About the year 2008
Competition
210 designers in total took part in the Swiss Federal Design Competition 2008 and 19 prizes were awarded in a two-stage jury process. In the first round the projects were assessed on the basis of the dossiers, and in the second round the original work was presented. The Swiss Federal Design Commission - except for the chairmanship of Lorette Coen - was newly constituted for 2008 and increased from 5 to 7 members. Together with international experts they form the competition's jury. The jury's criteria are many and varied: functionality, usability/practical value, aesthetics, manufacturing and production technique, appropriateness to the material (colour/material/surface), ecology/energy balance, price, rational and emotional message as well as future perspectives/trend.
The winners have a choice between a prize money of CHF 20,000, a six-month stay in a studio in London or New York, or a six-month internship abroad. This year internships in London were available with internationally renowned design companies such as Matthew Hilton (furniture and product design), Fredrikson Stallard (product design), Value and Service (graphic design), BC, MH (graphic design). For six years now the winners have been able to choose from these opportunities and they take active advantage of them. Approximately half the winners chose a stay in a studio or an internship; the other half the prize money. It is a particular joy that our promotion concept seems to bear fruit, particularly when a winner's internship with a company leads to future employment.
The catalogue is meant to be an encyclopaedia on various themes centring around the awarded works and the honoured individuals. The winners were asked to fill in a comprehensive questionnaire with different kinds of questions. The answers served as a repository for a fictitious encyclopaedia on the young Swiss design world. In an intense research process in terms of both content and design, and also with digressions into parallel worlds that can influence and shape design just as much, the authors and graphic designers together with the photographers present a rich collection of material. A complex system of cross references encourages readers to read creatively, following the trail as laid, or to go their own way, just as they wish.
The publication accompanies the ‘Swiss Federal Design Grants 2008' exhibition, which will take place this year at the Museum Bellerive in Zurich. Alain Rappaport is responsible for the scenography. In analogy to the publication he has decided on a scientific approach to the design objects visualized in the shape of a ramified system of paths. The works are presented on pedestals that shape the room so the visitors can follow only a predetermined path.