Celebrate with us 13 fantastic design works and the 30th anniversary of the Rhineland-Palatinate Design Award! From handcrafted masterpieces and hand-drawn illustrations to pioneering digital works - discover fresh talent projects, sophisticated commissioned works and two special prizes with depth.

The exhibition ‘Let's Celebrate! Rhineland-Palatinate Design Award 2024’ can be experienced from the 1^st of March 2025 to the 2^nd of November 2025.

DESIGN AWARD TALENTS

Student
Nils Schmitz, Berlin
IG: @nilsson__97

University
Hochschule Trier, Kommunikationsdesign
Tim Romanowsky, Prof. Sarah Weisman
hochschule-trier.de
IG: campus_gestaltung_trier

Project partners 
Greta Klos (camera), Sarah Schotte (sound), Luca Steffen (light), David Wulf (editing and sound)

Football, I love you, until you break my heart.

‘Einwurf’ (or ‘Throw-in’) is a reflection on my connection to football and a criticism of the increasing commercialisation of sport. The first part of my work is a ceramic table football game. The people’s game in an ivory tower symbolises the fragility of modern football. The ‘glossy product’ football is crumbling, scandals are tarnishing its image and players are cracking under the pressure. The second part is the revolt. Shrouded in a denim jacket, I am sparking the revolution. Forty patches railing against commerce and everything that is going wrong.

‘Ultra Anti FC’: Against football, for football.

Jury statement from Simon Hebler

The not-so-beautiful game and the twelfth man have hit rock bottom. Striking modern football right in the heart with a ceramic table football game so brittle that it threatens to shatter when touched and a jacket that looks like a battle cry of the disappointed is certainly interesting. Even if everything lies in ruins afterwards – some may well argue that it was a great game, but only if they don’t actually give a damn about football. Here, however, a real fan asks: Where has the passion gone? Football is about more than commerce – it is our cultural heritage and shared passion. And that is more important than signing Mbappé at Mainz 05, isn’t it?

DESIGN AWARD TALENTS

Student
Lotte Koksch, Mainz
IG: @lottekoksch / @otto.k.schelk

University
Hochschule Mainz, Kommunikationsdesign
Prof. Nadja Mayer, Prof. Julia Kühne
kd.hs-mainz.de
IG: @hsm.kommunikationsdesign

‘Auf links gedreht’ (which literally translates as ‘twisted to the left’ but actually means ‘turned inside out’) is a project arising from a course that focuses on dealing with mistakes. Since birth, I have had a motor impairment in my left hand, making it very difficult for me to play instruments, for example. Some time ago, however, I drew with my left hand instead of my usual right hand and was delighted by the shaky and uncontrolled results. This inspired me to design a magazine for the course that humorously deals with things that are broken or don’t work. The author ‘Otto K. Schelk’ is an anagram of my name, Lotte Koksch, and the name of my left hand.

Jury statement from Johanna Schwarzer

This project demonstrates how it is possible to develop incredible strengths from supposed weaknesses. It encourages people to challenge traditional expectations and social norms – the constant ‘but that’s just how it’s done’ attitude – and find the courage to strike their own, unconventional paths. Why not turn things inside out? Why not look at the world from a different angle? New paths are not forged by themselves. They take courage, the courage to be different and embrace new perspectives. The first step is often the hardest – daring to do something different from everyone else. Yet it is precisely this step that marks the beginning of something truly magnificent.

SPECIAL AWARD „DESIGNING DEMOCRACY“

Contractor
KONTRASTFILM GmbH & Co. KG, Mainz
Josefina Dittmer & Jonas Wiechert
kontrastfilm.de
IG: @kontrastfilm_filmproduktion

Client
Ministry for Family, Women, Culture & Integration Rhineland-Palatinate, Mainz
represented by Minister Katharina Binz
mffki.rlp.de
IG: @vielfalt.kultur.rlp

The campaign with the name #ScrollNichtWeg (which translates as ‘Don’t Scroll Away’) launched by the Ministry for Families in Rhineland-Palatinate takes a stand against online hate. It educates people about digital violence, provides information on support services and urges people to show online civil courage. The campaign’s content has been viewed nearly three million times to date, building a community of over 8,000 followers. Whether reels, memes, informative posts or sketches – on Instagram and TikTok (@scrollnichtweg) the message is: #ScrollNichtWeg! Support those affected and join others in making the Internet a little bit safer.

Jury statement from Julia Kahl

The campaign impressively promotes online civil courage and supports those affected by hate on the Internet. It raises awareness among users of the dangers of hate speech, strengthens social cohesion and actively encourages people to take a stand against digital violence. The campaign’s reach shows its relevance, having reached millions of people, especially young users on social media, to inform them about important values such as pluralism and tolerance. At a time when our democracy increasingly needs to be defended online, this project is of paramount importance.

DESIGN AWARD TALENTS

Student
Lavinia Horsmann, Münster
designedbylavinia.de
IG: @designedbylavinia

University
Hochschule Mainz, Kommunikationsdesign
Prof. Florian Jenett, Prof. Philipp Pape
kd.hs-mainz.de
IG: @hsm.kommunikationsdesign

Discrimination against women who pursue careers in design is still noticeable to this day. There have been important female designers dating back as far as the beginning of the 20th century, but their works have never received adequate attention. This project presented major works by three important women who have had a significant influence on the field of design. In terms of the approach to communicating the information, the aim was to address the broadest possible mass of people. To achieve this, a website featuring the scrollytelling format was developed as an interactive editorial.

Jury statement from Peter Post

Women have faced discrimination in the past and still do today. Even in the design industry, which likes to present itself as progressive. Reason enough to complain. Or perhaps to celebrate the women who were responsible for the ‘face’ of the first Mac, the revolution in book design in the 1990s or one of the most widely used fonts in the world, to name but three examples. The interactive editorial does this with real attention to detail, featuring a captivating narrative design that still allows the designers to take centre stage, all embedded in an effortless navigation concept. Those who haven’t already guessed the names of the above-mentioned designers can find them here.

SPECIAL AWARD OF THE JURY

Students
Tom Braunschedel, Meike Schalk, Maryna Komisarova, Patrick Wild, Malte Kropp, Luca Mancari, Julian Breuer, Felix Mensching, Florian Johannes Alliger, Jonas Winkler, Janik Damrau, Jan Weidenfeller, Christoph Farwig, Alicia Karatus, Antonio An

University
Hochschule Mainz, Department of Design
Prof. Gregor Ade, Prof. Olaf Hirschberg, Prof. Daniel Seideneder, Prof. Tjark Ihmels, deputy Prof. Pascal Kulcsár, Kristof Korwisi, Jan Glück, Georg Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Mathias Ewald, Norbert Seemayer, Ann-Katrin Vollmers, Henri Aalken, Bastian Bley, Beysa Gül Yüksel, Seweryn Zelazny, Chris Schlaadt, Claudia Artner
hs-mainz.de
IG: @hsm.gestaltung / @hsm.zbm

Project partners
Stadt Mainz
mainz.de
IG: @stadt_mainz

Mainzplus CITYMARKETING
mainzplus.com
IG: @mainzplus_citymarketing

WRS Event-Engineering Veranstaltungstechnik GmbH, Spabrücken
wrs-veranstaltungstechnik.de
IG: @wrs_event

Flo Service GmbH, Mainz
flo-service.de / IG: @floservicegmbh

A concept was developed to fill Mainz city centre with life again following the discontinuation of the fireworks display known as Mainzer Sommerlichter. Designed to be accessible and visually engaging for everyone, a festival of light was organised. Mainz landmarks provided the backdrop for exciting projection mapping shows and interactive installations. The entire show was created by students at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. Around 90,000 visitors filled every corner of Mainz city centre during the three-day festival and were mesmerised by the installations showcased in a peaceful atmosphere.

Jury statement from Sebastian Oschatz

The ‘Mainz leuchtet’ project shows how fantastic it is when the city and the university work together. The inaugural Mainz light festival brought tens of thousands of people together among artistic and creative works. Instantly accessible and visually stunning projection mapping shows, performances and interactive installations brought Mainz city centre to life. The courage and strength to take on such a project – with all its organisational and technical difficulties – in order to provide a platform for young designers was worthy of a special award to us.

DESIGN AWARD TALENTS

Student
Josephine Strobel & Sophie Welter, Mainz
IG: @jill_lattedeluxe

University
Hochschule Mainz, Innenarchitektur
Prof. Bernd Benninghoff
ia.hs-mainz.de
IG: @hsm.innenarchitektur

In the main semester project entitled ‘Latte Deluxe’, research was carried out into the use of roof battens as a starting material for high-quality furniture design. Every roof batten has knots and damage in different places. These are usually considered quality defects and lead to the timber being rejected. Instead of ruling out these rejects, the two designers deliberately worked with them, integrating the natural wood defects into the design and turning the rigid battens into elegant lighting elements. The cuts were made specifically where there was no damage in order to avoid any breaks. These ‘defects’ give each light its individual form. The contrast between the unworked surfaces and precisely planed edges gives the lights a distinctive aesthetic.

Jury statement from Jens Ritter

The ‘Jill’ lighting elements impressively showcase the innovative use of an everyday material that has been creatively reinterpreted. The reshaping of the roof battens into unique light fixtures lends an elegant and aesthetic quality to a seemingly ordinary material. The jury was particularly impressed by the sustainable approach used to deliberately integrate the wood damage into each light to give it its individual shape. The combination of craftsmanship and functionality makes the ‘Jill’ lights outstanding design objects.

The expert jury selected the works presented here out of all the 260 design projects submitted. Now it’s your turn. Give your favourite project a red dot and help to decide which work will win the public’s choice award!

For three decades, this Design Award has championed outstanding design from Rhineland-Palatinate. The competition gives design professionals, emerging talent and companies a platform and highlights just how diverse design can be as a source of inspiration and innovation in the business world and wider society.

The expert jury presents awards for masterful work in the fields of communication, media and product design. It also presents special themed awards for noteworthy instances of social and creative commitment.

The Design Award is organised by the Designforum Rheinland-Pfalz and presented by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Since 1994, more than 3,600 projects have taken part in the Rhineland-Palatinate Design Award – showcasing everything from furniture, technology and ceramics to fashion, jewellery and books, plus corporate design, films and illustrations. Awards are given for groundbreaking design and innovative approaches. Examples include a new material made of pomace (2017, Katharina Hölz), sustainable jewellery made of recycled glass (2011, Adam Stoffel) and a crawler crane featuring an ergonomic concept (2013, Terex Cranes). Unusual developments – such as a mobile henhouse (2021, Tischlerei Sommer), a grape harvester (2011, ERO Gerätebau GmbH) and an artistically crafted guitar (2005, Jens Ritter) – also showcase the diversity of design in Rhineland-Palatinate!

Want to find out more? DESIGNPREIS-RLP.DE