LEXUS DESIGN AWARD 2021 Selects Six FinalistsNext-Generation Talent Innovates for a Better Tomorrow

Kenji Abe is a graduate of the Tama Art University Product Design Department, who now works as a product designer based in Tokyo. While designing imaging products professionally, he also pursues personal design activities. He is curious about creating a better tomorrow for humans, nature, animals and the earth, and wishes to propose beautiful solutions to the problems we face.

Gayle Lee and Jessica Vea are recent Bachelor of Creative Technologies graduates from Auckland University of Technology. They are passionate about creating meaningful products that help others and promoting interdisciplinary collaboration between different fields and practices. They are hoping to start their Master of Creative Technologies degrees in 2021.

Alina Holovatiuk is a young architect from Kyiv, Ukraine. She is currently continuing her studies and research at Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture in the Information Technologies in Architecture Department. Her approach to design is based on special attention to human emotions and their perception of the world.

Irmandy Wicaksono is an electrical and textile engineer and designer. He is currently a Ph.D. student in the Responsive Environments, MIT Media Lab. His research focuses on developing soft and textile-based electronics for various applications ranging from health and well-being, human-computer interaction to interactive media and environments.

Henry Glogau is a New Zealander who recently graduated from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen, Denmark. His master's degree specialized in Architecture and Extreme Environments, where he explored present and future global challenges in expeditions to diverse locations. Henry is now working as an Architect at GXN, the green innovation unit of 3XN.

Intsui Design is a design group based in Tokyo. They are currently pursuing Master's degrees at Tama Art University in the Integrated Design department. They explore the relationship between subconscious human behaviors and design. Their design practice focuses on people's intuition and natural responses to objects and the environment.

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at The Museum of Modern Art, as well as MoMA's founding Director of Research & Development. Her goal is to promote design's understanding, until its positive influence on the world is universally acknowledged. Her work investigates design's impact on everyday experience, often including overlooked objects and practices, and combining design, architecture, art, science, and technology.

She has curated shows, written books, lectured worldwide, and taught in several schools, including Harvard and UCLA. Following the XXII Triennale di Milano in 2019―Broken Nature, devoted to the idea of restorative design―she has opened at MoMA the exhibition Material Ecology, on the work of architect Neri Oxman. She is currently working on several new sessions of her MoMA R&D Salons; and on the Instagram series @design.emergency―conceived with design critic Alice Rawsthorn―devoted to the role of design in the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.

Dong Gong founded Vector Architects in 2008. He and Vector Architects have been invited to various exhibitions including 2018 FREESPACE Venice Biennale, and won awards internationally including "100+ Best Architecture Firms" selected by Domus (2019); being nominated by Swiss Architectural Award (2018); the Overall Winner of Italian Archmarathon Awards (2016); "Design Vanguard" selected by Architectural Record (2014).

He has been invited as guest speaker and critic by universities, academic and professional institutions including Tsinghua University (China), University of Illinois (USA), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland), Société Française des Architectes (France), etc. In 2019, the renowned architectural journal AV Monographs published a monograph of Vector Architects titled "Cosmopolitan Vernacular" (vol.220).

His representative works include Seashore Library, Seashore Chapel, Alila Hotel in Yangshuo, the Renovation of the Captain's House, Changjiang Art Museum, and Suzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Museum.

Greg Lynn is the founder and owner of Greg Lynn FORM and cofounder and CEO at the robotics company Piaggio Fast Forward. In addition to buildings he has designed high performance sailboats, high technology robots, as well as furniture and consumer products for Vitra, Alessi, Swarovski, and Nike. He has served on numerous corporate executive and advisory boards and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Center for Architecture.

He won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture and represented the United States in the American Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of Architecture twice. He received the American Academy of Arts & Letters Architecture Award and was awarded a fellowship from United States Artists. He is currently o. Univ. Prof. Arch. at the angewandte Wien and Studio Professor at UCLA. He was the Davenport Professor at Yale University, Professor of Spatial Conception at the ETHZ, adjunct faculty at Columbia University and visiting faculty at Harvard GSD. He is the author of nine books.

Simon Humphries is Head of Toyota & Lexus Global Design. He was appointed to oversee design for both brands in 2018. As Head of Lexus Global Design Humphries seeks to define Lexus' unique values in the form of a brand philosophy, incorporating a clear cultural reference to Lexus' Japanese heritage and building a design direction that is relevant to users around the world.

Humphries joined the company in 1994. His many roles in leadership and advanced design include defining the signature spindle grille that has become an icon for the Lexus brand. In 2016 he became President of ED2 (Toyota Europe Design Development) where his team spearheaded development of mobility concepts such as the Toyota e-Palette concept as part of the brand's transition from "automotive company" to "mobility company." Humphries began his career in design in 1988 when he was awarded the Royal Society of Arts Bursary Prize for Product Design in the UK. The award gave him the opportunity to work for Sony, which jumpstarted his passion for living and working in Japan. In his spare time Humphries enjoys carpentry and is restoring a 100-year-old Japanese farmhouse.

A designer, entrepreneur, inventor and creative director, Joe Doucet is one of the most sought-after creative talents working in America today. His work deftly hybridizes function and visual appeal while conveying layers of meaning and message. Doucet believes that design and, more importantly, a designer's thought process, can play a larger role in innovation and problem solving, as well as aesthetics. He currently holds numerous patents for his designs and inventions.

Doucet's work has been exhibited globally and has received numerous international awards, including a World Technology Award for Design Innovation and multiple Good Design Awards. Doucet was named the 2017 Winner of the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award as Product Designer―the highest honor in his field. He is also Designer of the Year 2019 finalist by Dezeen, and a recipient of Fast Company's Most Important Design Companies of 2019.

Sabine Marcelis is a Dutch designer who runs her practice from the harbor of Rotterdam. After graduating from the Design Academy of Eindhoven in 2011, Marcelis began working as an independent designer within the fields of product, installation and spatial design with a strong focus on materiality. Her work is characterized by pure forms which highlight material properties. Marcelis applies a strong aesthetic point of view to her collaborations with industry specialists. This method of working allows her to intervene in the manufacturing process, using material research and experimentation to achieve new and surprising visual effects for projects both showcased in musea and commissioned by commercial clients and fashion houses.

Sabine recently won the prestigious Wallpaper awards 'Designer of the year 2020', The Elle Deco International Design award 2019 'Young designer of the year' and 'GQ Men of the year 2019' International Artist of the year.

Sputniko! is known for her film and multi-media installation works which explore the social and ethical implications of emerging technologies. She has presented her works in exhibitions such as the 2016 Setouchi Art Triennale, Milan International Design Triennale, Broken Nature (2019), Future and Arts at the Mori Art Museum (2019). From 2013 to 2017, Sputniko! was an Assistant Professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she founded and directed the Design Fiction research group. She is currently an Associate Professor of Design at Tokyo University of Arts. To date, she has had pieces included in the permanent collections of museums such as the V&A and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.