The world of design is constantly changing, driven by technological innovations, social challenges and the desire for sustainable solutions. We spoke to the five finalists of the NEWCOMER DESIGN AWARDS, who are setting bold trends – and expanding our idea of design.
by Julia Haecker
Visionary, responsible, and bold – the five finalists of the Newcomer Awards 2025 show how diverse and forward-looking design can be. Whether through social architecture, material-based innovation, dynamic systems or sustainable digital practices, they are all united by the desire to use design to initiate positive change. Their approaches encourage us to break new ground and explore the limits of what is possible.
Amelie Kurz: Architecture at the Heart of Social Utopias
For Amelie Kurz, architecture is more than just the creation of spaces: she sees her projects as a medium for stimulating social discourse. She is particularly interested in the development of sustainable village structures, as she demonstrated in her thesis on single-family housing estates. She uses local potential to densify existing settlements and create neighbourhoods that foster community. ‘We have to learn to think in utopian terms again in order to develop practical implementation strategies’, she says, looking optimistically to the future.
Juni Sun Neyenhuys: Open Source as the Keystone of Circular Economies
Juni Sun Neyenhuys sees herself as an intermediary between science and design. ‘Science is the foundation, while design makes the future of materials tangible’, she explains. She is passionate about open source hardware, which she sees as essential to the realisation of a circular economy. She uses rapid prototyping and material experimentation to find applications that combine technical innovation with marketable products. She believes that design can only remain sustainable and relevant through a constant dialogue between customers and science.
Sophia Reißenweber: Holistic Thinking for a Better Future
Sophia Reißenweber takes a holistic view on design. Her approach: looking at products and materials over their entire life cycle and promoting regional material flows. ‘Change happens when we not only design things, but also test alternative systems and behaviours and make them accessible through design’, she says. Her aim is not only to understand complex relationships, but also to make them tangible.
Max Seeger: Code as a Tool for Dynamic Design
Max Seeger abandoned traditional drawing tools early on and discovered programming as a creative medium. His focus is on the design of dynamic systems that are influenced by data, time or chance. ‘Coding makes it possible to visualise the uniqueness and aesthetics of scientific results’, he says. Max would like to see more freedom for unconventional research and experimentation in design practice in order to harness the transformative potential of technology, nature and humanity.
Lena Weber: Between Digital and Physical Design
For Lena Weber, the fascination lies in exploring the limits of each medium. In creative programming, she is fascinated by the ability to define rules and inputs to create reproducible results. She interprets sustainability in the digital space as the ‘energy efficiency of creation’ – from modular code reuse to knowledge transfer through open source concepts. She clarifies: ‘It is not maximum complexity and over-engineering that leads to the best results, but accepting and mastering the basics.’
About the Newcomer Awards
THE FORUM FOR YOUNG DESIGN TALENTS
Great talents need a forum! The Newcomer Awards of the German Design Council – Rat für Formgebung is a unique honour and promotes young designers who stand out due to their extraordinary achievements and creative talent.
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