EINDHOVEN – For the first time this year at Dutch Design Awards a cash prize of ten thousand euros has been made available for the winner of the Young Designer Award to support their professional development. This initiative has come about through a cooperation with the Keep an Eye Foundation. Three cash prizes will be presented to the young talents Lisa Konno, Olivier van Herpt and Manon van Hoeckel on Thursday 28 June during the festive Dutch Design Award Night.

Keep an Eye and Dutch Design Awards (DDA) believe that this financial support can make the difference at the beginning of a designer’s career. During the Dutch Design Awards Night, they were also proud to announce their new, multi-year cooperation. Martijn Paulen, director of the Dutch Design Foundation, the organisation behind DDA: “We grab every opportunity to support talent with both hands. The cooperation with Keep an Eye is a very special one. Our committee selects the winners with extreme care and consideration. So that we can give them a serious helping hand thanks to Keep an Eye and make a real difference.”

The Young Designer Award is the development prize for young talented designers who graduated no more than five years ago. The designer is central to the assessment and the quality of the entire portfolio is considered. The committee for the Dutch Design Awards 2018 Young Designer Award comprised three design experts, Saskia van Stein (committee chair), Jeroen Junte and Georgette Koning, who selected the winners under the supervision of jury chair Job Meihuizen (DDA).