Next gen talent: Swarovski and Design Miami reveal Designers of the Future 2016

The winners of the Swarovski Designers of the Future have been announced in Paris. The Austrian crystal company and Design Miami have teamed up once again to discover, recognise and showcase the finest talents of a new generation of designers. This year, the accolade was joint-awarded to London-based Japanese designer Yuri Suzuki, India's Anjali Srinivasan and the Icelandic/German duo behind Studio Brynjar & Veronika, Veronika Sedlmair and Brynjar Sigurðarson.

‘It is exciting to see a strong new selection of emerging talent from around the globe exploring their visions of future living, to create beautiful and thought-provoking new works using crystal,’ commented Nadja Swarovski, who has been involved with the design fair since its debut in 2006 and took over the award last year. 

The four winners were invited to visit the Swarovski headquarters at the end of 2015 to explore the crystal manufacturing techniques of the company, and each studio will create a project to be exhibited at the upcoming Design Miami/Basel in June. The designers will have the opportunity to develop a creative idea around crystal, working closely with Swarovski's manufacturing experts to bring their ideas to life.

‘The award aims to highlight diverse and technologically vanguard approaches to design through the work of creatives that are not yet household names,’ said Rodman Primack, director of Design Miami. Primack notes how this year's laureates speak to the breadth of the field: Yuri Suzuki’s explorations in sound design, Studio Brynjar & Veronika’s narrative approach and Srinivasan’s experiments with glass together form a clear picture of the eclectic design panorama.

The award has proved to be a strong indicator of the state of design over the years, highlighting global talent while also covering all aspects of the industry. The showcase of the Designers of the Future traditionally brings new energy to the most important event in the collectible design market, introducing new ideas and media to the game – encouraging creative conversations and inspiring visitors from a creative and manufacturing perspective.