Home Resources News archive 2009 INDEX: Awards include 1st communication design winner

2009 INDEX: Awards include 1st communication design winner

31.08.2009 News

Copenhagen (Denmark) - A recurring theme throughout the 2009 INDEX: awards ceremony had all in attendance talking about the first piece of communication design to receive recognition by the award's international jury.

PIG 05049 is a three year research project tracking all the products made from a single pig. Designed by Christien Meindertsma of Rotterdam, the project resulted in a book that captured the 2009 INDEX: award for the Play category. Meindertsma receives one of the five EUR 100,000 prizes and has been invited to teach master classes at the Danish Design School.

Juror John Heskett, Chair Professor of Design at Hong Kong Polytechnic, says, "I remember some students of mine in Chicago many years ago going out and doing projects with children in Chicago's Southside, the poor area, and finding that the children had no consciousness of chickens as creatures Â– as living, vital creatures. They just thought it somehow comes from the factory wrapped in a plastic bag, and that's it."

Meindertsma says of her project, "There are very many steps between the raw material and the end product in modern commercial production. And because there are so many steps in between, the knowledge gets lost. For instance, the pig farmers also donÂ’t know all the end-products that are made from their pigs because they just don't know where it goes."

The book is primarily a visual statement, keeping text to a minimum. It makes no comment on such potentially contentious issues as the conditions under which commercial farm animals are handled or the context in which various religious and other parts of society see the pig. Instead, Meindertsma finds the main interest in her project is its implications for conservation efforts. "In taking good care of the Earth, basically, the first step is knowing where our things come from," she says.

Other prize winners at the 28 August ceremony included:

Body category: Freeplay fetal heart rate monitor
Home category: Chulha
Work category: Kiva
Community category: Better Place
People's Choice: Street Swags

To view complete details about all the prize winners, visit the INDEX: website.

For more information, please contact:

INDEX:Award
Njalsgade 106, 2. floor
DK-2300 Copenhagen S
Denmark
T: +45 33 89 20 05
E: info@indexaward.dk
W: http://www.indexaward.dk

About INDEX:

A wholly owned subsidiary of the Danish Design Center (DDC), INDEX: is a global network organisation originating in Copenhagen, Denmark. Kigge Hvid, CEO of INDEX:, explains, "INDEX:'s mission is to secure high-quality Design to Improve Life internationally. Therefore we inspire, collect, advocate, communicate, evaluate, connect and discuss Design to Improve Life globally."

Director of Programs and Events for INDEX:, , is the Secretary General of Icograda and is a member of the executive committee for the International Design Alliance (IDA).