The Newcomer Awards

Great talents require a forum! The newcomer awards is a unique distinction for designers who have attracted attention with their extraordinary achievements and creative talent. The renown and international publicity associated with the competition are valuable for the honoured young designers. It is not possible to apply for the endowed awards - representatives of universities or the German Design Council propose the nominees. The international jury of the »German Design Awards« selects five finalists from all nominees. Furthermore, the German Design Council offers all finalists a series of exclusive events where they have the opportunity to meet the foundation members, which include leading experts of the design-oriented industry.

  • Participation

  • The Newcomer Awards are open for graduates of the following disciplines: textile, fashion, product, industrial, communication, interior design and architecture. Participants must either have German citizenship or have graduated in design from a university in Germany. The degree should not be more than five years old. Individuals and design teams with several people can participate in the following categories:

    • Architecture
    • Communications Design
    • Fashion and Textile Design
    • Industrial and Product Design
  • Form of submission

  • Nominees submit a short portfolio to participate in the Newcomer Awards. The respective short portfolio (DIN A4) should consist of a curriculum vitae, portrait photo as well as pictorial and textual representations of a maximum of ten projects. Participants must give preference to three projects from their portfolio which represent their design concept in the best way. The entire portfolio may not exceed 20 pages.

    12 June 2020 - Registration deadline
    19 June 2020 - Deadline portfolio

  • Costs

  • Participation in the Newcomer Awards is free of charge.

  • Evaluation criteria

  • The jury evaluates the submitted portfolios regarding to the stylistic independence of the design and their development potential. The following evaluation criteria, among others, are applied:

    • Conceptual quality
    • Design quality
    • Technical and formal autonomy
    • Development potential
    • Degree of innovation
    • Symbolic and emotional content

The Benefits

Prize money

From all nominations, five finalists are selected by the expert jury. At the awards ceremony, one winner will be presented with the Newcomer awards, which comes with a prize money of 15,000 euros. The remaining finalists will each receive 2,500 euros.

Catalogue and gallery

Furthermore, all five finalists will be presented to the public in the gallery at www.german-design-award.com. In addition to this, each finalist will be published with a picture and text in the catalogue of the »German Design Awards 2021«.

Awards ceremony

In February 2021, the festive presentation of the »German Design Awards 2021« will take place at the international consumer goods fair Ambiente in Frankfurt/Main. Numerous representatives from business, politics and the design scene gladly accept the invitation. One of the highlights of the event: the announcement of the Newcomer 2021! All finalists are invited to Frankfurt/Main for this special occasion.

Exhibitions

The awards ceremony is accompanied by two exhibitions in which the finalists are presented. In the exhibitions the projects of all finalists will be presented to the public together with the winners of the »German Design Awards 2021 - Excellent Product Design«, »German Design Awards 2021 - Excellent Communications Design« and »German Design Awards 2021 - Excellent Architecture«.
Start Newcomer 2021
March - April 2020 Nomination proposals of the universities
Early May Notification of nominees
12 June 2020 Registration deadline
19 June 2020 Deadline portfolio
30/31 July 2020 Jury session
August 2020 Notification of jury results
November 2020 Publication of the online gallery
February 2021 Awards ceremony & exhibitions during the consumer goods fair Ambiente 2021

Janina Hünerberg

Newcomer of the Year 2020

Janina Hünerberg, born 1992 in Hamburg, began her studies in industrial design in 2012 at the Muthesius Kunsthochschule, Kiel, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2016. Two years later, she received her Master of Arts in Medical Design. Already during her studies Janina Hünerberg received several renowned awards, among them a recognition at the Bavarian State Prize for Young Designers and the Mia Seeger Prize for a measuring device for on-site diagnosis of mastitis in dairy cows.

More about Janina Hünerberg

Maximilian Goßler

Maximilian Goßler completed his industrial design studies at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart with a diploma in 2019. Since 2015, his projects have focused more intensively on machines and artificial intelligence systems (AI).

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Bernhard Osann

Bernhard Osann was born on 10 January 1979 in Augsburg. Before he studied industrial design in Hamburg, he trained as a carpenter at the School for Wood and Design in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, completing his studies as a journeyman in 2000. After several years working as a freelance carpenter, Osann completed his studies in sculpture at the Wilhelm Wagenfeld School in Bremen in 2005.

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Kai Rump

Kai Rump was born on 4 April 1990 in Wuppertal. During his studies Kai Rump completed a semester abroad at the University of Cincinnati (DAAP) in Ohio and a subsequent internship at SONOS Inc. in California. In 2019 he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal in the Faculty of Design and Art.

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Sebastian Viering

Sebastian Viering was born on 21 April 1992 in Malsch. In 2019 he received his diploma in Industrial Design from the State Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart. During his studies, which included a semester abroad at Tokyo University of the Arts, he designed a wide variety of objects – often with a focus on technology and its potential to enrich everyday life.

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Media partner

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