Winners of the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award
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Swarovski and Design Miami have declared Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome as the winners for the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.Established in 2006, the Designers of the Future Award acknowledges technologically and conceptuaWinners of the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award
Swarovski and Design Miami have declared Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome as the winners for the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award.Established in 2006, the Designers of the Future Award acknowledges technologically and conceptually advanced designs across multiple disciplines, honoring promising young designers and studios behind these cutting-edge works. Swarovski and Design Miami have collaborated for this award for the fourth year in 2018 to provide the winners an opportunity to present their newly commissioned works to an influential audience of collectors, dealers, and journalists at Design Miami/Basel. Selected from designers across the globe, the 2018 winners — Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome — will respond to the brief of ‘smart living,’ applying pioneering crystal technologies including psycho activation techniques, touch crystal, and energy crystal, which will be unveiled at this year’s Design Miami/ Basel, to be held from June 12 to 17. These artists will be commissioned to utilize the wide range of resources from Swarovski to develop prototypes or statements, such as wearables, inclusive design solutions, lighting and/or functional home objects, which will illustrate new ways of connectivity and co-existence within our environment, through the integration of new crystal technologies. Experimental Dutch designer Frank Kolkman will present “Dream Machine,” where he will combine the interface of Swarovski crystal with neurobiology, neuropsychology, and psycho-activation techniques to allow individuals to enter a state of deep relaxation or “artificial dreaming,” providing a smart solution to the cognitive demands of modern life. Study O Portable — a research based Dutch-Japanese practice — will explore the blurring of light and color created from the crystals utilizing Swarovski’s avant-garde technologies, and will create a series of surfaces that will be translated into objects, including screens, a table, and lights, evoking the blurry and fading colors associated with the sunset or changing colors of leaves on a tree. Yosuke Ushigome works at the Japanese design studio Takram’s London office as a creative technologist. His exhibition “Can Crystals Interface Us to AI?” will explore the potential of crystal as an alternative interaction between human and machine intelligence that occurs within the Smart Home environment.Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Swarovski Executive Board, said: “We are delighted to announce Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome as this year’s Swarovski Designers of the Future. We look forward to seeing these exciting innovators use Swarovski crystal as a creative medium to explore the relationship between human behaviour and new smart living technologies.”All the designs by Frank Kolkman, Study O Portable, and Yosuke Ushigome will be integrated into a single installation at Design Miami/ Basel. Alongside this artificial environment, Swarovski will present Atelier Swarovski’s new home décor collections as a ‘Curio’ exhibition within the core galleries at the fair, which will include functional and decorative table top objects, home accessories, and gifts. www.blouinartinfo.comFounder: Louise Blouin Read more