First of all the judges would like to congratulate all the nominees with their nominations. Being nominated is a token of appreciation from the teaching staff at your design department. And it is an expression of thanks for your efforts, approach and the execution of your graduation project; include this in your CV and put it to good use in your future careers!
The judges were struck with the wide range of projects. The variety, in which these works operate, from autonomous – almost like works of art - to very specific social relevance, meant the judges faced a daunting task.
The thing that all the candidates have in common is the curiosity and need for collaboration. Each designer recognizes that the collaboration with an expert makes their projects better but also increases their own knowledge. This year the jury found it very hard to award the right nominees. After extensive deliberations and some interesting discussions the judges have come to a unanimous decision.
The official award ceremony has taken place during the opening of the Graduation Show on Saturday 17 October 2015.
See the full list of nominees here.
Winners of the Keep an Eye Grant
Simone Post (Man & Living)
Vlisco Recycled (René Smeets Award and Keep an Eye Grant)
During her internship as a print designer at Vlisco, Simone got fascinated with the enormous amount of yards of fabric which were being destroyed every year. Fabrics, with little miss prints, which couldn’t meet Vlisco’s high quality standards.
The jury was impressed by Simone’s clear and process driven approach; designing a set of criteria the new materials or products should fit in. Her enormous amount of textile experiments resulted in a beautiful range of new interior products. All executed with interesting production techniques, like the laser cut room dividers, products addressing a totally new market for Vlisco and fitting their brand values of story- telling, uniqueness and tradition. Simone not only showed her skills as a designer, but also her awareness of the added value of her design thinking to the whole value chain; from idea to production to market.
The jury hopes that this project with Vlisco will be the start of a career where Simone can help companies to be truly sustainable.
With this project, Simone is winning the René Smeets Award for most professional project in approach and method. In addition to a cup designed by Olivier van Herpt, Simone is receiving € 2,000 and two days of consulting at the Chamber of Commerce.
She also receives a €11,000-grant from the Keep an Eye Foundation.
Jos Klarenbeek (Man & Public Space)
Cowtarium (Koetarium) (Melkweg Award and Keep an Eye Grant)
Jos Klarenbeek’s analysis of the dairy production from cow to consumer is not only very complete, it is also very thorough and layered, without being judgemental. The way he visualises his research and how he translated this to a specific place in Veenhuizen is remarkable. Jos’ way of visualizing complex and layered systems can be perfectly used to facilitate the debate that comes with these big complex systems. The jury hopes he will continue analysing and visualising more of these humongous invisible systems.
With this project Jos has won the Milky Way Award for his independent and thorough attitude and authentic approach. In addition to a cup designed by Olivier van Herpt, Jos is receiving € 2,000 and two days of consulting at the Chamber of Commerce.
He also receives a €11,000-grant from the Keep an Eye Foundation.
Allison Crank (Master Contextual Design)
The Reality Theatre (Gijs Bakker Award and Keep an Eye Grant)
With her project and because of her enthusiasm, Allison made the jury curious to what her next step will be in the near future. Her ambition to connect the fashion world with (digital) architecture can be of potential influence in the consumer retail market.
The jury awards Allison with the Gijs Bakker Award because of her professional attitude, her thorough research and particularly because Allison has a clear vision to the future of retail.
The jury wants to see more of this.
In addition to a cup designed by Olivier van Herpt, Allison is receiving € 2,000 and two days of consulting at the Chamber of Commerce.
She also receives a €11,000-grant from the Keep an Eye Foundation.
Olivier van Herpt (Man & Activity)
Functional 3D Printed Ceramics (Keep an Eye Grant)
Olivier is an inventor/maker/designer with a great esthetic, sense of detail and the patience to develop a machine to its best. Developments in 3D printing are going fast and after his graduation Olivier got a lot of response from all over the world to order his 3D printer or products. Olivier manages the machines very well, but he also sees the relevance for collaborating partners to extend the possibilities of the machine and the applications. The jury is curious how his steps will change the possibilities for other designers and architects. The €11,000-grant from the Keep an Eye Foundation is get a good purpose.
Special Mentions by the Jury:
Vera de Pont (Man & Identity) - Pop-up and Floaters from the Waterplanet
Vera’s enthusiasm, ambition and impatience are very attractive and catching. Not only does she want to know and find the bottom of things, she is also able to translate this to tangible products. The project with EE Labels is very strong and promising and the jury hopes that her master study at the Sandberg Institute will bring her the knowledge she is still missing to really understand the complexity of the fashion industry. We need these kinds of design thinkers to open up debates and start new ways of doing things. We are already looking forward to her master thesis.
Manon van Hoeckel (Man & Leisure) - In Limbo Embassy
Manon is not only a very brave designer, she also manages to lighten a sensitive political and current situation into a more human closed to home topic. She is not only smart in finding the flaws in the law with the help of specialists, but also turns them into well thought and tangible products. In Limbo Embassy deserve a special mention; the jury advises Manon to find other people who can own this project for her and continue her career as a social designer and not as a social worker.