The jury and adjudification criteria

Founder of the design studio MasayoAve Creation and Sensory Design Experience Laboratory, Berlin

Masayo Ave is the founder of the design studio MasayoAve Creation and Sensory Design Experience Laboratory in Berlin. The Japanese designer combines culture and science to create uniquely innovative, sensory-based designs. With over three decades of experience, she takes a sensory and imaginative approach to basic design principles. Her innovative design projects focus on material science and experimental design, earning her wide critical acclaim and numerous international design awards. Additionally, she has been recognised as a prominent advocate of design education, having served as a professor at various universities, including UDK Berlin and Kanazawa College of Arts in Japan.

Freelance architect and designer with her own studio in Biella (Italy), guest lecturer at universities and design schools, Senator of the World Design Organization, Biella

Dr. Luisa Bocchietto, architect and designer, works as a freelancer, undertaking projects for local development, building renovations and urban planning. As a visiting professor, she teaches at universities and design schools, takes part in design conferences and international juries, publishes articles and organises exhibitions on architecture and design. From 2008 until 2014, she was National President of the ADI, the Italian Association for Industrial Design. From 2017 to 2019, she was President of the World Design Organization (formerly Icsid), and currently serves as its Senator.

Managing Director of EBIA – European Bedding Industries’ Association, Brussels

Frederik Lauwaert studied law at Ghent University, Belgium. He started his professional career in a European environment when he joined CEI-Bois in 2002. He was legal adviser for this trade association for almost 15 years, representing the European woodworking industries. He joined EBIA (European Bedding Industries’ Association) in 2019 as Managing Director.

Designer and founder and co-owner of byform produktdesign, Cologne and Bielefeld

Kristina Meyer studied product design at Kunsthochschule Kassel. After completing an internship at Montgomery Pfeifer in San Francisco, she worked as a designer at simple in Cologne and spent several years working for furniture manufacturer Röhr in East Westphalia. At the end of 2003, she founded the office byform produktdesign with a focus on furniture, kitchen and product design. She works for various kitchen manufactures, as well as for some well-known hardware manufacturers. Drawing on this expertise, she and her team conceptually developed and designed the special show “Function & Components” for the Koelnmesse at the interzum 2023.

Vice President of Red Dot, Executive Director of the Board of Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen and Director of the Red Dot Design Museum, Essen, Germany

Vito Oražem has been with Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen since 1992, and since 2002 has been Executive Director of the Board. Since 2018, he has also been Vice President of Red Dot. Vito Oražem also heads up the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen and is constantly developing it further. He is also a sought-after jury member for design competitions and has already participated in numerous publications on the topics of design, photography and media.

Founder and owner of the materials and technology agency HAUTE INNOVATION, Berlin

Prof. Dr. Sascha Peters is founder and owner of the materials and technology agency HAUTE INNOVATION in Berlin. From 1997 to 2003, he led research projects and product developments at the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen and subsequently became deputy head of Bremen Design Centre (Design Zentrum Bremen) until 2008. Sascha Peters is the author of various specialist books on sustainable raw materials, smart materials, innovative production techniques and energetic technologies. He is a leading materials expert and trend scout for new technologies.

Lecturer on industrial furniture making in the Production Engineering and Wood Technology department of Technical OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lemgo, Germany

After completing his school-leaving certificate, carpentry apprenticeship and degree in interior design, Martin Stosch first worked as a product developer for companies in the furniture and supplier industries. In 2000, he was appointed to lecture in industrial furniture making in the Production Engineering and Wood Technology department of Technical OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lemgo, Germany. Since 2003, his research and teaching focus has been on the lightweight construction of furniture. In 2008, Stosch initiated the Lightweight Construction Association together with stakeholders from the timber industry (igeL) and, in 2017, the Smart Wood Center OWL, which opened in 2024 on the grounds of the historic Schloss Brake as a business centre for start-ups in the wood processing industry. In 2023, he also founded CircuLignum e. V. together with students of wood technology, an association for the promotion of a circular economy in wood processing.