Meet the Judges: SBID Product Design Awards 2020 (Part 1)

Presenting an exceptional opportunity to celebrate the very best in global product design and set to culminate in the glamorous setting of the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane, London with an awards ceremony on Friday 5 June, the SBID Product Design Awards 2020 is currently open for entries.

With entries due to close on Friday 13 March, a strict 3-step judging process will ensure that all entries are fairly assessed and carefully scrutinised for their technical standards, as well as the creative delivery and ability to inspire those who appreciate and understand good design. 

A technical judging panel will evaluate entries’ professional merit and determine the finalists to be announced Thursday 9 April. From this selection, a jury representing a broad range of professional design skills will contribute 70% to the winners’ scores, with the remaining 30% taken from an online public vote that will be live until Thursday 30 April. The broad, international nature of the competition means the judges and public voters are able to choose from a spectrum of entries varying in product type, scale, value and creative inspiration.

A range of top-tier industry experts from across the creative sectors have been invited to lend their insights and experience to the SBID Product Awards’ judging panel.

This year’s Judges include:

Karim Rashid  |  Designer & President, Karim Rashid Inc.

Karim Rashid is one of the most prolific designers of his generation. Over 4000 designs in production, over 400 awards, and operating in over 35 countries attest to Karim’s legend of design. His award-winning designs include democratic objects like the ubiquitous Garbo waste can and Oh! Chair for Umbra and interiors like the Morimoto restaurant, Philadelphia and Nhow hotel, Berlin. Karim has created noteworthy designs for clients Method and Pepsi, furniture for Artemide and Vondom, brand identity for Citibank and Hyundai, high-tech products for LaCie and Samsung, and luxury goods for Veuve Clicquot and Christofle, to name a few.

Vasiliki Petrou  |  Group CEO and Executive VP, Unilever Prestige

Vasiliki joined Unilever in November 2012 after completing a 19-year career with Procter & Gamble. In P&G, Vasiliki led various global, regional and local roles mainly in the Beauty Category primarily working in skin, hair and colour cosmetics. Vasiliki’s first role in Unilever was creating the Pitch Co-Creation (Innovation) Centres in London and New York. Vasiliki also led the development of strategic macro space work that has been pivotal in defining the strategy, innovation pipeline and expertise of the Beauty and Personal Care Category.

In 2014, Vasiliki started the creation of the Prestige division from the beginning. Since then, Vasiliki led the acquisition of 8 companies Dermalogica, Murad, Kate Somerville, Ren, Garancia, Tatcha (to close August 2019), Living Proof, and Hourglass. Vasiliki leads a team of 8 CEOs and a central multi-functional team that decide strategic priorities, resource allocation and growth strategy for the portfolio.

Gary Clark  |  Principal, Regional Leader of Science + Technology, HOK London Studio

Gary is an Architect with a passion for sustainable architecture and has over 30 years continually sought to bridge academic research, teaching and practice to create a sustainable future. In his role as Principal Lead for Science and Technology at HOK, his aim is to deliver a sustainable future not only in the science and technology but across all sectors of the construction industry.

Gary has collaborated and led sustainability with a number of leading practices including Wilkinson Eyre, Bennett’s Associates and Hopkins Architects. These collaborations have delivered award winning sustainable buildings across a range of sectors from Higher Education, Academic Research, Residential mixed use, Office and Cultural Buildings.

Letitia Fitzgibbon  |  Head of Interior Design, Harrods Interior Design

With over 17 years’ experience in the luxury interiors industry Letitia Fitzgibbon heads-up Harrods Interior Design, a multi-disciplinary bespoke design service by Harrods.

In her previous role as a key player within the Harrods Home buying team, Letitia worked closely with the Director of Home in redeveloping the home and furniture offering from Harrods, creating new concepts and sourcing brands from across the world to provide a carefully curated range of products that hero provenance, craftsmanship and heritage in helping to shape Harrods Home into the exciting design hub it is today.

Dr Vanja Garaj  |  Head of Design, Brunel University London

Dr Vanja Garaj is Head of Brunel Design, where he also teaches on the Professional Design Studio module, a part of the MSc Integrated Product Design programme. He has co-ordinated a number of live project briefs, across design fields, with organisations including Cancer Research UK, NHS, Pan Macmillan, Help for Heroes, Friends of the Elderly, Corney & Barrow, Shell, Ibis and BT. Dr Garaj’s research is aimed at design, development and evaluation of innovative systems, products and services, with the focus on digital and digital-physical domains and the application of the latest technologies. His research activities have involved the areas of digital health, assistive technology, m-learning, e-government, social networking and the IoT and the immersive tech. The current research projects include Impacting Business by Design, funded by Research England, Story Futures, funded by Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Inclusive Immersion, funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Herbert Lui  |  Partner, Dexter Moren Associates

Herbert has extensive experience of working on complex mixed-use developments on challenging sites. Along with a strong awareness of stakeholder aspirations, he has a proven ability to convert constraints into opportunities.

Herbert is a graduate of Westminster University and the Architectural Association in London, and the National University of Singapore. He joined DMA in 1999 as a Project Architect and was appointed a Partner in 2008.

Tim Bowder-Ridger  |  Senior Partner, Conran and Partners

As an Architect and designer, Tim is passionate about creating authentic experiences centred around cultural spirit and personality. He brings his knowledge of the hospitality and residential sectors to design buildings and spaces that reflect contemporary lifestyle needs and desires with a sense of place and aspiration.

As Senior Partner, Tim leads the design direction of the practice as a whole, as well as being responsible for the finance and operations of the business. He directly leads on a number of strategic projects; large and small, at home and abroad. Most recently, Tim has completed the conversion of the brutalist icon Centre Point, from an unused office tower into a charismatic residential destination in the heart of London’s cultural district; and Kita Aoyama, a high-end residential development in the heart of Japan.

Monika Moser  |  Regional Managing Director; London, New York and Paris, Wilson Associates

Monika is a hotelier at heart. With an MBA in Hospitality Management from ESSEC Business School and over 20 years of experience in hotel operations, she’s an authority in luxury hospitality. A German native who grew up across in South America, Monika developed a passion for art, music, literature and language. She is now fluent in five languages. As Regional Managing Director of Wilson’s atelier in Paris and design offices in London and New York, Monika is a brand ambassador who supports the firm’s strategic initiatives.

Can Tufekcioglu  |  Principal Interior Designer, Arcadis

Can worked for 15 years in Istanbul before moving to Dubai as Principal Interior Designer for Arcadis. He has been involved in a wide range of multidisciplinary projects ranging from healthcare and offices to residential and educational. He is primarily focused on the technical aspects of the projects; however, his personal preference is space planning and design.

Stella Gittins  |  Co-Founder & Group Director, Accouter Group of Companies

Stella Gittins is the Co-Founder of AGC, London’s fastest-growing portfolio of international award-winning Interior Design companies. Creating the benchmark in luxury living, the Accouter Group of Companies which is home to Accouter Design, A. LONDON and BoxNine7, delivers world-class interior architectural and furnishing services to the global property market and private clients.

Taking a lead creative role for the Group, Stella is responsible for all aspects of brand and design and has published four bespoke publications that discuss every corner of luxury life. Featuring the inspiration behind Accouter Design’s schemes and collaborating with iconic brands such as Rolls Royce and William & Son, the fifth publication is due for launch in 2020.

Chris Dezille  |  Founder & Creative Director, Honky

Honky is a multi-disciplinary, award winning architectural and interior design practice based in London. Founded by Christopher Dezille in 2001, Honky’s creative team is committed to providing a full design service, tailored to the project and the individual client’s needs.

Chris’s career in Interior Design extends over 25 years. Whilst most of his work is focused in Central London, he has undertaken private and commercial projects throughout the UK and internationally, including projects in Monte Negro, Marbella, Cannes and The Channel Islands.

Johnny Grey  |  Kitchen Architect, Johnny Grey Studios

Johnny has designed and built over 400 highly innovative kitchens in 10 different countries. He has authored four books on kitchens and the home that have been translated into 14 languages. His interest in how the space we call the kitchen shapes people’s lives, enabling us all to live happier and healthier, is lifelong. He has a growing interest in redefining accessible design into a multi-generational approach to embrace all ages and abilities.

As Visiting Professor of Design and Kitchen Culture at Bucks New University Johnny acts as a bridge between the kitchen industry and university research. He is academic lead and co-founder there of the country’s first-degree course for kitchen design.

Click here to view the full judging panel.