About the 2009 award
About the 2008 winner
About the 2007 winner
The award champions and celebrates the importance of creative entrepreneurs working in the field of design.
The International Young Design Entrepreneur award is being presented for the fifth time and is awarded in partnership with 100% Design, London’s international trade fair for furniture and interiors.
In 2009 the following 10 countries are participating in the IYDE awards: China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan and Turkey.
Entrepreneurs between 25 and 35 years working in any of the following design sectors with at least 2 years professional experience:
- Architecture, interiors and environment
- Product design manufacture: furniture, industrial products and craft
- Design promotion: exhibitions, events, festivals and retail
- Consultants providing specialist services in any of the areas outlined
The award is unique in rewarding entrepreneurial ability. We recognise that a participant may be active as a designer; however their work as an artist should be secondary to their focus as an entrepreneur in the promotion of design. Artistic talent will not be factored into the judging procedure – finalists will be judged solely on the merit of their entrepreneurial abilities in the industry.
Applications for this award have been closed. For any further information, please contact:
Rwituja Gomes Mookherjee
British Council
17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg
New Delhi 110 001
Tel: +91 11 4149 7374
Email at rwituja.mookherjee@in.britishcouncil.org or yce.india@in.britishcouncil.org
Selection Process
Young Design Entrepreneur - India Finalist
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Six finalists will be shortlisted from the application received and asked to make a presentation to a selection committee. |
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The selection committee will nominate an India finalist to travel to the UK to represent India and compete for the international award. |
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The India finalist will get an opportunity to travel to the UK (London, Glasgow and Belfast) in September 2009 on a visit programme to meet leaders of the design sector. It will comprise visits to designers, design-lead retailers and manufacturers, and institutions active in the procurement of design and architecture. |
International Young Design Entrepreneur
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During the UK tour all the national finalists’ will participate in a judging procedure where they will make a presentation to an elite UK industry panel about their work and their understanding of, and vision for the design sector. |
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The jury will select the international winner of the award who will receive a bowl designed by acclaimed glass designers Gillies Jones Glass. |
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In addition to the award title, the winner receives a financial prize of £5000 to be spent on a collaborative project with the British Council that builds the relationship between the winning country and the UK. |
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Attend 100% Design (24 – 27 September 2009) |
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All finalists will be given the opportunity to promote a piece of design from their country not yet available in the UK but that they believe could have a UK and wider international appeal. Experts from the British Council Design team will select several pieces to be presented at our curated stand at 100% Design. |
100% Design
It is one of the world's most important contemporary interior design exhibitions presenting the latest in furniture, lighting, and accessories. The fair is the UK's premier contemporary interiors event for the contract market. There is no other show that connects the world of architecture and design with innovative, contemporary interior products, creativity and an exciting mix of new and established talent.
Siddhartha Das
Designer Head, Spaced Out Production Pvt. Ltd.
The worldwide search for the most innovative and creative young international design entrepreneur reached a climax when Indian designer Siddhartha Das was named the International Young Design Entrepreneur 2008.
Siddhartha received the accolade in an event at 100% Design, the UK’s foremost contemporary interiors show. The award was presented by 100% Design Exhibition Director Peter Massey on Friday 19 September, 2008. Siddhartha was given a financial prize of £7,500 to be spent on a collaborative project with the UK’s international cultural relations body, the British Council.
The judges for this year’s award were Janice Kirkpatrick, Founder, Graven Images, Glasgow (Chair); Kim Colin, Founder, Industrial Facility; Sigal Cohen, Founder, Oruga Films (Venezuela), winner IYDE 08 ; Peter Massey, Exhibition Director, 100% Design; Rebecca Walton, Head of Arts Group, British Council.
Siddhartha is the Director of Siddhartha and Spaced Out Productions and is a Delhi-based cultural professional who works through art and design. As a designer, Siddhartha plans, designs and implements projects often by forming a network of professionals. He largely works with cultural, heritage and public spaces with a focus on branding and publications. He has a strong interest in developmental issues addressed through design and works with various traditional craft communities across India.
As an entrepreneur he aims to create links between traditional craft communities and urban markets, be it India or abroad, through design that is modern, and a business model that provides a sustainable livelihood.
The judges for this year’s award were Janice Kirkpatrick, Founder, Graven Images, Glasgow (Chair); Kim Colin, Founder, Industrial Facility; Sigal Cohen, Founder, Oruga Films (Venezuela), winner IYDE 08 ; Peter Massey, Exhibition Director, 100% Design; Rebecca Walton, Head of Arts Group, British Council.
IYDE 08 Citations
‘Siddartha gave an excellent presentation, demonstrating a thorough knowledge of the local Indian design scene and proving that he plays an absolutely vital role in it. Both a designer and a design distributor abroad, he possesses a remarkable creative judgment and an acute knowledge of design processes from manufacture all the way into retail. A true agent of change, he has identified a value gap to be exploited and is determined to develop Indian craftsmanship by coupling it with high quality design skills.’
The panel of judges made two special commendations to runners-up, Mohammed Fares Aly and Y. Tsai. Mohammed Fares Aly, a designer based in Egypt was praised for his passion and understanding of Egyptian design, past and present, and his dedication to promoting local industry within the context of creating a strong, culturally specific design brand. Y. Tsai, an architect based in South Africa, was also specially commended for his inspirational approach to the design industry in his country and for his drive to generate social change through design.
Celebrating its fourth year, the International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year (IYDE) programme has seen nine outstanding young people from Egypt, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Taiwan, and Turkey come to the UK to celebrate their creativity and enterprise in design in their own country and to network with people from the UK business. The nine finalists took part in a UK tour of the London and Glasgow design industries, meeting key people from the UK business, making contacts, promoting design from their own country and attended 100% Design and the London Design Festival.
The British Council’s Creative Economy Expert, Andrew Senior, said: `There’s a wealth of design talent out there and the IYDE award champions the importance of young design entrepreneurs in this field. This prize is special in that it recognises the importance of design entrepreneurs in the regeneration and renewal of this sector of the creative economy and the role they have to play in changing their environments and in turn affecting positive social change through design.’
In addition, the first International Young Design Entrepreneur Alumni seminar was held this September (16-17) to celebrate the successful first three years of the project, discuss key issues for design in emerging markets, and investigate ways to continue to sustain the valuable IYDE alumni network. Over 20 past finalists attended the 2-day seminar, with the IYDE 08 finalists joining in the sessions.
The winner of the inaugural sibling award, UK Young Design Entrepreneur was also announced at the joint awards ceremony. The winner, Deborah Szebeko, is Founding Director of thinkpublic, a company specialising in innovative design solutions for the public sector.
We are delighted to announce that Gunjan Gupta, Director of a furniture design company Wrap Art & Design from Delhi has won the exclusive title of 'Indian Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year 2007' which then throws wide open, the doors to the UK to compete for the International Title – International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
After a day long interview at a charming heritage space in Bangalore, the panel of judges unanimously voted Gunjan Gupta to represent India at the IYDEY Programme in the UK.
The judges said of Gunjan in their final comments - “Gunjan has identified a future for Indian craft in the contemporary context, clearly articulated and executed to high quality. The products are themselves incredibly evocative and beautifully produced. She can clearly demonstrate success in drawing skill and respect back into artisanship, as well as a willingness to take considerable risk"
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