thermocol at a true scale. The seat's curvature was then lightly adjusted. The thermocol mock-up was then used as a pattern to create a fibreglass mould, which was used to create the final fibreglass prototype. Fiberglass was chosen for prototyping because it enables us to create hollow forms and mimic the results of the rotational moulding process. The wall thickness of the fibreglass prototype is 4 to 5 mm.
FOLD RANGE
View SubmissionJuxtaposing forms and materials, the FOLD series draws inspiration from paper geometry & visuals of aeroplanes flying in the sky. A double nod to the modernist architecture of the famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. The structures are composed of solid aluminium sheets bent to iconic sculptural frames marked by clean lines and great detailing. Upcycled metal, wood and fabric FOLD together to unFOLD a sculptural yet surprisingly comfortable range of furniture for a cosy lounging experience.
MELD CHAIR
View SubmissionThe Meld Chair is a ready-to-build flat-pack sling chair. The concept was to make a piece of furniture that interacts and adapts to the user. The material used for the chair, teakwood and leather, can last up to 10 years. The chair is manufactured in small batches through traditional methods of carpentry such as chiseling, lathe work and hand planing. No nails or screws have been used. Traditional joineries like tenon-mortise, dowel or external draw-pin joint are used to construct flat pieces that can compactly fit in a flat box. Moreover, to ameliorate the compactness, facilitate easy storage and minimise wastage, each part of the chair is of bespoke size, including tolerances. The haptic nature of leather combined with canvas creates a cocoon that wraps around a user’s sitting posture. The leather sling that cascades smoothly over the joints is made of non-toxic chrome-tanned leather. A cotton canvas is sewn to the rear end of the leather to reduce its elasticity and render in durable.
Stardust
View SubmissionWe all agree that nothing is more beautiful than dancing under a sky full of stars. The idea behind our project Stardust was to emulate the open skies and a starry night and bring our dreams to reality. The aim was to be able to give people the impression they were dining and dancing under a sky full of stars. It was a large-scale project – 1000 sq ft composed of 24 chandeliers and 2400 glass globes, all automated to dim and brighten as per the requirement. The inspiration was derived from a structure of icosahedron and glass clusters forming a starry constellation. Each cluster size was up to approx. 36 x 36 “with two different sizes of glass balls in the hues of amber and light yellow. The biggest challenge in the project was to have a complete automation system installed to control the light and have it as per the client’s preference. Creative visualization along with effective coordination with various technical teams is what led to the successful implementation of this project.
The Snap Swing
View SubmissionThe snap swing is an attempt at reinventing the idea of a swing. Traditionally, we have known swings to be used in a particular manner irrespective of its context- whether one is swinging in a park as a child or inside a house / on a porch or in the middle of a forest on a hammock. The idea is to always face in one direction with your back facing the other and swing by applying force in the opposite. This piece is an intervention within this idea of a swing. Why must one face only one direction while swinging? Can a swing become a furniture piece that enables conversations irrespective of its directions and context? The snap swing is designed with its armrests and backrests being modular in nature thus allowing the user to choose how they would want to configure it while swinging? One can snap the backrest in a manner to face any desired direction and similarly move the armrests also. It also enables various seating positions while avoiding visual barriers as required. This piece also becomes a human- interactive furniture piece where the user is empowered to consume/alter the piece as desired.
India has a large majority of people who rely on their craft making skills to earn a living. The handicraft industry is a big contributor to India’s GDP and employs millions of people. The Award for Design for Craft seeks to acknowledge designers who work with craftspeople and crafts collectives to help create products/services that in turn help craftspeople improve their skills and design abilities and simultaneously opens up new sources of income for them.
Rafiq Ni Sujani
View SubmissionSujani is hand woven quilt from Bharuch, Gujarat. Its a stuffed double cloth where pockets are made by interchanging warp and weft and the cotton is stuffed inside it during weaving. Rafiq Bhai belongs to the Sujaniwalas of Bharuch. He is currently the last artisan who has the last traditional loom where two artisans sit on either sides and throw the 2 shuttle alternately to weave. The loom has 8 shafts and 2 sets of 8 pedals are there where both the artisans need coordination to weave. The cotton to stuff picked by hand has a standard amount and they are practised to do it swiftly. There were 3 families who used to practice this craft but almost everyone has moved on to a different occupation around 30 years ago due to poor sales. Rafiq bhai and his family have been struggling to keep the craft alive. Rafiq bhai , Ameen Bhai (Rafiq bhai’s brother) and Famitha (Rafiq Bhai’s wife’s sister) are the only weavers left in their family and take shifts to sit in the loom to weave. This collection "Rafiq Ni Sujani" is about making the quilts one of the kind, a free flow in weaving and co-creating with artisan’s design sensibilities. We included surface techniques to the quilts to make it one of a kind textile. The goal of this project was to keep the craft intact, encourage and give employment to artisans and to bring global attention to sujani Quilts.
ROVEATAL Flute
View SubmissionROVESTAL flute is a problem solving design which making the task of blowing sound easier. In this design no need of angle adjustment of the mouth on the blowing hole. This small change in sound chamber going to give big output to the Craftsperson flute selling because this evolution is making task easier as well as comfortable. Also it can manufactured through waste bamboo because my all mock-up ideation & prototype made out of waste bamboo, which Craftsperson can also applies. Problem statement as per flute user :- Producing sound from Bansuri is not easy for the user because they have to placed the mouth in proper angle to produce a sound & a minute difference in mouth angle give a big difference in output, which makes it uncomfortable to the user. Material used :- Bamboo Soft Wood Copper Manufacturing process :- Chiseling, filing, cutting USP(user selling point) Very easy to blow the sound without thinking about the angle Vessel make the task easier and more effective than normal baswari mechanism 360° degree rotatable mouth piece About the product :- (Instrument family- flute wood wind instrument) A bansuri is an ancient side blown flute originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is an aerophone produced from bamboo, used in Hindustani classical music. It is referred to as nadi and tunava in the Rigveda and other Vedic texts of Hinduism.
Stardust
View SubmissionWe all agree that nothing is more beautiful than dancing under a sky full of stars. The idea behind our project Stardust was to emulate the open skies and a starry night and bring our dreams to reality. The aim was to be able to give people the impression they were dining and dancing under a sky full of stars. It was a large-scale project – 1000 sq ft composed of 24 chandeliers and 2400 glass globes, all automated to dim and brighten as per the requirement. The inspiration was derived from a structure of icosahedron and glass clusters forming a starry constellation. Each cluster size was up to approx. 36 x 36 “with two different sizes of glass balls in the hues of amber and light yellow. The biggest challenge in the project was to have a complete automation system installed to control the light and have it as per the client’s preference. Creative visualisation along with effective coordination with various technical teams is what led to the successful implementation of this project.
Stick Figure Chair
View SubmissionThe three-legged chair is made of rattan with a diameter of 35mm. It consists of four rattan components that are held together by fasteners as opposed to the traditional method of tying it up with rattan ropes. This enables the chair to be disassembled and shipped flat-packed. The form is inspired by a stick figure drawing of a person sitting and resting their arms on their knees. One common issue with rattan furniture is its volume since it is assembled by the craftsperson resulting in shipping problems. This chair is an experimental attempt to look at rattan as a material that can be knock-down and flat-packed. This would benefit the craftspersons and it enables more people to buy the products due to lower shipping costs.
Vzorvie
View SubmissionWe desired to cause a revolution and to contribute to the ever-evolving design world by introducing a classic yet completely new type of veneer to innovate for the designers. Elanwood is all about the creation of this versatile material which makes use of humble wood as its base. Years of exploration has led to this incredible discovery, and we have contained it in the form of veneers to maximize its applications and make it highly resourceful. Hand craft dominates the majority of the production process and uses high quality Blatic Birch Plywood to create veneers of intricate patterns and styles that feature hand crafted immaculate joinery and can be further processed to create a wide variety of products. From furniture to food grade products and from office utility items to home decor, the possibilities are endless. The imagination seems to be the threshold at which the limitation of this material ends. With innovation and creativity at its core, our veneers are a ground-breaking discovery in this modern world of ingenuity. Our vision extends far and wide to include multiple domains and dimensions of the design world and beyond. It is meant to broaden the horizon of woodcraft designs and maybe dawn a new era to the world.
Cardboard Stool
View SubmissionWith a motive to incorporate sustainability in our daily life choices, we made sure that all our products are not only eco-friendly but also pocket friendly. Our stools are strong, water resistant and lightweight. The seating structure is made of a multi layered corrugated cardboard with a water resistant lamination made from tapioca starch that repels liquid substances and can be easily wiped off leaving no stains behind. The product is 100% recyclable. The substructures consist two sections of 5 ply AB flute corrugated cardboard that Join without the use of any fasteners. The weight is evenly distributed and it can support up to 300 kgs. The stool comes as a flat pack in a box with guidelines on how to assemble it and the user gets to assemble their own stool. This D.I.Y project creates a feeling of self-accomplishment and drives them to make more sustainable choices. Made out of recycled paper, easy to assemble and take apart, our stools are ideal for everything and everywhere from your office space to your study space, from camping to picnic dates. Pack them up and take them on the go! The manufacturing process is very fast and with the capacity that we have right now, we can manufacture 1Lakh units/day. Leading to a better and sustainable future.
SunHarvested CoolRooms
View SubmissionAll along the winding road of the Nilgiri Hills, my head held a whirlpool of thoughts, wondering how I could a smile on the faces of those tribal farmers I knew, so well. The most important one being my mothers. Initial months were invested, on secondary research figuring why harvested grains, fruits and vegetables, rot. Related to this need for refrigeration, nature inspired me to mimic its magic to save Mother Earth from excessive refrigeration-related effluents that deplete its ozone layer. As a science student based in Chennai, I observed that day temperatures soar to 45°C+ but magically, evenings become windy & cool due to convection currents. I replicated this process in the working model of a Draft Tube made of aluminium lined wooden tray, phase change material and arched glass cover. It was attached to a brick room and an exhaust chimney. The tray filled with phase change material absorbed the heat of the sun to create convection currents facilitating wind movement from the environment into the room. To dehumidify the enclosure desiccants were used and to facilitate evaporative cooling khus was used. This ‘SunHarvested CoolRooms’ can be used to extend shelf-life of perishable agri-produce, thus assuring food security, farmer prosperity etc. This grid-less mechanism can also be used to cool places of entertainment, health, storage like granaries.
Upcycled Handcrafted Products made from discarded single use plastic
View Submission
Inclusive Communication Mediums for Deafblind Person
View SubmissionAn Inclusive Communication Medium for people with Deaf blindness also known as Multiple Sensory Impairment. Representing between 0.02% to 0.2% of the population, people with Multiple Sensory Impairment-MSI, also known as deafblindness, are a massively under-represented part of society. This condition often develops from prenatal malnutrition and other biological factors. As a result, most individuals hail from the poor and unemployed, belonging to lower educational & socio-cultural backgrounds. Deafblindness develops an additional barrier to communicating and accessing information across various platforms. The person requires specialized physical assistance and tactile interaction for communication and accessing information. Also, the knowledge of tactile sign languages and an understanding of braille scripts is essential to successfully communicate with a deafblind person. Learning through braille is one of the most crucial parts of the educational curriculum for Visually Impaired-VI and MSI students. Braille is an effective way to read and write; it also provides access to information. Considering the fast flow of information in the digital world and having braille script as a medium to access information for VI and MSI person, the project focuses on bridging the communication gap and improving the affordance of information for deafblind people to achieve a stable lifestyle. Figuring out a successful braille input and output mechanism, with smooth interaction of pressing a button to receive tactile braille, was the primary attempt of prototyping. Further, the mechanism was developed with specially manufactured springs, a tension spring, and the rope wire, with customized buttons and braille outputs. The prototype is agronomically designed for two-way communication between a person with deafblindness as well as visual impairment.
Drishyam
View SubmissionDrishyam is our effort towards an inclusive world. Visually impaired people are often excluded and alienated from the rest of society due to their handicap. And this alienation can happen within families too when one of the family members loses his or her vision due to an accident or a medical condition. Such people who would have gone on to live a normal lives, are all of a sudden subjected to a great handicap. Coupled with the alienation that occurs, they can get into depression and mental health issues. Board games are generally loved by people of all ages and social backgrounds. They are great tools for learning, socialising, and enjoying leisure time. Unfortunately, there are many games that are not adapted for the blind or people with low vision. For children, It is well-acknowledged that board games are great tools to learn mathematical concepts, abstract and strategic thinking. They help develop arithmetic skills and logical thinking and improve cognitive skills such as memory, focus, and attention. Playing board games in a team improves self-control and regulation skills and teaches children patience and tolerance. We have a design concept called ‘Drishyam’, a version of Braille Scrabble. Our vision is to have Drishyam, bridge this gap between the visually impaired and a normal person by having them engage with each other in a board game thereby improving inclusivity in the society. This could be a visually impaired grandparent playing with a grandchild, two adult friends playing with each other, children in a visually impaired school learn and improve their cognitive skills etc.. The possibilities are endless. The Product comprises of alphabet chips with braille alphabets alongside a normal alphabet. The visually impaired person can use his tactile abilities to read the letter while the normal person can see the printed letter. The score on each alphabet is indicated by a shape and the scoring board allows for both the participants to score. The rest of the game follows the same.
Paper Mache
View SubmissionTo give second life to paper as an alternative to MDF, plastic storage units. To begin working on my graduation project, I wanted to create something that would encompass my four years of learning and myculture. As a result, I decided to create an eco-friendly storage unit by using paper waste generated from offices, printing shops, and shredding machines. The three key factors which I considered after exploring the properties of paper were: Usage of armatures, areas with the least moisture content and indoors. I started off with making an armature with wire mesh. The armature was then attached with the laser cut MDF mold which is reusable. A wall of waste newspaper rolls is constructed all around the cavity for the application of pulp. The pulp made from waste paperis applied on the open surfaces of the structure and left for drying for 5 -6 days. After drying the structure is turned upside down and the newspaper rolls are removed from it to reduce the weight. The open surfaces are covered with paper pulp and the structure is left for drying for 7 -8 days ( depending on the weather conditions ). After the structure is dried 2 -3 coatings of fuller’s earth is applied on the surface to enhance the texture of paper and give a rustic look to the structure.
Cookmate
View SubmissionCookmate is a product that aims to offers a flexible way of cooking with minimal reliance on space. Cooking has always been a core survival trick for humans. It has a close relationship with the space we live in. With the change in cooking culture and real estate prices, it is expensive to always have a fully equipped kitchen wherever you go. It has become a luxury to cook comfortably. Especially people who live in rental places and keep switching places. Cookmate offers a flexible way of cooking with minimal reliance on the kitchen. The neat integration of utensils like a fry pan and saucepan all in one package along with the heating induction element makes it versatile for cooking in compact spaces. Through research, it was made possible to design a product that can toast bread, make dosa, gravies, and rice all in one single product. It covers the food for your entire day. With utensils, ladle, and heating unit all packed in one compact package makes it a great choice for tiny spaces. Cookmate is a product to rekindle the joy of cooking even in smaller space
Chi
View Submission‘Chi’, in Chinese meaning ‘life force’, is an assistive aid designed along with stroke experts for Hemiplegic stroke victims to help them rehabilitate better by allowing them to walk on their own, get up from a sitting position with reduced risk of falling which is the most common cause of injury leading to discontinuation of rehabilitation resulting in further complexities & even death. Chi increases the patient’s self-esteem, motivating them to continue rehabilitation. Chi also relieves the caregivers from an unscheduled overload of work. Chi focuses & solves the core problems the stroke victims face during rehabilitation which had always existed in the past. There are a few existing products with advanced technologies to help the patient to walk by reducing the risk of falling, but they all are very expensive due to their technological complex & advanced technology. Chi stands out from those products as Chi is a really affordable product that has been designed keeping in mind the affordability of marginalized or excluded communities from the market so there can be equality for all since physical, mental, and social well-being is a basic right of all human beings. Due to the stable form design, the product doesn't topple while walking & provides utmost balance & sense of security which will motivate the patient to walk more & helps them to rehabilitate better. Chi has been designed by indulging doctors, stroke experts, & patients in the design process backed up by 4-month-long research.
The Matlab
View SubmissionIt is currently visualized for craftsmen artisans and designers but we welcome any potential individuals with Ideas-who want to realize it, Individuals with problems–trying to find solutions, and people with Resources–trying to find opportunities. The matlab attracts users through the Local Craft Directory, Material and makers inventory, periodic Exhibitions and events, etc. It enables problem-solving and prototyping, Design build and fabrication, research and development, Networking and knowledge sharing, and intercultural discussions and conversations. The resources are scavenged from the local region and an inventory of material samples, and a material bank is set up. There will be no more local materials. Materials are available everywhere to everyone. The regenerative generation who will be more aware of the product lifecycle, depending on the needs, will source material from the material library based on the various assessments. Hybrid models are developed as an outcome of this intimate collaboration and cross-cultural conversations. Interbreeding of local with global occurs, which generates exaggerated polymorphism of objects(Forms, elements, parts, systems). The physical space is set up across the country from remote rural to cosmopolitan urban areas and supported by an online platform.
With an extensive creative career spanning over four decades focusing on furniture, interior and industrial design, Nivasarkar is the principal architect of India-based design and architecture consultancy firm Nivasarkar Consultants, established in Pune in 1978. A trained designer and architect-turned-entrepreneur, he believes in creating spaces, objects and furniture that are at their core, human-centric, focusing on making design relevant for users, physically, ergonomically, environmentally, and emotionally.
His oeuvre has largely encompassed practical endeavours, from small to medium scale residential designs to large scale commercial, corporate, institutional and industrial projects, apart from being associated with various educational and professional alliances, in varied capacities. He also has his own furniture manufacturing workshop with a collection of prototypes of about 80 furniture designs developed by him over the last 45 years. His expertise also lies in emphasising the use of locally sourced, natural materials, to bring to the forefront, Indian aesthetic sensibilities layered in diversity and sustainability, while staying relevant to global standards of design.
As the first Indian president of the International Federation of Interior Architects (2007 – 2009), an ex-member of the governing council of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, an Hon. Fellow Member of Association of Designers of India and a member of the India Design Council, Nivasarkar has been on the jury chair for the Indian Design Mark and the IF Award, Germany (2017). He was also invited to showcase his furniture in Helsinki in 2009, and at the Venice Design Biennale in 2019.
As the co-founder, director and principal designer of the product design and innovation consulting firm Ticket Design, and a Member of the National Executive Council, Mahajan has expertise in Industrial Design. He believes in leveraging design thinking as a strategic edge in finding business solutions, and has been actively involved in promoting design awareness.
An alumnus of the prestigious National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, he has been leading strategic product design development for various Indian and multinational companies over the last two decades. He has also had an illustrious juror experience as the ADI supervision representative at LDAI 2022 Jury Meet, leading with the credence that a test of good design is to see how it works in the hands of the customer and user. In the past, Ticket Design has won the German Red Award, the President's Medal, AsiaStar 17, CII Design Excellence award, International Appliance Design Award USA, and Business World, as well as the NID Design Excellence award.
David Abraham, co-founder of Abraham & Thakore, one of India’s most respected design resources for fashion and accessories, has pioneered a quiet, sturdy reform in the country’s fashion and lifestyle industries.
Established in 1992 with Rakesh Thakore, the label is celebrated for crafting contemporary yet non-conforming fashion, led by a low-key design sensibility that carries deep respect for material, form and craft that reflects an ‘urban India’, rooted in a local identity, and created with an international lens. Both NID graduates abide by an ethos that states in a consumer world of mass-produced fast fashion, real luxury lies in specially crafted products in limited numbers of high quality.
Part of the jury chair for the Art Spectrum Awards, South Asia, Abraham has showcased at multiple Fashion Weeks, IDF Design Icon, exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in New Delhi and in the Volkart Foundation-sponsored exhibition on Khadi.
Sundar is the co-founder and managing director of Dovetail Furniture, a company that he and his colleagues established to “integrate design happiness with serious manufacturing”. He graduated as an industrial designer from the National Institute of Design in 1984, and was a founding partner of Tessaract Design, a multidisciplinary design consulting firm established in 1986.
His involvement as a principal designer spreads over many areas: product design, retail and institutional interiors, furniture systems for home, office, laboratories.
Sundar’s professional career has seen an involvement, exposure and collaboration with many professions – retailers, institution builders, educationists, technology providers, while his entrepreneurial ventures have seen different types of learnings and partnerships – with brand strategists, visual communicators, HR strategists, venture fund managers, financial partners. His concerns about creating an ethical way of working has seen him involved in different forums – the India Design Council, CII National Committee on Design, Association of Designers of India, Store Fixture Manufacturers Association of India. He was a co-founder and president of the Association of Designers of India.
Sundar has been a design entrepreneur in many senses: as a project head, as a principal designer, as a CEO of a design practice, and as a managing director of a manufacturing company.
A trained architect from the Sir J. J. College of Architecture, Mumbai, and a postgraduate in Product Design from IIT Bombay, Ranade is the founder and lead designer of Pune-based Studio, Coppre, where she spearheaded product design, planning, brand positioning and graphic design for two decades. For the last six years, Ranade has been directing her energies on the Copper Craft Revival Project, and more recently, collaborating with other craft clusters around the country.
An expert in the fields of Indian crafts, product design, and museum design, Ranade boasts of jury experience for the ADI Awards for the Battle of Projects category in its past edition. She has been decorated by the World Crafts Council Award, Award by AIACA (All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association), the 'Save the Craft ' category of the Shilp Udyam Samman Initiative, and as a Finalist at the TATA Social Enterprise Challenge (TSEC) in 2016.
Krishen is an acclaimed habitat expert, author, and National Award winning Indian filmmaker, known for directing Massey Sahib (1985), In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989), and Electric Moon for Channel 4, UK (1991). In a surprising turn of events, he then gave up filmmaking, and since 1995, has pursued being a naturalist and environmentalist. Based in Delhi, Krishen has straddled an assortment of creative and intellectual realms over the last five decades, including being the Jury Chairperson for the JCB Prize for Literature in 2019. He educated himself in the field of botany, by studying trees, identifying and photographing Delhi’s green cover in 1998 by walking extensively throughout the city and on the Ridge, and going on to publish Trees of Delhi – A Field Guide in 2006. Krishen has written the INTACH Guide to the Trees of Lodi Gardens and most recently an authoritative Field Guide to the native trees of a large part of India: The Jungle Trees of Central India.
Krishen has been Project Director of a 70-hectare park in Jodhpur, the ‘Rao Jodha Desert Rock Park’ since 2006. He has also been associated with the Aga Khan Trust owing to the eco-initiative Sunder Nursery in south Delhi, before taking over as Project Director of the Calico Museum gardens in Ahmedabad, and managing and directing the work of the Abha Mahal Bagh in Nagpur. He recently handed over a 60 hectare sand dune Park in Jaipur to the Jaipur Development Authority that he has developed since 2016, leading a team of horticulturists and landscape architects for the same.
Giri Venkatesh is the Vice President at Lexus Asia Pacific Division. He drives the brand’s marketing strategy in the region and in this role, is also the guardian of the brand’s development through product planning and training.
Giri started his automotive career with UMW Toyota Motor, Malaysia in 1997 where he held various assignments in National Sales Operations and later as Branch Manager of a Sales and Aftersales retail outlet. He also led the Lexus brand-building function and was responsible for the launch of the Lexus brand in Malaysia, Vietnam and India. Since joining Toyota Motor Asia Pacific firstly between 2003-2005 and then permanently in 2008, Giri has been passionately working with Lexus affiliates across the Asia Pacific region and is now based in Singapore.
His involvement with Lexus began in 2003 and over the years has been involved in the planning and launch of the brand across the region. Part of this also includes being closely associated with Lexus Design Awards India and was involved in the program development team back in 2017. He believes in design that is inspiring and brave to cultivate a fresh sense of creativity and radical. Giri enjoys traveling with his family, football and experiencing different cuisines as a pescatarian with his favorite tipple of Gin and Soda.
As the Director of National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad with its extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru, as well as a former faculty member in Industrial Design and Discipline Lead of Product Design at NID since 2002, Nahar is an academician through and through. His range of professional interests include design thinking, sustainable design, design in the public domain, social design, appropriate technology, and strategic design. He has also contributed to the Mumbai Suburban Trains and Mumbai Monorails’ designs, apart from working on several other projects for the Indian Railways, leading to the setup of the Railway Design Centre (RDC) at NID.
Owning a juror experience across the IF Design Awards, Germany, India’s Best Design Awards, and the National Design Competition, Nahar has also been on NID’s Senate and Policy Planning Committee for several years and has served in various positions there, as Activity Chairperson and Head of various departments.
As the founder and director of India-based design company and innovation studio Design Directions, Gokhale is no stranger to LDAI, having won across categories in its 2018, 2019 and 2021 editions. An alumnus of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Gokhale boasts of more than 25 years of experience in product design, apart from being a founding member of the Association of Designers of India (ADI) and a former member of the Indian Design Council. He has been on the jury for several design awards in India and oversees including IDSA (USA), South African Design Council, Singapore Design Council, and ‘I’ Mark.
He has been invited to various seminars and conferences all over the world, including the Industrial Designers Society of America at Palo Alto – USA, as one of the six global thought leaders to elucidate on ‘Design for the other Six Billion’. Gokhale also serves as an education council member at the MIT School of Design and School of Fashion Technology, Pune, and is present on the advisory board of Pearl Academy in India.
An industrial design graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Foley joined Titan Industries as a product designer and in less than a decade, rose to head the Titan Design Studio, to become Chief Creative Advisor to Titan Industries. He then went on to found Foley Designs in 2006, a Bangalore-based multidisciplinary studio specialising in product design, packaging, graphics, and environment design, and boasting of clientele such as Amazon, The Economic Times, Wipro, Intel, Himalaya, and more.
The man behind the Lexus Design Award India trophy design, Foley’s design stint at Titan Industries addressed products like wristwatches, sunglasses, and fashion jewellery, as well as retail design, and visual merchandising. He has been associated with LDAI from its first edition as the LDAI Trophy designer, Winner (LDAI 2019), Juror (LDAI 2019), as well as Mentor (LDAI 2020).
With an area expertise in textile design, Sharma is a fashion designer who belies believing in leaving designing clothes only to learned professionals. A product of NID Ahmedabad, his debut collection called ‘Sunday Market’ at the Lakme Fashion Week in 2007, Mumbai, generated buzz. Apart from being on the LDAI Jury for its 2021 and 2022 editions, Sharma has worked for six consecutive Lakme Fashion Weeks.
He is known in the industry for conceiving a unique method to create clothes sans machines, tools or stitches, titled “Button Masala”. This led to the Button Masala collection that was displayed internationally as part of the travelling exhibition Connecting Concepts by Dutch design DFA to the Netherlands, as well as forming a part of the Bliss exhibition at the Taiwan Design Expo (2011). Sharma has taught nearly 20,000 individuals to be self-sufficient by stitching their own clothes through his brand initiative that employs buttons and rubber bands to create bags, clothes and shoes.
Korjan is considered as one of the pioneers of the Indian product design industry, the founder and partner of the erstwhile Studio Korjan in Ahmedabad. He believes in an ethos of design being used to solve substantial, real-world problems and considers that a systems approach will enhance the effectiveness of the practice at large, leading to transformative interventions.
A member of jury for India’s Best Design Awards and a Mentor for LDAI 2022, he has amassed recognition as the winner of PlastIndia 97 Award for Best Product/ Design. Apart from his design practice, Korjan is actively engaged in the design academic sector as a visiting professor at the Industrial Design Centre, IIT Bombay as well as a faculty at leading design schools including NID (Ahmedabad), NID (Haryana), the Faculty of Design, CEPT University (Ahmedabad), the Indian Institute of Crafts & Design (Jaipur), NIFT (Gandhinagar), among others.
Apart from working as a visiting professor at the Faculties of Engineering and Architectural Science, and Communication and Design at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, Chakravarthy is a professor and project head for the Industrial Design Centre (IDC) at IIT Bombay, and founder of Shenoy Studio. Following his post graduate degree in design from IIT Bombay, he undertook active research in new product innovation, and obtained a PhD at IIT Delhi.
Chakravarthy specialises in the area of innovation by design which encompasses new innovation processes and methodologies, with an aim to create a new breed of designers who can come up with novel products focusing on humanising technology. Instrumental in bringing industry projects to classrooms, some of his notable products include the Z-Line gasoline dispenser and the maintenance free Post Box for India Post. He has been on several international and national juries, comprising co-chair of the fourth International Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction in Mumbai, India (2013), and Honey Bee Network Creativity & Inclusive Innovation Awards (2020).
Nishma Pandit, Director, Ticket Design | Pushkar Ingale, Founder, Designer, Cohesive Design Labs | Nachiket Thakur, Director, MIT Institute of Design | Ashish Deshpande, Director, Elephant Strategy + Design | Siddharth Kabra, CEO, Monsoonfish, Owner & Design Director, Lokus design Pvt. Ltd. | Suhasini Paul, Co-Founder, Toys & Children Product Designer, Paul Studio | Shobhana Hadap, Director Founder & Chief Creative Head, Studio Mars Pvt. Ltd. | Prajakta Khanwalkar, Assistant Professor, MIT World Peace University, Founder, Spark Design Studio | Yogesh Dandekar, Founder, Design Lead, sargdesignstudio | Narendra Ghate, Senior Vice President, HDFC Bank |
28th July to September 28th
August – September 2022
October 2022
October - November 2022
November 2022
December 2022
Submit your design solution using sketches, text, photographs and/or infographics laid out in a 420 mm format. Your A2 sized panel should have a 30mm margin (to be left blank) on the sides. Images should be at least 300dpi
The Panel should clearly state the following:
Open to professionals, students and design enthusiasts from every part of India and only to individuals who have reached the age of majority.
Contest Dates: The Lexus Design Award India 2023 ('The Award') begins July 28, 2022 at 15:30 (IST) and qualifying Submissions must be received by September 28, 2022, 23:59 (IST). The dates are subject to extension, in the Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.
To be eligible for the Lexus Design Award India 2023, all entries must conform to the following broad criteria:
Contest Dates: The Lexus Design Award India 2023 ('The Award') begins July 28, 2022 at 15.30 (IST) and qualifying Submissions must be received by September 28, 2022, 23:59 (IST). The dates are subject to extension, in Sponsor’s sole and absolute discretion.
To be eligible for the Lexus Design Award India 2023, all entries must conform to the following broad criteria:
How does the concept and design anticipate global challenges facing future society?
How does the design demonstrate new thinking and originality both in the proposal and in the execution?
How does the design intrigue and compel when realized in concept and execution?
How does your design bring happiness to all?
In addition to the judging parameters given to the jury, these are the additional guidelines given to the jury for the Lexus Design Award India.
The Lexus Design Award India (LDAI) seeks to foster the growth of ideas that contribute to society by supporting designers and creators whose works can help to shape a better future. The award aims to recognize and reward the best industrial design executed by Indian designers, institutions, design consultancy firms, and in-house design teams of companies. Good design is defined by LDAI as the synthesis of sustainable, ergonomic, aesthetic, commercial, industrial, and scientific disciplines to create products that simplify, enrich, and better human existence.
Lexus, as a brand, has always stood for excellence in design, ergonomics, sustainability, technological superiority, and responsible consumption. The LDAI will mirror these brand values.
The LDAI is an annual award that promotes good design across multiple categories. This is the Sixth year of the LDAI.
The award trophy, designed by leading industrial designer, Michael Foley, features layers emanating from an arc reminiscent of the ‘L’-motif. A high lustre silver finish highlights each layer’s depth, with its warm wood base humanising the machined anodised aluminium slab.
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DESIGN FOR SOCIAL IMPACT
As a growing economy, India faces many unique social, cultural and societal challenges. From poverty to healthcare to livelihoods, designers are engaging with civil society at various levels. The award for Design for Social Impact will consider the social impact of a designer’s work in its broader societal context. The jury will look at how the designer’s work has impacted people and the planet. Entrants are encouraged to submit facts and figures, social impact studies, and endorsements by reputable social organizations to support their entry.
WINNER
Community Library Project
View SubmissionCommunity Library Project
The research based socially driven design projects presented here took as both its premise and point of departure a commitment that prioritizes ethics over aesthetics. RLDA has designed these libraries for the organization - TCLP. The Community Library Project (TCLP) are committed to the work of building the movement for publicly owned free libraries that are accessible to all. Two of the libraries presented here have been built and commissioned, the third is still a proposal. Historically, urban planners have conceived of Delhi to be a city defined by the “binary” of formal planned development and informal organic growth. This conception either included or excluded one demographic group or the other. The research through a process of observational analysis of sixteen urban thresholds in the city re-imagined the city as a space of mutually dependant multiplicities, a space of relational peripheries. The insertion of a library into a threshold, formed new communities that led to greater spatial resiliency (through their mutual interdependence) and elasticity (through the co creation of new programs). Four drivers defined the design of the libraries – a flexibility of spaces, the scripting of possibilities, a material frugality and a place making exercise. Made predominantly from re-cycled or waste material from the packaging industry, the construction details were kept simple to enable community members to partake in its construction. Students were invited to paint murals while community members were engaged in the process of conceiving the libraries in as much as they are involved in its running.