Design Show Australia celebrates the region's brightest emerging design talent with Next Top Designer awards

MEDIA RELEASE

October 2022

Design Show Australia celebrates the region’s brightest emerging design talent with Next Top Designer awards

From 20 – 22 October, Design Show Australia, presented by Archipro, delivered an extraordinary cross-section of curated and authentic design, from newly discovered talents to the most established names in the interior design, architecture and fitout industry.

Aimed at nurturing new design talent and celebrating designers whose work is shaping the industry, Design Show revealed two awards on the first night of the show – the inaugural Australia’s Next Top Designer Awards and the Editors Choice Awards.

The Australia’s Next Top Designers Showcase and Awards provides a significant opportunity for emerging designers, makers, and creatives to showcase a capsule series to the industry. This year’s collection encompassed furniture, lighting and ceramics, illustrating the bright future of Australian design with breakthrough concepts centring on traditional craftsmanship and nature-inspired design.

Sydney-based early career industrial designer Timothy Robertson took out the Australia’s Next Top Designer Lighting and Overall Winner awards for his ‘Kinoko’ – mushroom – lamp collection, inspired by the playful characters of fungi.

Australia’s Next Top Designer awards adjudicator, Creative Director for Sydney Design Week, and Design Editor for Australian Financial Review, Stephen Todd says Robertson’s playful and creative approach to material tactility is reflective of the talent of emerging designers across the region.

“It’s invigorating to see local designers and makers celebrate materials and manufacturing, both traditional and digital – blurring the lines between design and craft and thereby celebrating both local craftspeople and Australian design,” Todd said.

Shining a spotlight on the best-in-show product suppliers and exhibitors, the Editors Choice Awards were judged on the basis on product innovation, sustainability, and onsite stand presentation.

New Zealand-owned Japanese timber company Sugi was a standout winner, receiving both the Architectural + Building Products and Materials + Finishes awards, in recognition of the simplicity of its stand design that highlighted the quality and authenticity of its timber product.

The Jury also commended ABI Interiors, winner of the Kitchen + Bath award, for standing out in a competitive category with a memorable, tactile stand that gave visitors the opportunity to engage with textures and finishes throughout the space.

Further Editors Choice winners and honourable mentions included Snelling Studio, Burgtec, nau, and more, with the awards spanning lighting to furniture, materials to finishes, flooring to wallcoverings and everything in between.

“This was a landmark edition of Design show Australia, enjoyed by both the industry and the public alike,” says Design Show Director, Andrew Vaughan. “It has been thrilling to experience the vitality of the Australian design talent all under one roof – an exhilarating showcase of the creativity and ingenuity that is at the forefront of our region’s design industry.”

Supported by the Australian Institute of Architects and Design Institute of Australia, Design Show Australia 2022 was its most comprehensive exhibition to date, with an expanded exhibition floor that encompassed a broad range of categories including residential, workspace, commercial and hospitality and more.

Across the three-day exhibition, Design Show Australia recorded more than 7,000 visitors, in what was Sydney’s first large-scale design industry exhibition in more than eight years – a hallmark event featuring hundreds of products, solutions and finishes on display alongside a full speaker program with 100-plus of the industry’s best and brightest design identities and thought leaders.

ENDS

Please see the full Australia’s Next Top Designer and Editor’s Choice Awards winners below and at this link: https://designshow.com.au/editors-choice-awards-winners

Australia’s Next Top Designer

Australia’s Next Top Designer – Furniture | Vallam Furniture Series by Melvin Josy
Australia’s Next Top Designer – Furniture (Honorable Mention) | Mara Benches by Patrick Adeney
Australia’s Next Top Designer – Lighting | Kinoko by Timothy Robertson
Australia’s Next Top Designer – Object/Art | Out a Space by Annie Gastin
Australia’s Next Top Designer – Overall Winner | Kinoko by Timothy Robertson

Editor’s Choice Awards

Design Show imagery:
See link here

Media contact:
Jasmijn van Houten
Communications Collective
jasmijn@communicationscollective.com.au
+(61) 457 485 179

About Design Show Australia
Held from 20-22 October 2022 at ICC Sydney, Design Show Australia is the proven and trusted Interior Design, Architecture & Fitout trade event – bringing premium brands, manufacturers and suppliers together with designers, specifiers and buyers working across commercial, workplace, retail, hospitality, multi-res and residential interiors.
https://designshow.com.au/

About ArchiPro
With a mission of inspiring people to build architecturally designed spaces and a belief that great design should be more accessible, ArchiPro is the all-in-one platform transforming the architecture and building industries by seamlessly connecting those within it.
https://archipro.com.au/

About Design Institute of Australia

Established in 1948, the Design Institute of Australia (DIA) is the only national member organisation that champions the value of all the design disciplines and the impact of our designers. Its purpose is to help designers prosper by providing knowledge, thought leadership, access and inclusivity. The DIA is the leading advocate for design with the most extensive design professional network, champions design excellence, progressive change, and is a trusted voice in the national conversation and engages with and educates designers, the government, and our broader society and fosters collaborations for designers to engage across the industry and community.
https://www.design.org.au/

About the Australian Institute of Architects
The Australian Institute of Architects is the peak body for the architectural profession, representing over 13,000 members across Australia and overseas. The Institute actively works to improve the quality of our built environment by promoting quality, responsible and sustainable design. Learn more about the Institute, log on to www.architecture.com.au

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