The Winners of the László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant 2020 Have Been Announced
Eight young designers and design theoreticians participated in the six-month programme of the László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant in 2019. The annually announced grant programme, launched more than thirty years ago, provides the opportunity for Hungarian designers under 35 to realise exciting and innovative design projects and experiments. The programme managed by the Hungarian Design Council is financed by the Ministry of Human Capacities and the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office.
During the six months of the grant period the designers can implement their projects, which they developed independently or in partnership with manufacturers. Due to the COVID-19 situation the March exhibition to showcase the grantee projects was cancelled but it is compensated for by a high standard catalogue accessible online at bit.ly/Moholyosztondij_katalogus_2019.
The extraordinary situation not only put paid to the exhibition of the grantees of 2019 but also created difficulties in this year’s competition. Despite the challenges, a large number of projects were submitted, of which the jury selected the eight most innovative ones in early May.
The grantees participate in this year’s programme with the following projects:
Angéla Góg is a household name among the fans of food design. In her winning project titled Laska she set herself the objective of designing a pasta lexicon and the implements required for making these types of pasta. The pasta lexicon contains the types of pasta available in Hungary, arranged systematically and made interesting with stories and mementos related to them, while the implements presented in the book range from the rolling pin to objects used for drying pasta.
Adrienn Veres graduated in architecture from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, while during her internship in Eindhoven she became a dedicated fan of recycling plastic. Precious Plastic, a Dutch business famous for its open source machines, has grown into a global movement by now. Adrienn Veres’ objective is to create a multifunctional furniture (line) from recycled plastic. During the design process she regarded it as crucial to realise her project without other materials and to use simple joints, facilitating assembly at home. The plastic boards she presented in her design are produced using a semi-industrial heat press and can provide an alternative in furniture manufacturing.
Another winning project conceived in the spirit of recycling is the design created by Ádám Tóth, who impressed the jury with his connectable interior structures. The joints of the system are made of plastic waste, while the connectable elements are wooden lathes. The building game intended for adults is an attempt to turn plastic waste generated by society into building elements. Various constructions will be proposed for the assembly of the parts but others can also be built, inspiring users to experience the freedom of the creative process and through that shape their attitudes.
Lili Veres-Veszprémi was a grantee in 2019 with her pattern and textile design, while her new, 2020 project focuses on another technique. Built on the technical and formal-structural characteristics of kilim carpets, her textile design project Savage Garden will result in a five-piece contemporary carpet collection expanding the boundaries and compositional patterns of the genre. The theme of the collection is the experience of nature featuring not only idyll and harmony but also spontaneity and wildness.
Dániel Szalkai, the creator of the alternative garment collection Perceptual Thinkers, has been committed to the detailed study of autism for years. As avowed in his project titled Sensorism – the development of generative technologies conceived in the spirit of design for all, his concepts of autism and answers given to this phenomenon will exclude nobody from the circle of users.
Edina Andrási graduated in graphic design and silicate design from the University of West Hungary, and continued her studies in Pécs in design and visual art education. During her material experiments conducted in recent years she developed a process enabling her to create translucent, layered and large porcelain objects. In her project she set herself the objective to design and implement the prototypes and packaging for her Lumimosa porcelain lamp.
Dorottya Hlatki’s project titled Archetypical spaces extends to the design of three wallpaper series, the graphic design of which is linked to space in its content too. Architectural issues are presented in her illustrations for contemporary homes in an imaginative way, responding to subconscious processes through which the concept of the home evolves.
Krisztina Nagy has been working on her brand Mimikri – designer small-series leather products manufactured in the spirit of recycling – since 2017. She graduated in textile design and design management from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest. During the six months of the grant she will focus on the upholstery design of seating furniture with a guest bed in the project announced by her cooperating partner Varkoly Sons Ltd.
The designers can soon start working on realising their projects for which the László Moholy-Nagy Design Grant will provide professional support and a sum of 1.2 million forints per head.