The multidisciplinary design studio Super Local looks for solutions to social and cultural problems. Founders Luc van Hoeckel and Pim van Baarsen have worked as a studio since graduating from the Design Academy Eindhoven (2015) on projects around the world, but most especially in developing countries. A handful of projects from their portfolio: The Care Collection (hospitable furniture in Malawi, made by local crafts people), Single Spark (a starter kit for entrepreneurs in North-Uganda), Holy Crap (a system for refuse separation in Nepal) and their involvement in bottle-up (a way to create new value from glass refuse in Zanzibar). Super Local wants to develop products and services that have a right of existence once they leave the region, because the local community perceive and experience their value.

The committee considers that Super Local absolutely deserves the limelight. The committee admires this group of designers, the social responsibility they feel and the willingness with which they leave their comfort zone. They deliver complete projects – from research to end product – and are involved in every phase of the process. How they fade themselves into the background and have local communities run projects is nothing less than impressive. They give the people themselves the stage. In cooperation with various other designers they create a team for each project that possess all the relevant required expertise.