A website out-duels architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, product and transport. Deyan Sudjic, Director of Design Museum said: ‘GOV.UK is a remarkable success on so many levels. It makes life better for millions of people coping with the everyday chores, from getting a new passport, to paying their taxes. It’s a reflection of the government understanding how to communicate with the country in a way that works, it’s simple, direct, well mannered, all the things that we would like to take for granted from the government, but in a sea of red tape and jargon, usually can’t. GOV.UK looks elegant, and subtly British thanks to a revised version of a classic typeface, designed by Margaret Calvert back in the 1960s. It is the Paul Smith of websites. The rest of the world is deeply impressed, and because it has rationalized multiple official websites, it saves the taxpayer millions, what’s not to like?’
The award was presented to Mike Bracken, Executive Director of GDS, Ben Terrett Head of Design at GDS (Government Digital Service) and Nick Hurd Minister for Civil Society at an awards reception held at Angler, South Place Hotel, London. The jury unanimously agreed that GOV.UK was the overall winner for Design of the Year 2013 for its well thought out yet understated design, making the user experience faster and easier. The website is regarded as one of the leading government websites in the world.
The Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Prime Minister and Conservative Party Leader said: ‘I am delighted that the GOV.UK website has won the Design of the Year Award 2013. This government is committed to being the most transparent in the world. For the first time, people can find out what’s happening inside government, all in one place, and in a clear and consistent format. It is just another example of Britain’s world class design talent standing out on the global stage; in this case helping to enhance the modern relationship between the public and government.’ [ designs of the year 2103 ] [ designs of the year 2013: shortlist ]
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Designs of The Year exhibition at the Design Museum runs 20 March > 7 July. Winners announced on 17 April. Pete Collard is curator of Designs of the Year..
The full list of nominees is as follows…
the shard | renzo piano
[ architecture ]
Druot, Lacaton and Vassal: La Tour Bois-Le-Pretre, Paris
Studio Egret West: Clapham Library, London
Farshid Moussavi Architecture: MOCA, Cleveland
Hackett Hall McKnight: Metropolitan Arts Centre, Belfast
David Kohn Architects in collaboration with artist Fiona Banner: A Room For London
SO – IL: Kukje Art Center, Seoul
Andrés Jaque Arquitectos: Ikea Disobedients
MVRDV: Book Mountain, Spijkenisse
Renzo Piano: The Shard, London
Gonçalo Byrne Arquitectos & Barbas Lopes Arquitectos: Thalia Theatre, Lisbon
Witherford Watson Mann: Astley Castle, Warwickshire
Orhan Pamuk with Ihsan Bilgin, Cem Yucel and Gregor Sunder Plassmann: The Museum of Innocence, Istanbul
Akihisa Hirata, Sou Fujimoto, Kumiko, Naoya Hatakeyama, Inui and Toyo Ito: Home For All
Klein Dytham: T-Site, Tokyo
Zaha Hadid: Galaxy Soho, Beijing
BIG, TOPOTEK1 and Superflex: Superkilen, Norrebro
Louis Kahn: Four Freedoms Park
digital postcard and player | uniform
[ digital ]
rAndom International: Rain Room
Shing Tat Chung: Superstitious Fund Project
Raspberry Pi Foundation: Raspberry Pi
Jason Jameson, James Hall and Rhys Griffin of Unanico Group, with Andrew Tanner Design and Royal Winton: English Hedgerow Plate
Uniform: Digital Postcard and player
Microsoft: Windows Phone 8
Government Digital Service: GOV.UK Website
Six to Start and Naomi Alderman: Zombies, Run! App
Free Art and Technology Lab and Sy-Lab: Free Universal Construction kit
Martin Wattenberg and Fernanda Bertini Viegas: Wind Map
Moritz Waldemeyer for Ingo Maurer: Candles In The Wind
Patrick Bergel: Chirp
Nippon Design Centre Inc: Dashilar App
Stamen: City Tracking
Lytro: Light Field Camera
a/w12 collection | craig green
[ fashion ]
Jacqueline Durran: Anna Karenina Costumes
Giles Deacon: A/W12
Yayoi Kusama: Louis Vuitton Collection
Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel
Elisha Smith-Leverock: I Want Muscle
Craig Green: A/W12 Collection
Commes De Garcons: A/W12
Prada: S/S12 Collection
Proenza Schouler: A/W12 Collection
a-collection | ronan and erwan bourellec | hay
[ furniture ]
Studio Swine & Kieren Jones: The Sea Chair
Zaha Hadid: Liquid Glacial Table
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Hay: A-Collection
Jolan Van Der Wiel: Gravity Stool
James Shaw and Marjan van Aubel: Well Proven Chair
Pinwu: Tie Paper Chair
Marni: 100 Chairs
Konstantin Grcic for Mattiazzi: Medici Chair
Studiomama (Nina Tolstrup and Jack Mama): Re-Imagined Chairs
Studio Markunpoika: Engineering Temporality
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra: Corniches
Muller Van Severen: Future Primitives
the gentlewoman #6 | veronica ditting
[ graphics ]
Brighten the Corners and Anish Kapoor: Zumtobel Annual Report
A Practice For Everyday Life: Bauhaus Art as Life exhibition
OK-RM: Strelka Institute Identity
Tzortzis Rallis and Lazaros Kakoulidis: Occupied Times of London
Veronica Ditting & Jop van Bennekom: The Gentlewoman #6
Serviceplan: Austria Solar Annual Report
Irma Boom: Rijksmuseum Identity
Studio Frith: Kapow!
Kapitza: Organic
Pedro Nora: Doc Lisboa ’12
Cardon Webb Ralph Ellison Collection
John Morgan: Venice Architecture Biennale Identity
CoDesign: Dekho Conversations on Design in India
Anthony Burrill: Made In Los Angeles
Australian Government Department for Health and Ageing: Australian Cigarette Packaging
olympic cauldron | heatherwick studio
[ product ]
Heatherwick Studio: Olympic Cauldron
Cecilie Manz: Bang & Olufsen Beolit 12
Dave Smith/Varanasi Research Group MIT: Liquiglide Ketchup Bottle
Scholten & Baijings/1616 Arita Japan: Colour Porcelain
Hal Watts: E-source
Berg: Little Printer
Inga Sempe for Legrand: Switch Collection
PostlerFerguson: Papa Foxtrot Toys
The Centre for Vision in the Developing World and Goodwin Hartshorn: Child Vision Glasses
Dirk Winkel for Wästberg: w127 Lamp
Form Us With Love: Plug Lamp
MakerBot: Replicator 2
Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware: 3D Printed Exoskeleton
Unfold Studio: Kiosk 2.0
Jasper Morrison/Japan Creative: Oigen Kitchenware
Anthony Dickens: Tekio
Olafur Eliasson: Little Sun
Simon Berry: Colalife
Pierre Hardy: Frederic Malle Travel Sprays#!
Phil Cuttance: Faceture Vases
Front: Surface Tension Lamp
Nike: Flyknit Trainers
mando footloose | mark sanders
[ transport ]
Vitamins for Maddak Inc: Morph Folding Wheel
Priestmangoode: Air Access Seat
BMW: i3 Concept Car BMW
Mark Sanders: Mando Footloose
Honda: N-One Honda
Ben Wilson: Donky Bicycle
Dixon Jones / The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea: Exhibition Road
TfL /JEDCO / LOCOG: Olympics Wayfinding
DB Mobility Logistics AG: Touch&Travel
[ previous designs of the year winners ]
2012 – London 2012 Olympic Torch – Barber Osgerby
2010 – Folding Plug – Min-Kyu Choi
2011 – Plumen Lightbulb 001 – Samuel Wilkinson for Hulger
2009 – Barack Obama Poster – Shepard Fairey
2008 – One Laptop per Child – Yves Béhar of Fuseproject
[ design of the year 2013 winner: uk.gov ] [ 2013 jury ]
