Design duo Rosario Hurtado and Robert Feo of El Ultimo Grito have scooped the London Design Medal 2012 for their exceptional contribution to design. The medal itself - a sculptural piece based on a bird in flight - has been fittingly designed by another stellar creative partnership: London-based jeweller Hannah Martin and Pentagram design firm.
El Ultimo Grito fill the shoes of past recipients such as Thomas Heatherwick, Zaha Hadid and Marc Newson, taking home the prize (awarded by the London Design Festival) for their design offerings over a multitude of platforms, from interiors to graphics. Meanwhile, Sir Terence Conran picked up the Lifetime Achievement award, and the festival handed out two new prizes for 2012: Design Entrepreneur and Emerging Talent medals to Irish-born Jane ni Dhulchaointigh and artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, respectively.
Briefed by Pentagram to take a ’bird in flight’ as her starting point, Martin’s medal designs feature a ’cockney sparrow’. They span 13cm in diameter, mixing a graphic feel with her signature facet edges. ‘The exploration of the 3D form is always crucial for me,’ says Martin. ’I wanted to offer something that has tactility and sensuality in form, that of course combines sharper, bolder lines.’
And if being commissioned to design this accolade isn’t enough, a compliment from Sir Terence Conran can do no harm. ‘This medal stands for something I’m absolutely passionate about – intelligent design,’ says Conran. ‘But that it is designed and made in London by a young British jewellery designer, Hannah Martin, makes it doubly special to me.’
Martin was briefed by Pentagram - responsible for the visual identity of the festival - to take a bird in flight as her starting point
Measuring 13cm in diameter, her design features a ‘cockney sparrow’
The graphic medals - awarded for four different categories, including Lifetime Achievement - incorporate Martin's signature facet edges
‘The exploration of the 3D form is always crucial for me,' says Martin. 'I wanted to offer something that has tactility and sensuality in form, combining sharper, bolder lines’
-
Put these emerging artists on your radarThis crop of six new talents is poised to shake up the art world. Get to know them now
-
Dining at Pyrá feels like a Mediterranean kiss on both cheeksDesigned by House of Dré, this Lonsdale Road addition dishes up an enticing fusion of Greek and Spanish cooking
-
Creased, crumpled: S/S 2025 menswear is about clothes that have ‘lived a life’The S/S 2025 menswear collections see designers embrace the creased and the crumpled, conjuring a mood of laidback languor that ran through the season – captured here by photographer Steve Harnacke and stylist Nicola Neri for Wallpaper*
-
‘R for Repair’ at London Design Festival displays broken objects, re-formedIn the second half of a two-part exhibition and as part of London Design Festival 2022, ‘R for Repair’ at the V&A displays broken objects, re-formed
-
‘Finding quality through the act of making’: Pearson Lloyd celebrates 25 years of designPearson Lloyd’s show ‘Change Making’ reflects on past designs from its archives, showcasing the influences on and evolution of the studio, from furniture design to the NHS
-
Tom Dixon marks his studio's 20 years with a show of design experimentsMushroom, cork, steel coral and more: Tom Dixon showcases an overview of his design experiments as he celebrates his practice's 20 years
-
Porro unveils new London showroom at Coal OfficeLondon Design Festival 2022: industrial architecture meets pure geometries in the new Porro showroom, taking over a space within Tom Dixon’s Coal Office to showcase the brand’s systems and furniture
-
Vitra unveils new London home in the Tramshed, ShoreditchLondon Design Festival 2022: after a year-long renovation, Vitra opens the door to its new showroom in the heart of Shoreditch
-
Mudlarking beside the River Thames inspires The New Craftsmen’s makersLondon Design Festival 2022: The New Craftsmen’s new collection, ‘Claylarks’, features work from a group of creatives inspired by a River Thames mudlarking expedition
-
One tree, ten designers: SCP presents The One Tree Project at London Design FestivalLondon Design Festival 2022: SCP enlisted ten British designers to create furniture and objects from a felled ash tree from founder Sheridan Coakley's Hampshire garden
-
London Design Medals 2022London Design Medals 2022 are awarded to costume designer Sandy Powell, architect Indy Johar, researcher Joycelyn Longdon and photographer Sir Don McCullin
