Giovanni Pezzato won the 2012 essay competition for students Beauty and Design. Congratulations! Giovanni is a DAE master student from the department Information Design. He wrote the winning essay titled “The (in)quit State".
The competition was organised by the Lectoraat (Professorship) Design Theory at Design Academy Eindhoven, which aims to enhance critical reflection on design and the development of design theory. The organisers received ten essays, containing ten approaches to the question of how Beauty and Design are linked. Students from a large variety of departments were involved: first year students (1), Bachelor departments: Man and Living (2), Man and Activity (1), Man and Well Being (1), Man and Leisure (1) and Master departments: Information Design (1), Contextual Design (3).
The three jury members, Irene Fortuyn, David Hamers and Gert Staal, judged the essays anonymously. The criteria they used: originality, innovative points of view, style of writing, and the extent to which the text addresses the theme.
It was not easy to choose a definite winner. In the last phase the discussion revolved around two texts. One well-written text, which however lacks a strong content. Another text with a convincing content, which lacks a clear writing style. Finally a (small) majority of the jury chose the winning text. Because it was close call, the second best text receives an Honorary Mention.
Honorary Mention: Beauty Now
Julian Jay Roux
Department: Bachelor department Man and Living
Members of the Jury:
Irene Fortuyn, head of the Bachelor design department Man and Leisure, artist and researcher.
Gert Staal, lector Design Theory at DAE, design theorist and researcher.
David Hamers, lector City and Countryside at DAE, researcher.
Chairwoman of the jury: Louise Schouwenberg, lector Design Theory at DAE, design theorist and researcher, research head of the Master department Contextual Design.