- The German Design Award 2024 focuses on sustainable transformation in architecture, product and communication design and honors groundbreaking achievements.
- The event attracted over 1600 international guests and honored outstanding works in the disciplines of "Excellent Product Design", "Excellent Communications Design" and "Excellent Architecture".
- The program ranged from the award ceremonies, the “German Design Award Newcomer” award to discussions with experts who illuminated the strategic importance of design for entrepreneurial success as well as digital innovations and circular design.
On January 26th, the Rat für Formgebung once again revealed the outstanding design achievements that were presented as part of the German Design Awards. The event not only honored excellent design, it also honored innovative transformation approaches in architecture and promising newcomers to the design industry. As an established institution for communication and the transfer of knowledge in the areas of design, brand and innovation, the foundation has offered a broad network of currently more than 330 companies since its founding in 1953.
This year's event took place for the first time in Kap Europa, the Messe Frankfurt congress center. In addition to the impressive award show, the new location offered space for an extensive program and panel talks. The focus here was primarily on solving transformation tasks using design as a strategic key.
The German Design Award 2024 as a network of the design industry
This year's event attracted around 1600 international guests. In addition to the winners in the disciplines “Excellent Product Design”, “Excellent Communications Design” and “Excellent Architecture”, invited guests from the areas of design, press, culture and business also took part. All winners were given the opportunity to present their products and services in the form of an exhibition at the event. The aim is to create an exchange between innovators and creative minds that will drive transformations in the design industry even further. With such an event, the Rat für Formgebung created an unique platform for networking in the international design community.
Rewards for innovative product design through to outstanding communication concepts
This year's awards covered a wide range of diverse design topics: The "Excellent Communications Design" area, for example, was heavily dominated by the subcategories "Brand Identity", "Corporate Identity" and "Event". “Excellent Product Design”, on the other hand, consisted largely of the “Medical/Health Care” and “Sports/Outdoor Activities” categories. In the “Excellent Architecture” discipline, architectural projects and especially the “Interior Architecture” category are in demand. The 65 gold award winners were ceremoniously honored on stage at the award show and were also presented with their gold sculpture.
German Design Award Newcomer
Since 2012, the Rat für Formgebung has been promoting German design talent with the “German Design Award Newcomer” in its own category. One personality particularly stood out this year: Nicolas König. He impressed with unique projects that combine architecture with research and science to create an interdisciplinary overall experience. The architecture graduate was named this year's "Newcomer of the Year" with his touching and innovative projects. Lutz Dietzold, CEO of the German Design Council, presented König with the 15.000 euro prize. The four competitors and finalists Leonie Burkhardt, Justus Hilfenhaus, studio formagora and Sebastian Winter each received 2.500 euros.
Source by German Design Award, Copyright by Christof Jakob/German Design Council
"From Design to Success" Talks: Expert discussions about the strategic role of design
The moderated event entitled "From Design to Success" offered three different discussion rounds, led by design journalist and moderator Valerie Präkelt. The overarching theme focused on the influence of the design industry. In the discussions, Ralf Holleis (Director Industrial Design, CYBEX), Oliver Kraemer (Head of Design, Solitaire / BSH) and Fabian Rothe (Creative Director, Uniplan), among others, addressed the question of how design can be used as a strategic lever for entrepreneurial success can function. Another round highlighted the potential of design for digital innovation. The third round dealt with the circular economy and product development from the perspective of circular design.
The German Design Award 2024 is more than a stage for aesthetics
“With the German Design Award we are creating much more than just a showcase for design achievements. We see more and more the need to put the design discourse in the foreground: global developments, sustainability and circular design, digitalization and AI, as well as ideas for a more social, fairer society are topics that have a place with us,” says Lutz Dietzold , Managing Director of the Rat für Formgebung. “With submissions from all continents of the world, we show cross-industry developments and concrete solutions for the German Design Award on how we can achieve change globally.” The collective effort of various companies around the world is manifested within the framework of the German Design Award. It shows how many designers around the world are striving to make a positive contribution to shaping the world. The award ceremony is considered an important platform to network, inspire and make these groundbreaking initiatives accessible to a broader public.
