John Maeda, a guru of digital design and an Associate Professor of Design and Computation at the Negroponte Media Lab won the 15th Lucky Strike Designer Award. This prestigious prize was founded by the Raymond Loewy Foundation International, a non-profit foundation which concentrates on the whole range of design. Maeda was selected by a jury, presided over by Michael Erlhoff, who recognised the value of his work. Erlhoff said. “Maeda has developed a contemporary and groundbreaking art form and has embarked on exemplary new paths of awareness with design and design competence.”

Maeda, himself, at the award ceremony in Berlin on November 3rd, defined himself as “a thinker”, more than a multi-media artist or a guru of information technology. This statement somewhat bewildered those present but it demonstrated yet again Maeda’s intention to transcend the too confining borders of the labels others have given him.

He’s not working on new software products nor on graphic interfaces at the Simplicity Lab of the MIT. Instead, he is focusing on concepts for innovative products and they are expected to be ready soon. Besides, Maeda’s preferred way of developing his ideas isn’t to use advanced computer technology but rather to sketch his ideas on paper. L.M.

Berlin – Germany
Lucky Strike Designer Award
Raymond Loewy Foundation International
https://www.raymondloewyfoundation.com/luckystrike