It’s that time of year again. As the evenings draw in earlier every day, here at Wallpaper* HQ, we’ve been busily preparing for the biggest event in our calendar: the Wallpaper* Design Awards – our annual round-up of the most exciting, stylish, functional and clever designs of the last 12 months. All the usual categories will feature, as well as our International Judges’ Awards, for which we’d like to thank our prestigious panel of judges: Matteo Cordero di Montezemolo, Ron Arad, Jane Birkin, Ian Schrager, Naoto Fukasawa, and Viktor & Rolf. The shortlist for the ten categories is listed to the right.
Of course, being familiar with our design awards, you will also be aware of our reader-judged category: Best Gadget-on-the-Go, and will be itching to give us your opinion on the contenders in our shortlist. Take a look at the list below, and register your choice by visiting Competitions. By doing so, you’ll also be in with a chance to win one of 10 year-long subscriptions to the magazine. But be quick: our original shortlist of six has now been cut to three as the Blackberry Pearl, Elgato EyeTV and Ricoh Caplio all bite the dust, while Apple still looks strong with both products left in the running. Can the Nokia 8800 bring them to their knees? You have one week left to influence the results. Check out the February issue for the results.
The final shortlist
Apple MacBook, in black
This year’s MacBook not only looks flash but with an Intel Core Duo processor at its heart it’s four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook. As with its predecessors, the MacBook manages to marry style and substance: up-to-the-minute technology will make those-in-the-know nod appreciatively, while aesthetes will love the sleek design and the glossy widescreen display. We think the black one’s a beauty (although we don’t quite see why it has to cost more than the other finishes!). www.apple.com
Apple iPod Shuffle
The second contender in the list by Apple and only slightly more sizeable than a postage stamp, the new iPod shuffle is proof that bigger does not always mean better. 1GB of memory serves up 12 continuous hours of sounds, pretty impressive when you consider that this digital music player is a mere 1.62 inches long. It looks great clipped inside your Miu Miu jacket. www.apple.com
Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition
For all modern fashion icons, reinvention is the key to lasting success. The Nokia 8800 is no exception. The new all-black Sirocco Edition, with its tactile dent for your thumb, features all that we loved about the original, plus a two megapixel camera, a large colour display, improved battery life (much needed), and ringtones by Brian Eno. It’s sitting on most of the desks in the Wallpaper office. www.nokia.co.uk
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International Judges’ Awards – the categories
Best domestic appliance
Ceramic speakers
‘Cyclone’ vacuum cleaner
‘Dolce’ tap
‘LiftMatic’ oven
‘Platinum’ cooker hood
Furniture designer of the year
Arik Levy
Fredrikson Stallard
Hella Jongerius
Paula Navone
Roy McMakin
Best new restaurant
Canteen, London
Gilt, New York
Kirketon, Sydney
Kungsholmen, Stockholm
Muzedechanga, Istanbul
Best new hotel
Duomo, Rimini
Gramercy Park, NYC
Home, Buenos Aires
Hyatt Regency, Kyoto
St Regis, San Francisco
Best new private house
Villa Lea, Czech Republic
Casa Toto, Portugal
20x20 House, Chile
Baron House, Sweden
Casa Os, Spain
Best new public building
Hearst Tower, NYC
Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis
Morgan Library, NYC
Aurland Lookout, Norway
Phaeno Museum, Wolfsburg
Best city
Beijing
Istanbul
New York City
Stockholm
Vienna
Best new fashion collection
Adam Kimmel
Clare Waight Keller for Pringle
Prada
Raf Simons
Versace
Best new grooming product
Korres suncare
Prada for men
Serge Lutens cosmetics
Skeen skincare for men
Smiley fragrance
Most life-enhancing item
The dessert bar
Dual-core processors in Macs
Eco loo cleaner
Google Earth
Tesla Roadster
