The 2023 Isola Design Awards Winner’s Inspiring + Innovative Designs

The third edition of the Isola Design Awards has announced its winners!
The competition aims to inspire and empower designers to explore new horizons while pushing the boundaries of their craft. Ten categories explore the latest design trends, with a focus on quality, innovation, and sustainability: Furniture, Seating, Lighting, Tableware, Textile, Product, Material, Sustainability, Outdoor, and Innovation.

Selected by an international jury, each category’s winner was announced at an awards ceremony held at the iconic BasicVillage in Milan on December 1, 2023. Each winner was awarded a trophy designed by the multidisciplinary design studio Tellurico and participation with Isola at Milan Design Week 2024.

The money prize was given to “+/- Brace” by Nils Sorger, the designer most voted by the jurors who also received the highest number of votes from the public. The Community Choice Award went to ProBioGenesis by Hana Cvelbar, Sharifunnisa Mynasabgari, and Mounika Maddipatla, while Sedia 2 by Julia Chiaramonti won the “Selected by Monkey47” award.

Explore the winning projects from each category below!

“Urushi lacquer is a sustainable, biodegradable and beautifully glossy natural Japanese sap harvested from the trees in a respectful way. Unfortunately, the traditional craft of Urushi is in decline due to the emergence of alternative materials. This project aims to revitalize this craft and create a space that connects us with nature.”

“Big Marshmallow Ottoman is a Louis Quatorze metropolitan fusion. The streams of the segments are like a fountain of youth smoothly flowing around itself. Blush berry bouclette upholstered fellow that serves in many environments from throne room to lounge area.”

“SQUEEZE is the result of experimenting with air as a design principle. The lamp is made of TPU coated nylon to ensure a constant air pressure. The lamp can be attached to the edge of a table through the pressure created between two air cushions at the bottom of the lamp. The light is controlled by an integrated air pressure sensor which reacts to the light’s membrane being pressed. SQUEEZE is incredibly lightweight and when deflated and folded flat, it keeps transportation costs and emissions low.”

“Circular Ceramics is the embodiment of symbiotic relationships and material flows that previously did not exist. Designing a new way of consuming that reduces the harm inflicted on our planet and preserves our natural resources – without compromising on design. The fourteen-piece collection is handmade from locally-sourced materials destined for landfill in collaboration with Kevala Ceramics. The clay body is made from 100% waste sourced from our ceramic factory’s wastewater treatment system. The glaze ranges from 50% to 100% waste, sourced from natural stone factory slurries, glass consumer waste retrieved from rivers, and glaze residue from ceramic factory production, all within a 5 mile radius of the ceramic manufacturing site.”

“+/- Brace is a pain relieving elbow brace, promoting comfort and reducing the risk of injury or irritation during demanding physical tasks or sport activities. With the +/- Brace app the user can easily customize size, form, structure, and padding. Taking the user’s data and existing users measurements into account, the scripted algorithm calculates the optimal design for your personalized +/- brace. The user could then either fabricate the brace on their own, order it within the maker community, or proceed with buying the brace on the platform.”

“‘Paper Stratum No. 1’ and ‘Paper Stratum No. 2’ are remarkable pieces created entirely from paper. Through the imaginative repurposing of Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and L’Occitane’s shopping bags, these vases showcase the boundless possibilities inherent in the medium. The construction of these vases involved two distinct techniques, resulting in visually captivating outcomes. One method involved meticulously stacking and layering cut pieces of paper, while the other utilized paper pulp derived from the remnants of the cut paper. The combination of these techniques produced an exquisite interplay of colors and textures.”

“Using a closed system approach as a starting point, [the] Copper Moss project underlines the similarity between transformation processes observed in non-living matter and living beings, such as flora and fauna, where nothing truly disappears but rather undergoes a metamorphosis into a different substance or material.”

“BUZZZ creates suitable habitats for wild bees within cities by using the untapped vertical potential. By incorporating nesting sites into facade design along with accessible food sources, it provides wild bees a suitable habitat within urban landscapes. By doing so, BUZZZ is not only promoting biodiversity, but also cultivating a harmonious coexistence between people and nature.”

“The Biosphere Cellulose Kitchen presents how the production of bacterial cellulose, as a replacement for single-use plastic, can be integrated into our everyday routines. In between doing your laundry and taking out the trash, you could be fermenting, washing, drying, and waterproofing cellulose right at home. This cellulose kitchen is a kitchen island furniture piece that creates storage bags and film cover.”

“ProBioGenesis originates from the fusion of words “Pro” (signifying “for”), “Bio” (representing “vīvus” or “living”), and “Genesis” (denoting “creation” and “origin”). When combined together they embody the essence of our philosophy: “For the Biological Rebirth.” The primary focus of our study centered around microorganisms and their mutually beneficial relationships, which contribute to the resilience and effectiveness of greenery. Therefore, we developed a self-sustaining living system that is long-lasting and nurtures a welcoming environment for a diverse range of species to colonize.”

“The continuous line, a graphical element that usually is infinitely slim becomes a bold object by inflating it. This materialized line forms the backrest and legs and is completed by its own reflection in the mirror polished stainless steel seat. Depending on the observers point of view, the physical and mirrored creates ever changing graphical compositions.”