As we celebrate the anniversary of the Dutch Design Awards this year, I will take this opportunity to look back at the Young Designer category. This category was added to the DDA in 2008 and is specifically intended for up-and-coming talent. Brand new designers who graduated no more than five years before submission are eligible for the prize, and all disciplines come together in this commission. It is this diversity of candidates that makes the outcome so exciting each year; I have learned not to think too far in advance about who will be chosen as the last three. Looking back through the DDA archive, it turns out that many winners, but certainly also a large number of nominees, have become leading players in the design field in the years following their nomination. There are so many familiar names that it is immediately clear that the juries were spoiled for choice year after year. I am secretly glad that I did not have to decide who would win the prize every year, because it simply seems too difficult. An example? Just take 2011; a particularly difficult year in hindsight. Having to choose between Bart Hess, Studio BXSCY and Studio Formafantasma? Just imagine!

Of course, the Young Designer prize is not only based on what has already been achieved, but also on the promise of potential future work. The expectation that the designer in question will continue to develop further is a significant factor and at the same time, judging is of course a question of timing. It can be compared to a ‘re-entry corridor’; the trajectory that spaceships must follow in order to safely re-enter the atmosphere. It must be quite difficult for young designers to come in front of the expert panel at the right time. Too early and the portfolio may not contain enough representative work for the jury to judge properly. If too much time passes, however, the candidate’s career may have already taken off so that the predicate ‘Young Designer’ no longer fits. It has even been the case that both scenarios happen to the same designer, so that they miss the boat twice. What also plays a role is how the nominated designers respond to current societal issues and the jury also weighs which themes are most urgent each year.

The subsequent discussions, I think I can reveal here, are the most difficult aspect of jurying. If the quality of the work is a match, then it all comes down to the theme, and timing is everything here too. Times are changing and young designers in particular know how to stimulate the field by highlighting the topics included in their work, and one year a certain theme will weigh more heavily than the next. In this sense, the result is a snapshot that does not benefit everyone’s work; after all, the importance of certain designers becomes apparent mainly in the long-term. This perhaps partly explains why certain names cannot be found among the list of nominees. There is, in fact, an incredible number of talented individuals we have discussed over the years who did not end up as finalists and who have now emerged as true design stars. I see them as slow burn candidates, whose contribution to the profession needs time to become evident. For all those people, it is good to realise that choosing the finalists is just one step in a long series of activities undertaken by the jury members. Their list of tasks does not start and end in just one day. Prior to this meeting, the jury members are busy all year long identifying potential candidates. The new potentials are spotted on various different occasions, while all submitted applications must also be assessed. In the end, each member sees the compete longlist (which usually really lives up to its name) and it gives an excellent overview of the young design talent in our country. Participation in the competition then leads to cross-fertilisation, especially within this category, because the jury is comprised of experts from different disciplines. We then all incorporate the knowledge gained into our daily lives. So, I see my ‘juryduty’ as a role that I play 365 days a year, and I am keen to act as a connector for young talent. As such, DDA has led countless designers to end up on the pages of ELLE Decoration. Cool fashion designers? I don’t mind mentioning them to my colleagues at ELLE.  If a brand is looking for a great new star to work with, I’m happy to name some names. That I am not alone in this approach is clearly apparent, from the fact that several (recent) DDW ambassadors have never been finalists of a Young Designer Award. Even the organisation sees the importance of these new talents. They are crucial in the design network, for now and tomorrow.