Lexus Design Matters #1

Your route to the latest global design and craftsmanship news from Lexus

“Great design transcends cultures and doesn’t need any translation” – Mark Templin, Executive Vice President, Lexus International.

New York Showcase

Lexus chose New York as the venue for an event showcasing its commitment to design, not just in the way it approaches the creation of new cars, but also in supporting and encouraging new and emerging design talent worldwide.

This video distils the essence of the presentation, which reflected on key design-led activities launched in the past few months and on new ideas and concepts that will be appearing in the coming months.

Amazing in Motion

The invited New York audience was the first to see Lexus’s first global brand advertising campaign, Amazing in Motion, and encounter first-hand the larger-than-life human figure puppets that will bring it to life. Created using 3D printing, the models use materials found in Lexus vehicles, including bamboo and wood.

Milan Design Week and Amazing Flow

Japanese architect Toyo Ito oversaw the creation of Amazing Flow, a large-scale installation that formed the centrepiece of Lexus’s presentations for Milan Design Week at the Museo della Permanente. Using more than 100 square metres of wood, the work is inspired by manifestations of flow and how they relate to people and nature. It also references inspiration for future Lexus product design.

Lexus Design Awards

Lexus showcased the work of the 12 winners in the first Lexus Design Awards as part of its Milan Design Week activities. The inaugural international competition attracted more than 1,200 project proposals on the theme of “motion,” expressed in diverse fields from graphics and interior design to fashion and film. Two entries, Tangent Studio’s Inaho lights and Hitomi Iragashi’s origami-inspired porcelain pieces, were selected to develop their ideas into prototypes with mentoring from product designer Sam Hecht and architect Junya Ishigami.

Lexus Recommends

Guy Bird seeks out what is new and intriguing in art, performance and design in his regular Lexus Recommends features for the official Lexus Blog. Recent features have looked at Patrick Vale’s City Lines exhibition and the Design Museum’s Designs of the Year 2013 awards show.