The nomination deadline for the world’s largest design prize, INDEX: Award, came to
an end yesterday at the stroke of midnight. Almost 1,400 announced their candidacy
for the award, worth €500,000, officially breaking the submission record for the fifth
consecutive cycle since 2007, and making it clear that the world is embracing design
that makes the world a better place.
“I’m so pleased – this clearly confirms that the type of design we focus on, designs made to improve life, really is the
way forward,” says CEO of INDEX: Design to Improve Life®, Kigge Hvid. “This is great news for the global
community, but I’m even more pleased about another broken record.” This year, the INDEX: Award 2017 nominees
came from 85 different countries, more than ever before.
“We’ve managed to reach many more corners of the world this time, for example, this year we covered 19 African
countries, where we’ve seen a great focus on IT and communication design,” explained Hvid. “This means that there
are more opportunities for designers out there, and that INDEX: Award has truly gone global.”
In the coming months, the 1,400 nominations will be assessed by the international INDEX: Award jury of design
experts. The winners will be announced on September 1st at an official ceremony held in the city of Elsinore, a
historical town just north of the Danish capital. The show will host over 1,200 guests, including the patron of INDEX:
Design to Improve Life® HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark.
Recent award winners include an innovative vertical farming system from Singapore, a large-scale design to rid the
world’s oceans of plastic, and a smartphone adapter to diagnose eye disease in remote locations.
With such a large pool of nominees for 2017, it is impossible to identify the favorites this year, however, there are
number of visible trends. Among them are new forms of ‘meat’, ranging from simple projects to make insects more
palatable to more far-fetched initiatives like lab-grown meat. Design for political engagement has also grown
substantially from 2015, including a much more vast range of civic participation apps and platforms. There is also a
clear focus on advanced robotics and AI, and, paradoxically, over 30 ’emotion-based’ designs were nominated, which
were made to foster more global empathy.
“It’s always very interesting to see the latest trends in design that seeks to change the world,” said Hvid. It gives us
some real insight into how the world around us is changing and moving ahead.”
In the coming weeks and months, the INDEX: Award jury will come together in a comprehensive and exciting online
process to find out who will be finalists for the world’s most impactful design award.
We look forward to seeing what they decide.
CONTACT:
Kigge Hvid via Lars Bøgeskov (Head of Communication)
T: + 45 22363138
E: lb@designtoimprovelife.dk
