Lexus Reveals Stellar Line-up of Judges and Mentors for 2023 Lexus Design Award

Lexus recently announced the leading figures from the international design world who will serve on the judging panel and mentoring team for the 2023 Lexus Design Award. Once again, the award is being supported by some of the most accomplished and globally respected designers from across an impressive range of creative disciplines.

The 11^th edition of the award sees the return of Paola Antonelli and Simon Humphries to the esteemed judging panel, who will be joined for the first time by Karim Rashid. The Lexus Design Award also welcomes Marjan van Aubel, Yuri Suzuki, and Sumayya Vally as new mentors, alongside the returning Joe Doucet. The judges and mentors will work together to contribute to achieving the award’s mission of supporting and nurturing the next generation of creators to build a better tomorrow.

Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA, New York, is a well-established figure in the Lexus Design Award story and someone with whom the program’s goals resonate. Since the award was introduced in 2013, she has kept a watchful eye on its development while welcoming the stimulating experience of interacting with fresh talent. She will once again share her bold perspectives and insights as a member of the judging panel.

Simon Humphries, Head of Lexus Global Design, will again serve as a judge, representing Lexus’ pursuit of Design for a Better Tomorrow. Global designer Karim Rashid, whose work crosses the spectrum from industrial design to interior design, makes his debut appearance on the judging panel. With more than 4,000 designs in production in over 35 countries, he is in high demand for collaboration with famous brands.

Rashid said: “I encourage all designers entering the Lexus Design Award to find new languages, new semantics, new aesthetics, experiment with new material, and behavioral approaches. Competitions such as this were formative to my creative and professional growth, and I look forward to seeing the beautiful individuality and originality that will result.”

The Lexus Design Award has always placed mentorship at the heart of its program, which has evolved into a streamlined and expanded competition for 2023. The journey will begin with four award winners being selected by the judges to receive the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being mentored in their work by world-renowned designers. Each will benefit from personalized advice and guidance to bring their visions to life and kick-start their careers with valuable exposure to the global design community.

The award-winning multidisciplinary designer Joe Doucet returns as a mentor for the third consecutive year, and will be joined by Dutch solar artist Marjan van Aubel, whose innovative work integrates sunlight and technology for a sustainable future. Also new to the mentorship team are Yuri Suzuki, a Japanese sound artist and experience designer, and South African architect Sumayya Vally, whose current work is focused on expressions for African and Islamic hybrid identities.

Sumayya Vally commented: “I am honored to be part of the Lexus Design Award team and to support and nurture the creative empowerment of the next generation. Listening to and drawing on voices of difference, to innovate design-led ideas, plays an important role in our future. Beauty and social justice are not mutually exclusive; beauty is social justice.”

Together, these talented creators will form a dynamic team to steer the next generation of designers. Their diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise will make the mentorship program a deeper experience than ever. Lexus looks forward with confidence to collaboration between the mentors and the award finalists in pursuit of creating a better future. After three months of developing and reining their concept, the winners will present their work publicly in spring 2023.