Dezeen Awards 2019 - Design winners

Design exists in everything, and what is more obvious than it being recognised on an international platform through various objects and mediums designed by notable firms and designers. The Dezeen Awards 2019 shortlisted some innovative and exuberant designs, including a self-cleaning water bottle, a pendant light made with used coffee grounds, and the world's first silent wireless breast pump.

Designers and studios that made to the shortlist include Joe Doucet, Jaime Hayon, Studio Drift and Michael Anastassiades. Among the 52 products that made it to the Dezeen Awards 2019 design shortlist, 10 have been awarded under specific sub-categories.

The ten sub-categories span across furniture, lighting, homeware, product and wearable design. Specific categories for sustainable design, installation design and graphic design were introduced for the first time this year.

THE 10 WINNERS

1. Furniture design of the year: Tense by Panter & Tourron

Lausanne-based design studio Panter & Tourron's Tense collection is a set of flat-packed furniture essentials that together weigh less than 20 kilograms and can easily be assembled anywhere. It comprises a table, chair, pendant light, wall light and screens that can be used to divide a space. All the pieces are extremely lightweight and hold their shape solely using tensile strength. "The intelligent design," the jury cited, "produces less waste and considers the fact that as a species we now live lighter with increasingly nomadic lifestyles."

2. Seating design of the year: Rely Protective Public Seating by Joe Doucet x Partners

Rely protective public seating is a 3D printed concrete bench that also functions as a barrier to protect public spaces from vehicle-led terrorist attacks. The benches, designed by New York-based designer Joe Doucet, weigh over one ton and are attached to each other via steel rods. It was built at Time Square for this year’s NYCxDesign festival as a discreet alternative for protecting pedestrians and public areas from car accidents and vehicle-ramming attacks carried out by terrorists. The judges admired the project for its transformation of the functional into something beautiful and well-designed.

3. Lighting design of the year: Franchise Freedom by Studio Drift

Franchise Freedom is a performative art installation by Studio Drift exploring the relationship between man, nature and technology. The artwork was created by Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta of Amsterdam-based Studio Drift, who programmed the drones to simulate a natural murmur behaviour seen in starlings and other birds. Mounted with lights, the drones swarm over the beach, their movements dictated by algorithms creating a magnanimous impression. Judges referred it as a "terrifyingly beautiful project".

4. Homeware design of the year: Backstitch by Raw-Edges for GAN

Backstitch is a collection of three rugs by Raw-Edges. Handmade by GAN's women’s unit, these are made from wool using embroidery and a technique called kilim. The rugs turn traditional embroidery upside-down and attempt to vindicate, in a delicate and elegant way, what is often hidden. "You can see every stitch, which highlights the design process." stated the judges admiring the intricacy and attention to detail.

5. Workplace design of the year: AT, 187 range by Wilkhahn

AT 187 range is a furniture collection by Wilkhahn that promotes ‘three-dimensional sitting’. With its patented trimension for 3D-dynamic sitting, this office chair generation is scientifically proven to be the best way of effectively preventing backache, improving performance and enhancing a feeling of well-being. The jury deemed the work as an innovative product that presents a real solution to a real problem using new technology.

6. Wearable design of the year: Elvie Pump by Elvie

Elvie Pump is the world’s first silent wearable breast pump from technology company Elvie, designed to be worn inconspicuously in any nursing bra. Unlike most devices for expressing milk, Elvie's breast pump is compact and wire-free, making it comfortable for new mothers. The hands-free pump gives women the flexibility to go about their daily routine while pumping, without worrying about cords, wardrobe changes or the sound of traditional electric breast pumps. The master jury pointed the product as a new and interesting solution empowering women.

7. Product design of the year: LARQ Bottle by Larq

The minimalist LARQ bottle cleans itself using UV light, for people troubled by the hygiene of tricky-to-wash reusable water bottles. The LARQ bottle provides instant water purification in a self-cleaning bottle through an LED technology in its lid that emits UV-C light in the 280-nanometre range.The judges said that the project offers psychological reassurance to users and is a great solution over reusable bottles which are often difficult to clean.

8. Sustainable design of the year: Aguahoja I by Mediated Matter Group

Aguahoja I is digitally designed and robotically fabricated from the molecular components found in tree branches, insect exoskeletons and human bones. Derived from organic matter, printed by a robot, and shaped by water, the work demonstrates the application of water-based robotic fabrication that enables tight integration between material synthesis, digital fabrication, and physical behaviour. "Aguahoja I shows how nature can help us to design new materials, highlighting the relationship between nature and technology." cited the jury.

9. Graphic design of the year: Hafnia-Hallen by Re-public

Re-public designed the visual identity for Hafnia-Hallen, Denmark’s largest multi-purpose sports centre, located in Copenhagen. Complementary to the new architecture, the visual identity sports clean lines, vibrant colours and clear-cut typography with a bold yet informal look and feel. The design concept is based on an adaptation of the floor line markings of the different courts, fields and tracks of Hafnia-Hallen, which is carried through to the logo, as well as to the signage and way-finding. The project was appreciated by the master jury for the striking transformation of a space that is typically not beautiful through clear graphics.

10. Installation design of the year: 17000 by Skaparkollektivet Forma

This installation by Skaparkollektivet Forma features 17,000 small artworks, which represent the number of young people expected to be deported from Sweden to Afghanistan. The studio wanted to make the number 17,000 visible and show that it is not just an anonymous volume of adolescent immigrants expected to be deported. The work attempts to show that behind every number there is an individual person. Over 1,500 artists contributed to the production of the installation.The judges highlighted the work as powerful because it allows us to visualise the number of people expected to be deported into something real.

The best overall architecture, interiors and design projects in the world of 2019, plus the best emerging and established studios, will be revealed at the Dezeen Awards party in London on October 30. All winners will receive a hand-made trophy by Atelier NL, presented in a special carrying case by Herschel.

Find out more about the Dezeen Awards 2019 Architecture winning projects and Interiors winning projects.

Read about the other shortlisted projects: The Dezeen Awards 2019 shortlists announced