Swiss Design Awards 

2019 swissdesignawardsblog.ch
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E
An exhibition by the Federal Office of Culture

Swiss Design Awards 2019

Swiss Grand Award for Design 2019
11–16 June 2019
Hall 3, Messe Basel

Opening 10 June 2019, 7 pm

Award Ceremony 11 June 2019, 7 pm

WHAT?
PERTGE?
DOVE?
WER?
QUAND?
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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Announcement of the Swiss Design Awards

The Swiss Design Awards are a unique interior stylist Connie Hüsser
opportunity to delve into the multifaceted and lithographer and publisher
world of current Swiss design. For a one-week Thomi Wolfensberger.
period, all the disciplines represented in the
competition come together under one roof: Competition
graphic design, fashion and textile design, Participation in the Swiss Design Competition
product and industrial design, photography, is open to Swiss-born designers and designers
scenography and mediation. located in Switzerland. The competition
encompasses the categories of photography,
Presented are objects embodying graphic design, fashion and textile design,
the traditional dialogue between form and product and industrial design, scenography,
function, as well as interdisciplinary projects and mediation. The jury consists of the Federal
that tackle complex issues and processes at Design Commission with the support of three
work in modern society with a broader experts. The competition takes place in two
conception of what constitutes design. Both rounds. In the first round, applicants submit
approaches–and everything in between–make a portfolio to the jury. Selected applicants are
design a vibrant and relevant discipline then invited to a second round, where they
for culture, the economy and society in display their work as part of the public Swiss
the 21st century. Design Awards exhibition. There, the works
are judged and the awards are decided upon,
The Swiss Design Awards competition shortly before the opening.
is based on a two-stage process. The Swiss
Design Awards 2019 exhibition presents The Award
the 48 works nominated from among 220 The prize money for the Swiss Design Award
entries. Shortly before the exhibition opened, is 25,000 Swiss francs. On the recommendation
the Federal Design Commission, assisted of the Federal Design Commission, this year
by three experts, selected 17 projects to each 17 designers are honoured in the categories
receive prize money of 25,000 Swiss francs. of photography (3), graphic design (5), fashion
When judging the works presented, particular and textile design (3), products and objects (4),
attention is paid to their quality, impact, mediation (1) and scenography (1).
contemporary relevance and innovativeness.

The three winners of the Swiss Grand Award

for Design are also represented in the
exhibition through their works, as well as
videos and photographs. Accompanied by
a limited-edition publication, this presentation
offers a detailed insight into the remarkable
work of three exceptional talents.

The Swiss Design Awards 2019 will be

presented in Basel on 11 June. Simultaneously,
the event will honour the winners of the Swiss
Grand Award for Design. The winners of the
renowned prize this year are product designer
Rosmarie Baltensweiler,

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Winners

Marc Asekhame Photography

Marc Asekhame uses the magazine form
as the primary vehicle for his highly coherent
photographic production and reflection.
His aesthetic vocabulary often blurs
the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Ondřej Báchor Graphic Design

Referencing Czech typefaces from the 1950s,
Kolektiv is a carefully crafted serif font
with an irresistible contemporary feel.
Combining charming Czech typographic
idiosyncrasies with a precise Swiss approach,
it consists of five weights and three italics.
This set of versatile and highly readable
letterforms successfully showcases a cross-
cultural symbiosis.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Bureau: Daniel Zamarbide Scenography

The jury acclaims a coherent series of
scenographic projects, set designs and spaces
conceived by Daniel Zamarbide in constant
dialogue with strong historical and cross-
cultural references. His collaborations
with performers through props, intermediary
objects and regulated fields of tension engage
with and influence the dramaturgy and
the perception of space.

Common-Interest: Nina Paim & Corinne Gisel Mediation

Corinne Gisel and Nina Paim of Common-
Interest use design as a lens through which
to view the world. As part of their innovative
practice they conceived, curated and staged
Department of Non-Binaries, an exhibition
with an unconventional approach that
embraces contemporary cultural complexity
and moves beyond the facile simplicity of
modernist ideology.

Egli Studio: Yann Mathys & Thibault Dussex Products + Objects

For the jury, this project is an intelligent and
contemporary industrialisation of a product
idea, conducted with great expertise in terms
of production, logistics and distribution.
The table and bench ingeniously link
sub-assemblies together using small-format,
tool-based connecting elements. The result
is a seemingly simple, aesthetically attractive,
understated and stable furniture system.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Filipe & Viricel: Micael Filipe & Romain Viricel Products + Objects
The jury is impressed by the maturity and
consistency of Filipe & Viricel’s chair design.
The real challenge when developing
a chair is engaging with the object’s long
and rich history. This design also fits into
a long tradition of pure plastic chairs.
The jury particularly notes the high quality
of the draughtsmanship.

Solène Gün Photography

Turning her poetic and optimistic gaze
on a topic that is constantly in the news–
immigration in the banlieues–Solène Gün
undercuts prevailing stereotypes and
prejudices. Both her photographic idiom
and the radical subtlety of her presentation
demonstrate great maturity.

Lukas Hoffmann Photography

Lukas Hoffmann presents an image-object
of great formal, aesthetic and technical
precision that compellingly reflects every
stage in the production process, from taking
and working with the picture right through
to framing and presentation. The frontality
of the composition draws viewers into the
picture’s space, challenging them to embrace
the beauty and desolation of the landscape.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Ann Kern Graphic Design

In her diploma project, Ann Kern offers
a trenchant reading of a highly topical and
complex subject: intersectionality. The project
is consistent in terms of its references, choice
of authors and unique editorial approach.
Her graphic selections eschew superfluous
elements, relying instead on images deployed
in complementary fashion and meticulously
executed typography.

Rafael Kouto Fashion + Textile design

Rafael Kouto has the creative confidence
to let clothes evolve directly and through
technical skill while they are actually being
made. His eclectic designs are the product
of many-layered working processes and
an accomplished follow-up to previous
collections in terms of colour, form and cut.
For all their apparent archaism,
these garments are nevertheless refreshing.

Sylvan Lanz Graphic Design

In his bachelor project, Sylvan Lanz uses
a specially developed interactive web app to
investigate the topical issue of variable fonts.
Basing his work on language research,
he interprets the intonation, volume and
tonality of the voice and their impact on
the character forms of words and sentences.
The precisely and carefully drafted typeface
skilfully combines extreme line weights and
letter breadths.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Sandro Marzo Fashion + Textile design

Sandro Marzo presents a market-ready,
comprehensive and coherent collection
with individual items that fit easily into
the modern wardrobe. The designs
are generously cut and sensitively coloured.
Independently treated fabrics and details
inserted with meticulous craft underscore
the beauty of the individual pieces.

Dimitri Nassisi Products + Objects

In the foreground of Dimitri Nassisi’s work
we find not a product but a service.
A meticulous and comprehensive technical
analysis of an existing structure forms
the perfect basis for implementing his idea.
Drinking Hydrant is a good example of how
designers can, through a simple change
of perspective, continue to put forward new
and relevant concepts. 

Ottolinger: Cosima Gadient & Christa Bösch Fashion + Textile design

The Ottolinger label has built an international
reputation with its collections almost
overnight. Cosima Gadient and Christa Bösch
dexterously combine handicraft with machine
production in a variety of textile techniques.
Their uninhibited blending of high and
low culture is very much in tune with current
fashion. Collection and communication
come together to create a holistic
contemporary image.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Julie Richoz Products + Objects

Julie Richoz’s four award-winning projects
are an impressive demonstration of her
ambitious approach to design. In each case,
she stood alongside actual craftspeople
and engaged intensively with their working
methods and processes. Her interest in crafts
reveals how craft and design depend on each
other in ways that will play a key role
in the more harmonious development
of our environment.

Pascal Storz & Fabian Bremer Graphic Design

Eleven books, most with black and white
typographical bindings, are presented
in a graphically engaged and outstanding
presentation. They display a rich variety
of fonts, compositions, layouts and materials
that are precisely attuned to the content,
texts and images of each volume. Each book
is carefully overseen as it passes through
the production process and receives its own
distinct identity.

Studio Ard: Guillaume Chuard Graphic Design

& Daniel Nørregaard
With its Tate Etc. magazine, Studio Ard
presents an inspiring take on the spirit
of collectivity and collaboration. Texts,
photography and illustrations are
commissioned externally, making every issue
unique. The variable layout allows for great
diversity and gives each article a characteristic
flavour. The choice of images and typographical
details reveals exceptional care.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Exhibition
Exhibition a graduate of ECAL, is responsible for the
11–16 June 2019 visual identity of the Swiss Design Awards 2019.
Hall 3 (gallery floor), Messe Basel He created the communication media for
this edition of the competition, the exhibition
Opening Hours signage and the blog.
Daily 10 am–7 pm. Sunday to 6 pm This year’s identity revolves around the five
Free admission “Ws” of journalism and marketing (WHO?,
WHAT?, WHEN?, WHERE?, WHY?) and the
Programme questions they ask about the creative process
Monday, 10 June 2019 Opening: 7–10 pm and the origins and future of design.
Tuesday, 11 June 2019 Award Ceremony: In addition to the Swiss Design Awards
7–8 pm, from 8 pm drinks reception commission, graphic designer Emmanuel
Crivelli teaches in various schools and creates
Daily other visual identities and graphic designs
Café: Finkmüller (ground floor) for publications. He himself received a Swiss
Good Bar by onlygoodspirits.com Design Award in 2012 and a Most Beautiful
Shop: JUNE BASEL × Swiss Design Awards Swiss Books accolade in 2016.
dualroom.ch
Guided tours: 3–4 pm
(meeting point: escalator, gallery floor) Swiss Design Awards Exhibition Design
For the second year in succession,
Information the architecture of the Swiss Design Awards
The participants in the Swiss Design exhibition has been entrusted to Lucas
Competition 2019 and laureates of the Uhlmann, who offers visitors a rhythmic
Swiss Grand Award for Design 2019, as ballad of innovations related to the gallery
well as the latest information about the in Hall 3 of the exhibition centre.
exhibition, are presented on the website
swissdesignawardsblog.ch. The first is an adaptation of the preceding
exhibition design that re-uses materials from
The new platform for the Federal Office of it. Various elements have been carefully cut up
Culture’s Swiss Culture Awards presents and re-assembled in a different form to create
both the Swiss Design Awards and a selection a novel way for the competition to present
of past winners: schweizerkulturpreise.ch/ the works of participants in the second round.
design It also picks up on the previous year by
placing the winners of the Grand Award at
Further information about the Swiss Design the heart of the exhibition, surrounded by the
Awards: bak.admin.ch competition nominees. With a set of shelves–
a transitory form that is part storage
Swiss Design Awards Newspaper receptacle, part museum display–for each of
In conjunction with the opening on 10 June, the winning designers covering their entire
a free magazine is being published in four career, it sets up
languages (German, French, English, Italian). echoes with the projects of their 48 successors
Design: Emmanuel Crivelli, Dual Room, Biel. in the rest of the presentation.

Graphic Design At the end of the display where things come

Art director Emmanuel Crivelli (Biel), full circle, care has once again been taken

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

to create a receptive space for encounters that

can accommodate a large audience during
the opening and encourage exchanges and
discussions during presentations and tours.
This space features a large-format animation
conceived by Emmanuel Crivelli as well
as a shop in which competition participants
can display their creations on the levels
of a large, wall-mounted shelf unit. In front
of these two interventions, which each expand
on the content of the exhibition, are sets
of tables and benches, also designed by Lucas
Uhlmann, where visitors can take a break after
their tour of current Swiss design.

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Fringe Programme
Ahead of the exhibition, six main topic areas Friday, 14 June, 12 pm and 2 pm
were defined in which the designers are Women’s strike day
engaged this year: Collaboration, Geographies, On this day the Swiss Art Awards and the
Social Engagement and Craft, Gender and Swiss Design Awards invite to guided tours
Inclusion, Entrepreneurship and Speculative with a focus on feminist projects. Everybody is
Visions. The works of the participating invited to explore with us the works of artists
designers are contextualised in essays and in and designers who deal with this important
the fringe programme. topic. A flyer with an invitation is sent out to
swissdesignawardsblog.ch the women living in the neighborhood in the
days leading up to the exhibition.
Tuesday, 11 June, 4 pm  Meeting point: Hall 3, info desk
Tour Design Miami/Basel and Swiss Design Awards
hosted by Aric Chen and Jörg Boner Friday, 14 June, 8 pm
Join Design Miami/Basel 2019 Curatorial Pizzas of Inequality
Director Aric Chen and President of Crunching numbers for change at the heart of the
the Federal Design Commission Jörg Boner Swiss Design Awards
for a tour of programming highlights of The two nominated groups Common-Interest
Design Miami/Basel and the Swiss Design and Depatriarchise Design conducted
Awards. Moderation by design critic and a quantitative study analyzing the gender
curator Vera Sacchetti. representation of the last 20 years of the Swiss
 Location: Meet at Design Miami/Basel Hall Design Awards competition. On the evening
1.0 information desk; from 5 pm tour at the of the Frauen*streik and at the very heart
Swiss Design Awards, Hall 3 of the award exhibition, they will present the
Attendance is limited; to RSVP visit findings in the form of freshly-baked pizzas,
nvite.com/swissdesign accompanied by some food-for-thought stories.
This statistical evening aims to fuel lively
Thursday, 13 June, 6 pm discussions on the politics of design awards.
Behind-the-scenes: from idea to object  Meeting point: Hall 3, 1st floor
Exhibition tour and discussion with Collective
Swallow, Filipe & Viricel and Sylvan Lanz. Mini-studio: draw and read
How does a fashion collection come to life? Reading and drawing station for little
What can go wrong in the design of a chair? artists with illustrations by the winners
How do you go from idea to animated type (not supervised).
design? Come have a look behind the scenes
of design processes of Sylvan Lanz, Collective
Swallow and Filipe & Viricel. The designers
will give us a tour of their projects, which will
be followed by an informal open discussion.
Moderation: Jonas Berthod (designer
and researcher)
 6 pm: Exhibition tour
 6:45 pm: Discussion followed by drinks
 Meeting point: Hall 3, 1st floor

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Imprint
Curator and Project management Contacts and Information
Anna Niederhäuser, Bern Information about the laureates,
the Swiss Design Awards 2019 exhibition
Co-Curator and the Swiss Grand Award for Design:
Mirjam Fischer, Zurich Anna Niederhäuser,
Head of Design Promotion,
Federal Office of Culture Team Cultural Creativity Section,
Soraya Estevez Ruiz, Gerhard Friedli, Federal Office of Culture
Marie-France Lombardo, Béatrice Mettraux, + 41 79 476 64 74,
Andrea Rosser, Alexandra Schwab, [email protected]
Philomen Stucky, Matilde Tettamanti
Information about the Confederation’s
Exhibition Architecture awards policy:
Lucas Uhlmann, Lausanne Danielle Nanchen Davi,
Head of Cultural Creativity Section,
Art Direction Federal Office of Culture
Emmanuel Crivelli, Dual Room, Biel/Bienne + 41 58 464 98 23,
for the visual identity of the Swiss Design [email protected]
Awards 2019
Media relations
Photography Information, images of the exhibition
Philippe Jarrigeon, Paris for the visual and interview appointments
identity of the Swiss Design Awards 2019 with the award winners:
Etienne Malapert, Paris for the website Jenny Keller,
www.schweizerkulturpreise.ch/design + 41 79 543 16 70,
[email protected]
Art Direction–Swiss Grand Award for Design
Krispin Heé

Photography/Videos–Swiss Grand Award

for Design
Marc Asekhame, Paris/Zurich

Editor Blog and Social Media

Yves Mettler

Press Images
High-res press images to download:
www.bak.admin.ch/sda2019

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Participants
Graphic Design (15)
Studio Ard: Guillaume Chuard and Daniel Nørregaard (London/Lausanne),
Ondřej Báchor (Lausanne), Atelier Mateo Broillet (Amsterdam), Christoffer Ellegaard (Geneva),
Ben Ganz (New York), Eliott Grunewald (Lausanne), Alina Günter (Zurich), Ann Kern (Zurich),
Sylvan Lanz (Basel/Zurich), Neo Neo: Thuy-An Hoang and Xavier Erni (Geneva),
No Plans: Daniel Baer and Daniel Pianetti (London/New York), PIN: Larissa Kasper,
Rosario Florio and Samuel Bänziger (St. Gallen), Luca Schenardi (Altdorf ), Pascal Storz &
Fabian Bremer (Berlin/Leipzig),
Régis Tosetti & Simon Palmieri (Paris/Berlin)

Products and Objects (10)

Egli Studio: Yann Mathys and Thibault Dussex (Geneva/Renens), Filipe & Viricel:
Micael Filipe and Romain Viricel (Lausanne/Lyon/London), Iskander Guetta (Lausanne),
Joanne Guiraud (London), Josefina Muñoz (Geneva), Dimitri Nassisi (Grens), Noemi
Niederhauser (Lausanne), Qwstion (Zurich), Julie Richoz (Paris), Fabian Schwaerzler (Zurich)

Photography (9)
Marc Asekhame (Zurich/Paris), Chaumont-Zaerpour: Agathe Zaerpour and Philippine
Chaumont (Lausanne), Yann Gross & Arguiñe Escandon (Chexbres), Solène Gün (Biel/Bienne),
Lukas Hoffmann (Berlin), Quentin Lacombe (Lausanne), Vincent Levrat (Paris),
Calypso Mahieu (Lausanne), Virginie Rebetez (Lausanne)

Fashion and Textile Design (10)

Annina Arter (Zurich), Estelle Bourdet (Sweden), Collective Swallow: Anais Marti and
Ugo Pecoraio (Brügg), Bryan Colò (Warsaw), Rafael Kouto (Losone/Zurich),
Maison Marie Jambers (Lausanne), Sandro Marzo (Allschwil), Ottolinger: Cosima Gadient and
Christa Bösch (Basel/Berlin), [savoar fer]: Eliane Heutschi (Paris), Julia Seemann (Zurich)

Scenography (1)
Bureau: Daniel Zamarbide (Geneva/Lisbon)

Mediation (3)
Common-Interest: Nina Paim and Corinne Giesel (Basel), Depatriarchise Design: Maya Ober
and Anja Neidhardt (Basel), Palais-Galerie: Denis Roueche & Prune Simon-Vermontt (Neuchâtel)

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Federal Design Commission

In 1918 the Confederation took the far-reaching of quality, things we will want to live with
and far-sighted decision to set up a Federal for many years to come. Only then can design
Design Commission and so establish this contribute to our culture and society and
competition, albeit under a different name. the challenges they face. The task of this
Today, 101 years on, the Swiss Design Awards competition is the same as it was back in 1918:
once again invite the best designers to take to honour work of comprehensive and lasting
centre stage. beauty–and that means good design.

The world has come a long way since 1918. — Jörg Boner, Chair
Society has moved on, and many of the issues
that were important back then are no longer
so today. New areas have become relevant
and contemporary. The job of designers is
constantly changing, as in so many other fields
of activity. We find ourselves in a world where
we are exhorted to rein in our consumption
and halt the overproduction of objects. As a
society we are urged to live more modestly,
and with greater awareness, than we do today.
In view of this, there are criticisms that could
be levelled at the competition. Today, in 2019,
it is broadly the same as it was back when
it started. Isn’t it therefore failing to offer
responses to new needs and areas of work?
Why is it standing almost rock-like and
motionless in an era dominated by flux
and movement?

Sometimes the traditional values are the new

values too. While its tasks may change,
what we expect from design remains the same.
Because the Swiss Design Awards are all
about recognising quality. Their focus has
always been on people who develop, shape,
photograph, design, mediate, generate and
create things of exceptional quality–whether
cooperating with industry, cultural institutions
or other artisans, or working on their own.
Good design is also about beauty. Good design
makes its mark on the era in which it is
created. Good design is forward-looking and,
in the best cases, stands the test of time.
That is the only way it can endure. So if we
are to continue making and producing things
in future–and thus inevitably consuming
resources–let us at least make things

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Jury and Experts Tate Modern, Tate Britain and the British
The jury is made up of the seven members Council. His design is shown in exhibitions
of the Federal Design Commission appointed around the world. In 2008, he won the
by the Federal Council and three invited INFORM prize for conceptual design from
experts. They jointly appraise the submitted the Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst
dossiers as part of the first stage of the in Leipzig. He has received three Swiss
competition and agree upon a selection Design Awards, and became a member
for the second round. The exhibited works of the Federal Design Commission in 2012.
are judged in the second round and the awards
are decided upon. Claudia Caviezel (b. 1977 in Zug) lives and
works in St. Gallen. After graduating in textile
Chair design at the University of Design in Lucerne
Jörg Boner (b. 1968 in Uster) lives and works in 2002, she worked for the Swiss haute
in Zurich. He trained as a cabinet maker couture manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer
and design draughtsman before studying at for several years. There she created fabrics
the Basel School of Design. Since graduating that were used by Vivienne Westwood,
in 1996, Jörg Boner has been responsible Louis Vuitton and Marc Jacobs, to name but
for designing a diverse spectrum of products, a few. Her desire for interdisciplinary practice
furniture and spaces, and has run his own and exchange led her to the European Design
design studio, jörg boner productdesign, Lab at the IED in Madrid in 2009. She has
in Zurich since 2001. The firm develops received several awards–among others,
utilitarian objects both for industrial mass the Swiss Design Award three times and,
production and as individual pieces. in 2016, the Swiss Grand Award for Design.
His products have earned him national and Since 2010, Claudia Caviezel has worked
international design awards on a number of exclusively for Akris and aside from that,
occasions, including the Swiss Design Award, has been doing freelance projects all over
Swiss Grand Award for Design, the IF Gold the world. Her work ranges from different
Award, the Design Prize Switzerland and products for Atelier Pfister, collaboration
the Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Award. with architects, large artworks and carpets
He taught at ECAL Lausanne from 2003 for exhibitions and interiors, ceramics,
to 2014. Jörg Boner joined the Federal Design rugs and much more besides. For the Swiss
Commission in 2018. Pavilion at the 2017 Expo in Kazakhstan,
she designed the visuals and images
Members for murals in collaboration with Atelier Oï.
Laurent Benner (b. 1975 in Bern) has lived and She joined the Federal Design Commission
worked in London since 1993. He has studied in 2018.
art and design at the Royal College of Art
and at the Central St. Martins College of Art Davide Fornari (b. 1979, Mantua) is associate
and Design, London. He is an independent professor at ECAL/University of Art and
graphic designer and art director, a founding Design Lausanne, where he leads the applied
member of Dreck Records, London, and has Research and Development sector.
taught at design colleges in China, Italy, Mexico, After studying architecture at IUAV in Venice
the Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. and ETSA in Barcelona, he earned a Ph.D.
Laurent Benner has designed the catalogues in design sciences from IUAV in 2010.
of “The Most Beautiful Swiss Books” His Ph.D. thesis “Il volto come interfaccia”
(2004–06) and has worked on many book (et al./EDIZIONI, Milan 2012) was awarded
projects and record covers with artists such as a grant for publication from the Swiss National
Christian Marclay, AM/PM and Secondo, and Science Foundation. Previously, he was
has realised other projects with COS, a researcher and lecturer at the Laboratory

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

of Visual Culture, SUPSI University of Applied Noten in Antwerp. Since 2011, he has worked
Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland as an independent textile print designer for
in Lugano (2009–2017). Together with Silvia Lanvin, Balenciaga and acne studios amongst
Sfligiotti, he co-edited the magazine “Progetto others. For some years now, he has been part
grafico” (2015–2017). With Robert Lzicar, of Atelier Pfister and also started designing
he co-edited the book “Mapping Graphic his own line of carpets–a collection which
Design History in Switzerland” (Triest is represented by Maniera in Belgium and
Verlag, Zurich 2016) and co-ordinates Helmrinderknecht in Switzerland. Christoph
the research project “Swiss Graphic Design Hefti also creates video installations and is
and Typography Revisited” (2016–2019). active in the field of performing arts. He has
Davide Fornari joined the Federal Design won multiple Swiss Design Awards, and in
Commission in 2018. 2009 won the Swiss Grand Award for Design
for his multidisciplinary oeuvre. He has been
Tatyana Franck (b. 1984 in Geneva) Director a member of the Federal Design Commission
of the Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne since since 2012.
March 2015, Tatyana Franck has previously
headed the Claude Picasso Archives based Aude Lehmann (b. 1976 in Saint-Imier) lives
in Geneva and managed important and works in Zurich. She studied graphic
photographic collections, including design at the Ecole cantonale d’arts visuels
the David Douglas Duncan Archives. Curator in Biel and has been working as a freelance
of numerous international exhibitions graphic designer, primarily in the fields of
including “Charlie Chaplin. A Vision”, art and culture, since 1998. In collaboration
“Hybrids–The Body as the Imaginary”, with Tan Wälchli, she launched the trilogy
“The Beauty of Lines. Masterpieces from “Whyart–Aura, Glamour, A La Mode”,
the Gilman and Gonzales-Falla Collection”, published between 2004 and 2009. In 2005,
“Nicolas Savary. Conquistador”, “Unfamiliar she was invited to take part in the competition
Familiarities. Outside Views on Switzerland”, to design a new series of Swiss banknotes.
“The Memory of the Future. Photographic Between 2010 and 2012, she designed
Dialogues between Past, Present and Future”, the catalogues for “The Most Beautiful
“Picasso at Work, Through the Lens of David Swiss Books” and worked on a variety
Douglas Duncan” and “La Part Animale”. of publications in close collaboration with
Tatyana Franck is also director of the artists such as Shahryar Nashat and Shirana
“Collection–Musée de l’Elysée” and editor-in- Shahbazi. She taught at ECAL from 2002
chief of the magazine ELSE. She is involved to 2006, and afterwards at the Jan van Eyck
in the cultural policy of several renowned Academie in Maastricht (2007). She has been
institutions and holds various honorary awarded the Swiss Design Award three times,
positions in Switzerland and abroad. and received the Jan Tschichold Award in
Tatyana Franck joined the Federal Design 2008. She has been a member of the Federal
Commission in 2018. Design Commission since 2016.

Christoph Hefti (b. 1967 in Lausanne) lives Experts

in Brussels and works internationally. After Pierre Charpin (b. 1962 in Saint-Mandé)
training as a textile designer at the Zurich Pierre Charpin trained as a sculptor and
University of the Arts, he attended the Central has devoted himself to furniture and object
Saint Martins College of Art and Design in design since the early 1990s. His approach
London, where he obtained an MA in fashion. to design is strongly influenced by his artistic
After initial employment with Jean-Paul background. Research on form and colour
Gaultier, Hefti spent 13 years as a creative characterises his work and can be seen in both
assistant and textile designer for Dries van limited-edition objects (mainly for Galerie

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Swiss Design Awards 2019

Kreo) and industrial products such as the PC Brooklyn-based architects SITU and
lamp that he designed for HAY. The use the Federal Office of Culture. Radovan
of a simple vocabulary and elementary forms Scasascia has been running the record label
is a constant aspect in his work, as well as “What About Never” since 2011, and in 2013
the desire to offer sensual objects. Drawing, he co-founded publishing company “Versions”.
which he practises as a starting point for
his designs or as an exercise in its own right, Anna Niederhäuser (art historian) heads
is an essential part of his creative process. the Design Promotion Section at the Federal
Numerous solo exhibitions have been devoted Office of Culture.
to his work. He was elected Designer
of the Year 2017 at Maison & Objet. He lives
and works in Paris.

Catherine Ince (b. 1975 in London) lives and

works in London. She studied art & design
history at Sheffield Hallam University and
curating contemporary design at Kingston
University. Between 2005 and 2009 Ince
was a curator, and subsequently co-director,
of the British Council’s Architecture, Design
and Fashion Department. As assistant and
co-commissioner, she was responsible for
the British Pavilion exhibitions at the Venice
Biennale of Architecture in 2006 and 2008
respectively. After that she was a curator at
the Barbican Art Gallery, where she originated
major survey exhibitions including
“The World of Charles and Ray Eames” (2015),
“Bauhaus: Art as Life” (2012) and “Future
Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion” (2011),
and edited their associated publications.
In 2011 she worked with Junya Ishigami on
“Architecture as Air”, the Japanese architect’s
first major commission in the UK, which was
presented in the Barbican’s Curve Gallery.
Catherine Ince became senior curator for
V&A East in 2015, the V&A’s new museum
planned to open in the Queen Elizabeth
Olympic Park in London in 2021.

Radovan Scasascia (b. 1975 in Zurich) is

a London-based web designer and developer,
musician, record label owner and publisher.
Originally trained as an architect at ETH
Zurich, he founded the design practice Studio
Scasascia in 2005. Today, the studio designs
and develops websites and apps for clients
including the fashion line COS, acclaimed
women’s magazine “The Gentlewoman”,

17
Swiss Design Awards 2019

Historical data Swiss Design Awards

1913 1990–2000
The Swiss Federal Council elects Charles Exhibitions of grant recipients at various Swiss
L’Eplattenier to the Federal Art Commission, locations; each with an accompanying catalogue.
who champions a grant for the applied arts.
2001
1917 Reorganisation of federal funding for design,
Federal Decree on Support for the Applied no exhibition
Arts with a yearly grant of at least
15,000 Swiss francs. 2002–2012
Rotating exhibitions at the Museum
The Federal Council appoints the following für Gestaltung Zürich, mudac Lausanne
members to the Federal Commission for and Museum Bellerive Zurich,
Applied Arts: Daniel Baud-Boy, head of with accompanying catalogues.
the Ecole des beaux-arts in Geneva; Alfred
Altherr, architect and director of the Museum Since 2013
of Applied Arts Zurich; Charles L’Eplattenier, Swiss Design Awards exhibition in Basel during
painter and sculptor, La Chaux-de-Fonds; the Art Basel and Design Miami/Basel fairs.
Sophie Hauser, painter and graphic artist,
Bern; Albert A. Hoffmann, industrialist, Basel. Since 2018
The Swiss Design Awards are expanded to
1918 include a curated exhibition of the laureates
First grant competition for industrial and of the Swiss Grand Award for Design.
applied art; 600 Swiss francs awarded
to Oskar Weber, Oetwyl.

1922
First national exhibition of applied arts,
Halles du Comptoir Suisse, Lausanne; the
Federal Department of Home Affairs buys
96 works on the recommendation of
the Federal Commission for Applied Arts.

1972
The number of applications grows steadily.
The Commission puts forward the idea of
organising exhibitions of the works submitted
for the competition in various Swiss towns.
The provisional venue is the Kornhaus Bern
(Museum of Applied Arts).

1985
The competition now takes place in two
stages: the first on the basis of documentation,
the second on the basis of originals.

18
 Swiss Design Awards 2019 Swiss Grand Award For Design 2019
1ST FLOOR
SWISS DESIGN AWARDS

↑ ↑ ↑ ↑ Estelle Bourdet
Qwstion Alina Günter Palais–Galerie Luca Schenardi →
↗ GROUND FLOOR
Common-Interest !!! Fabian SWISS ART AWARDS
!!! Lukas Hoffman Schwaerzler
Levrat Vincent ←

Quentin Lacombe No Plans

← → Calypso Mahieu
→
Daniel Zamarbide, Simon Palmieri &
Bureau !!! SWISS GRAND AWARD Regis Tosetti
FOR DESIGN 2019
!!! Pascal Storz &
Fabian Bremer
Arter Anina
← Atelier
Mateo Broillet
→

WHERE?
Collective Swallow Josefina Muñoz
→ ←

!!! Ondřej Báchor Marc Asekhame !!!

← →

!!! Sandro Marzo
Filipe & Viricel !!! ←
→

Ard — Guillaume
Noemi Chuard & Daniel
Niederhauser Nørregaard !!!
← →

Julia Seemann
→

Yann Gross & Maison

Arguiñe Escandón Marie Jambers
← ←

Depatriarchise
Design
→

!!! Julie Richoz
←

!!! Raphael Kouto
←
Ann Kern !!!
→
Eliott Grunewald
→
!!! Ottolinger
←

Egli Studio !!! Solène Gün !!!

→ →

Ben Ganz
← Christopher
Ellegaard
→

Joanne Guiraud
←
[Savoar Fer] 
→

Sylvan Lanz !!!
→
Chaumont-Zaerpour
← Iskander Guetta
←

!!! Dimitri Nassisi
←
PIN Bryan Colò
→ ←
Virginie Rebetez
→

TALKS
JUNE SHOP

AWARD
CEREMONY
←

LIFT
→

!!! = AWARDED