Paul Mijksenaar is the specialist in the field of information design and wayfinding. He is able to communicate complex information in a crystal clear manner, and has gained international renown for his signposting at large airports across the world. The Dutch public mainly knows him for the wayfinding at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport. Some may still remember his articulate columns in the NRC Handelsblad newspaper, ‘Mijks Repair Shop’ (2004/2005).

In an ever more complex world, information design and wayfinding are becoming increasingly relevant. Paul Mijksenaar (1944) has always approached clients, producers, architects and engineers as an ambassador of the end user. With its choice, which is also emphatically a choice of style, the jury wishes to commend a specific position: namely that of a designer who takes an analytical and empathic approach, and whose mission it is to serve the end user. Contemporary designers with a digital profile who operate successfully in the field of data visualization are to a large extent indebted to Mijksenaar. His design approach, based on data analysis and organization, is as essential as it is urgently needed. His highly accessible publications, his professorship at Delft University of Technology, and his public appearances have all contributed effectively to the dissemination of his philosophy, as does the recently established “Paul Mijksenaar Award” for functional design.