With the Dezeen Awards ceremony just six days away, members of the design master jury discuss how this year's shortlist revealed the increasing focus on sustainability in contemporary design.

Industrial designer and jury chair Paul Priestman told Dezeen that creativity can be used to address some of challenges facing the world today.

"To be a designer you have to be an optimist," Priestman said. "I think some of the big problems can be resolved through design and creative thinking and I think it takes people coming together from all different disciplines to solve these problems."

The design master jury consisted of Priestman plus New York lighting designer Bec Brittain, Annica Eklund of Swedish flooring company Bolon, Senegalese fashion designer Selly Raby Kane and former IKEA head of design Marcus Engman.

Brittain added that her own design values influenced the way she approached judging this year's entries to the design categories.

"The design I want to make is a design that lasts for generations and hopefully is wanted and kept around," she said.

Read more on Dezeen: https://www.dezeen.com/?p=1287526

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