Loughborough Design academic is invited to be a jury member of the IDSA Excellence Awards

Industrial Design Academic, Karl Hurn, has been invited to be a jury member of the prestigious Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) International Design Excellence Awards.

2021 marks the 41st anniversary of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), one of the longest running and most prestigious design awards programs in existence. Originally founded to recognise exceptional achievement in industrial design, the program has since grown to highlight design in many connected disciplines including design strategy, branding, digital interaction and so much more. Thousands of entries are submitted by design teams across the globe, making IDEA one of the largest and most widely anticipated annual awards programs in the world. 

Karl is an Industrial Design academic at Loughborough University, managing and teaching undergraduate, post-graduate, and doctorial researchers. As the school’s Director of Internships, Karl has formed relationships with industry to facilitate the placement of design students at notable design houses around the globe, including Studio F.A. Porsche, Lego, Adidas, Siemens, and Aston Martin.

Actively engaged in academic research, Karl’s most recent research project was working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bring user-centred and sustainable sanitation solutions to developing countries.

Before joining academia, Karl worked as an Industrial Designer for Hotpoint, then a division of GE Appliances, designing a wide range of market-leading domestic appliances and consumer goods. Prior to Hotpoint, he worked in retail design for various creative industry consultancy firms, designing point of purchase and retail environments for brands such as Chanel, Lancôme, and Porsche GB.

Each year, a collection of designers, thought leaders and visionaries who compose the IDEA Jury epitomize the very best of the industrial design community. Representing industry, consultancy, academia, and private practice, they are experts within their field. The IDEA jury is charged with the tremendous task of carefully reviewing nearly 2,000 entries across 20 categories. Additionally, they are responsible for maintaining the high level of quality and rigor that has become a hallmark of the IDEA programme.

Speaking of being selected as a jury member, Karl commented that:

“I am honoured to be nominated as a member of the IDEA jury. It will be a privilege to work with the jury’s collection of world leading designers and educators to acknowledge the highest achievements of the design industry."

Find out more about the IDEA International Design Excellence Awards