Qian Jiang wins the Formex Nova 2017 design award

Qian Jiang has been named the winner of Formex Nova, which goes to a young designer in the Nordic region. The winner is named by an expert jury and receives in part a sponsored activity at a value of SEK 50,000.

The jury’s motivation: Qian Jiang is an industrial designer – simultaneously poetic and functional. He masters the entire tool chest of a designer, but is never limited by this. His products demonstrate not only a clear awareness of form and a controlled playfulness, but also clever design.

“It is a good feeling...the award comes from uncertainty, at the same time as it shows something obvious that is hard to describe. It is like when a chef makes something he likes for other people. That moment when he sees the joy and smiles of the people and realizes that they like the flavor, too. I think he will always work hard to be a good chef,” says Qian Jiang.

Qian Jiang is 31 years old and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from Jiangnan University in 2008. He worked as an industrial designer at two design firms in Shanghai until 2011, after which he started a Master’s degree in industrial design at Lund University. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as a furniture designer at two design firms in Copenhagen, Nicholai Wiig Hansen Studio and Normann Copenhagen. He is currently based in Stockholm, where he established Studio Dejawu in 2015 with a focus on the design of furniture and everyday items. The balance between function and aesthetics is important, and Qian Jiang always includes a story in his design – a feeling of unfamiliar familiarity that triggers the memory.

“Design for me is like keeping a diary. It captures my memories of people and happy moments. In a sense my work is very personal. The final result is like crafting a memory container; documenting what I have experienced and continue exploring how to transform those experiences into objects that one could relate to. This train of thought is constantly refreshing. My inspiration comes from memories and everyday experiences, in particular happy, invaluable childhood memories,” says Qian Jiang.

The Formex Nova award
Formex established the Formex Nova award – Nordic Designer of the Year in 2011, to promote high-quality Nordic design created by a still relatively unknown designer working in the Nordic interior design industry. The criteria is that the designer lives and work in the Nordic region and have a college education or have demonstrated the ability to make innovative, artistic and usable products. And that the designer has at least one product in production or had a product exhibited in a larger context.

The award includes an exhibition at this spring’s Formex as well as SEK 50,000 for a sponsored activity. The nominees will each receive a unique diploma that has been designed this year by Justin Boyesen.

The 2017 jury consists of Lotta Lewenhaupt, journalist and author; Kerstin Wickman, professor in design history; Ewa Kumlin, President of Svensk Form; and Anders Färdig, founder and CEO of Design House Stockholm. The 2017 guest jury member is designer Mattias Stenberg.

Previous Formex Nova winners include Hanna Hedman and Simon Klenell, Sweden, 2011, Mari Isopahkala, Finland, 2012, Mattias Stenberg, Sweden, 2013, Line Depping, Denmark, 2014, Erik Olovsson & Kyuhyung Cho, Sweden 2015 and Nick Ross, Sweden 2016.

Qian Jiang

Age:
31

Education:
Master Programme in Industrial Design, Lund University
Bachelor Degree in Industrial Design, Jiangnan University

Designstudio:
Studio Dejawu, opened in 2015, www.studiodejawu.com

Previous exhibitions/awards – a selection:
Formex, Stockholm 2017
Greenhouse, Stockholm Furniture& Light Fair 2016
Design Junction, London 2014
Form Design Center, Malmö 2014
Bauhaus Archive Museum of Design, Berlin 2012
Milan Design Week 2012
Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair 2012
Global Swede 2015
DMY Award 2014
DMY Award 2012
Ingvar Kamprad Scholarship 2011
IF Award 2009
Best B.A. Graduation Design Project 2008

To find out more, visit www.formex.se or contact:
Christina Olsson, +46 8 749 44 28, christina.olsson@stockholmsmassan.se
Lotta Signeul, +46 8 749 43 36, lotta.signeul@stockholmsmassan.se

Formex is organized by Stockholmsmässan and takes place twice a year. Formex is the leading Nordic meeting place for new products, business opportunities, trends, knowledge and inspiration in the interiors industry. Formex welcomes 900 exhibitors, 23,000 trade visitors and more than 850 media representatives.