In partnership with
Overview
Lexus New Zealand has partnered up with select universities in Aotearoa for this year's Lexus Design Awards, a local rendition of the more widely known global competition. In a country that is unjustly left off the world map when it comes to headline innovations, the awards are all about shining the spotlight on local talent and fostering small businesses and design innovation. In a first for the New Zealand award, Moe Durand from Lexus International was also part of the celebrations, meaning Lexus International were able to witness Kiwi talent first hand. And the results were pretty cool, to say the least.
This year, students from Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Industrial Design and Creative Technologies were welcomed back to the awards, as well as those studying Industrial Design at the University of Auckland (UoA.) The well-deserving winners included Daniel Brink from AUT, who took top marks for his entry 'Myolink', and Pia Sutherland from UoA, who secured the top spot with her entry 'baBI'.
History of the Lexus Design Award
Since its global inception in 2013, the Lexus Design Award has come a long way. Now a big player in the design world, the award has served as an opportunity to push emerging talents into the limelight and act as a stepping stone for future careers. 2024 marks the fifth year that Lexus New Zealand has partnered with tertiary institutions to run the Aotearoa version of the global competition. As the competition continues to evolve, Lexus hopes to enrich its platform by nurturing the creative development of new talent. Today, the newfound focus is inspiring local talent to enter the global competition, as well as putting Aotearoa design on the map.
The Brief
Combining technology and human-centric sensibilities, the 2024 Lexus Design Awards were all about celebrating artistry while maintaining an unpretentious approach, which can often be hard to do. Looking to support and empower young Kiwi creators and communities to thrive, the awards asked the emerging design talent to propose imaginative, sustainable solutions while expressing three key principles of the Lexus brand: anticipate, innovate and captivate. On top of this, entrants had to align their designs with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It's a fine line to walk, but an important one.
The Judging Criteria
This year, the judges were looking for designs offering thoughtful solutions that have the potential to make a positive impact worldwide, contribute to a sustainable future and provide actionable solutions. The criteria also balanced practicality with whether the submitted design was captivating.
Entrants are mentored by some of the industry's top minds, including Lexus ambassadors Simon James, Tim Rundle and Scott Bridgens from furniture and lighting brand Resident. In addition to offering advice, ideas, and assistance to students in their creative journey, the mentors also joined the judging committee.
This year's winners
AUT design student Daniel Brink took first place. His design, 'Myolink,' is a wearable sensor that uses electromyography to help prevent lumbar muscle strain. It includes a charger and carry case, an application to interpret the data collected, a belt and the sensor itself. The system also replaces the traditional FOB clock on and off system, with the employee arriving to work wearing their Personal Protective Equipment and the provided belt over their first layer of clothing.
In second place from AUT was Deanna Griffin. Her sustainable service ware design streamlines the long-haul economy service ware for passengers, airlines, caterers and the planet. The design reimagines the service-ware ecosystem, emphasising efficiency, sustainability, and adaptability. The product utilises seaweed-derived materials for single-use items, lightweight ceramics are used for reusable containers and the trays are recycled from each airline's current trays in use. Given that air travel is never going to stop, Griffin's work focuses on improving the passenger experience while reducing environmental impact.
From UoA, it was Pia Sutherland who won out with her entry 'baBI', which proposes a nationwide network of remote, modular environmental monitoring devices, aiding conservation and ecological understanding. Given the world has long lacked an understanding of the causes and scale of our environmental crises, Sutherland's design seeks to collect denser, multivariate, standardised and widely accessible information, so we could radicalise conservation nationwide. Hear hear.
'Worn Again' by Giselle Conway took out second place for UoA. In New Zealand alone, 180,000 tonnes of clothing and textile waste is dumped into landfills each year, which is equivalent to filling over 6,400 shipping containers with discarded garments. This is undoubtedly shocking, so her design proposes an educational workshop that empowers communities to actively engage with closed-loop textile recycling practices instead.
The lucky winners received a cool $4,000, while the two second-place winners received $2,000. A great amount of money to help encourage these young designers on their creative journeys.
This year's winners will also be invited to showcase their designs at the 2025 Auckland Design Week, where New Zealand's greatest design minds come together.
Even more important is the thinking and messages behind their designs. From helping fight the climate crisis to promoting well-being at work, these young designers are setting a positive benchmark, and we can't wait to see what they do next.
To learn more about the local Lexus Design Award competition, plus past winners and nominees, visit the website.
Images: Sarah Weber Photography.