Every year London Design Festival recognises the contribution made by leading design figures and emerging talents to London and the industry with four London Design Medals awarded. The Medals will be presented on Monday 16 September 2019 at the British Land Celebration of Design. For the fifth consecutive year, British Land is Headline Partner to the awards, which takes place at The House of Commons, Westminster.
A panel of established designers, industry commentators and previous winners meet to debate and judge the possible recipients of the four Medals. This year’s jury members are: Ozwald Boateng OBE, Ian Callum CBE, Sheridan Coakley, Njusja de Gier, Es Devlin OBE, Sarah Douglas, Ben Evans CBE, Dr Tristram Hunt, Domenic Lippa, Jay Osgerby OBE, Raoul
Shah, Joff Sharpe, Justine Simons OBE, Sir John Sorrell CBE, Dr Paul Thompson and Jane Withers.
The London Design Medal, supported by British Airways London City, is the highest accolade bestowed upon an individual who has distinguished themselves within the industry and demonstrated consistent design excellence.
This year’s winner, Tom Dixon, rose to prominence in the mid 1980s as a self-taught British designer. He set up the creative think-tank Space, which acted as a shop front for himself and other young designers. By the late 1980s, he was working for Cappellini, for which he designed the iconic S chair. In the late 1990s, Dixon became Creative Director at
Habitat and was responsible for rejuvenating the brand while maintaining Terence Conran’s vision of enriching everyday life through simple, modern design.
Design Innovation Medal, supported by SAP, celebrates entrepreneurship in all its forms, both locally and internationally.
It honours an individual for whom design lies at the core of their development and success.
Daniel Charny is a creative director, curator and educator with an inquiring mind and an entrepreneurial streak. He is cofounder of the creative consultancy From Now On, where clients include Dartington Hall, the Design Museum, Google, Heatherwick Studio, Nesta and U+I. His most recent initiative is the creative education think-and-do-tank FixEd.
Emerging Design Medal supported by Storey, recognises an impact made on the design scene within five or so years of graduation.
Ross Atkin is a designer and engineer based in east London. His work focuses on two areas: helping disabled people to live more independently, and introducing design and engineering to children.
Lifetime Achievement Medal Winner supported by Fortnum & Mason, honours a significant and fundamental contribution to the design industry over the course of a career.
Vivienne Westwood was born in 1941 and moved to London 17 years later. She began designing in 1971 along with her then partner, Malcolm McLaren. In 1984, she launched her own fashion line and in 2004 the V&A hosted a Vivienne Westwood retrospective to celebrate her 34 years in fashion – the largest exhibition ever devoted to a living British
fashion designer.
