There are moments in a career, or the history of a firm, that mark a turning point. For Hublot, this turning point was called Big Bang. A watch that has established itself as an iconic model in watch design and that triggered the striking success of the brand. This was the inspiration behind the launch of the Hublot Design Prize in April this year as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Big Band model. Its primary aim is to support a young designer by boosting their career, by creating such a turning point.
Looking to the future, Hublot wishes to value the talent of the designers of tomorrow by helping to expose them to a wide public at an international level. On 27 April 2015, 25 contenders were selected by a jury of 5 names from the world of contemporary design: Lapo Elkann, Ronan Bouroullec, Marva Griffin Wilshire and the Professor Dr. Peter Zec, under the chairmanship of Pierre Keller. On 4 June, in Milan, the 5 finalists for the first edition of the Hublot Design Prize were announced.
The first edition of the Hublot Design Prize sees an ex-aequo prize awarded for the work of the Swiss partnership BIG-GAME and the Norwegian Daniel Rybakken who both win a prize of CHF 50,000. A "jury's special award" of CHF 10,000 was presented to Brynjar Sigurõarson. Jean-Claude Biver and Pierre Keller were together to present the awards to the winners.
Alongside the awarding of the Hublot Design Prize, the MOT played host to the Big Bang Tour and an exhibition of the work of the five Hublot Design Prize finalists. The backdrop was created by Keiji Ashizawa, a Japanese designer whose artistic signature is "honest design"—an art that is both simple and refined, beautiful whilst remaining accessible.
