PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY

Europe 40 Under 40® is an annual awards program that celebrates the next new talented generation of European designers. The program is directed to support new and emerging design talent that will influence the near future of European design, thinking, and theory with the direct consequence of impacting future environments and the future of European and international design. The key is to bring wider recognition to 40 of the most promising emerging designers working in the European Union and in other countries inside Europe, fostering and encouraging new talent and new creative thinking at the forefront of tomorrow’s profession.

ELIGIBILITY

Every year, designers under the age of 40 (as of December 31, 2009) are invited to submit products (manufactured or in production) to be judged by a panel of distinguished designers, manufacturers, design journalists, educators, and critics. Participating designers under 40 can be either working as individual practitioners or collaborating inside an established firm as the principal lead designer of the products submitted.

In addition to the 27 European Union member countries, architects from the following European nations are invited to participate: Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Turkey, Liechtenstein, Albania, Monaco, Andorra, Serbia, Montenegro, Georgia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Moldavia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Canary Islands, Faeroe Islands, San Marino, and Iceland.

Submitted products include: electronics, medical equipment, furniture, textiles, equipment, hardware, tools, kitchen and bath, floorcovering, table top, household products, personal effects, applicances, office products, transportation, children’s products, sports and recreation, lighting, public environments, fashion, and graphic design.

Professionals in Design, Graphics, Fashion, and Textile Design can apply.

EUROPE 40 UNDER 40