GENERAL INFORMATION

The Swiss Design Awards 2017 will be conferred in Basel on 13 June in the presence of Federal Councillor Alain Berset. For this year’s edition of the awards (initiated in 1918), the Federal Office of Culture will honour 17 standout positions within the contemporary practice of design,recommended by the Federal Design Commission and invited experts.Simultaneously, the event will honour the winners of the Swiss GrandAward for Design 2017. The winners of the renowned prize this year are jewellery designer and artist David Bielander, comic-bookartist and illustrator Thomas Ott, and graphic designer and art director Jean Widmer.2017 marks the 100th edition of the Swiss Design Award – it first took place in 1918. Since then it has two goals: firstly, its funding is a form of direct economic support that helps designers make the jump from prototype to production. Even if in many cases the sum of 25.000 CHF per laureate can only act as start-up funding, it invests in the quality and the reputation of Swiss design. Secondly, it indirectly gives designers creative freedom and the will to innovate. Financial freedom and no time restraints allow them to develop and test new and unusual design solutions.

EXHIBITION

Works by the winners and by the participants selected for the second round of the Swiss Design Competition will be presented in the exhibition Swiss Design Awards 2017. This year 53 works from 240 entries were selected. Alongside this, the exhibition will present photographic portraits and videos of the winners of the Grand Award for Design. Since 2013, the exhibition has been a featured component of the cultural programme during the Art Basel and DesignMiami Basel, as well as the Swiss Art Awards in June. Presented by the Federal Office ofCulture, the exhibition not only enables a broad public to see projects by contemporary Swiss designers gathered together in a single location, but also serves as an opportunity for the local design scene to present itself toan international specialist public.

COMPETITION

Participation in the Swiss Design Competition is open to Swiss-born designers and designers located in Switzerland. The competitionencompasses the categories of photography, graphic design, fashion and textile design, products and objects, scenography, and mediation. The jury is formed by the Federal Design Commission with the support of two experts. The competition takes place in two rounds. In the first round, applicants submit a portfolio to the jury. Selected applicants are invited to a second round, where they display their work as part of the public exhibition Swiss Design Awards. There, the works are judged andthe awards are decided upon, shortly before the opening.

THE AWARD

The prize money for the Swiss Design Award is a monetary sum of 25,000 Swiss francs. By recommendation of the Federal DesignCommission, this year 17 designers are honoured in the categories of photography (2), graphic design (5), fashion and textile design (3),products and objects (6), and mediation (1).

NEWSPAPER SWISS DESIGN AWARDS

In conjunction with the opening on 12 June, a free, trilingual magazine is being published (German, French, and English). Design: Jonathan Hares, Lausanne, with photographs by Paola Caputo, Zurich.

BLOG INTERVIEW SERIES

In the run-up to the exhibition, participants have been asked to give interviews to the Swiss Design Awards’ online journal. Their answers can be read at: www.swissdesignawardsblog.ch

ART DIRECTION

Jonathan Hares (Lausanne) serves as the Art Director for the overall presentation of the Swiss Design Awards. Each year, he comes up with a new ”look” that lends recognition value to the awards, extending from the website swissdesignawards.ch, which presents the winners and nominees, to the magazine published about the Swiss Design Awards,all the way to the placards in the exhibition and the communications design. The overall presentation is a mix of collage with graphic design and photography. In addition to his work for the Swiss Design Awards,he designs other exhibitions and publications, for which he’s been given countless awards and honours. In 2015, he won the Gold Medal for the“Best Book Design from all over the World” at the Leipzig Book Fair for the publication “Architecture from the Arab World (1914–2014):A Selection”. www.jonathanhares.ch

EXHIBITION ARCHITECTURE

The displays for the Swiss Design Awards, developed by Holzer Kobler Architekturen (Zurich/Berlin), will once again unfold their versatility on the gallery of Hall 3. The black-and white elements function as flexible exhibition stages for the nominated and awarded design objects. They can be used as a table, podium, hanging device, or exhibition surface.Their casual location is an invitation for visitors to come discover the contemporary practice of design. Holzer Kobler Architekturen is involved in various aspects of design: architecture, exhibitions, creative design. The creative diversity of their projects emerges from the effort to find a unique solution for every task – to incorporate the past, present,and future into every endeavour, and interpret them anew.