Created to help designers of all disciplines gain visibility with potential clients around the world, the Faces of Design Awards are now in their second year of success and international acclaim.

After celebrating student talent with the Faces of Design TALENT Awards in the summer of 2010, we were happy to welcome a greater number of professional participants to the Faces of Design Awards 2011: professional participation increased by 30% to 83% of the total; also, a total of three grants was awarded to young designers from developing economies.

Indeed, once again, participants of the FoD Awards came from all around the globe. In particular, we managed to gain increased traction within the US. As Ignacio Ciocchini, one of this year's winners, puts it:

"For designers based in the US, it is not easy to gain visibility in the European and global markets. This awards program accomplishes that and much more."

In addition to the Faces of Design Awards, Faces of Design is gaining momentum in a range of complementary activities. After organising design workshops for a range of international clients for some time, we decided to launch our own educational branch, the Faces of Design Academy.

After initially targeting mainly the design community, FoD is now helping non-designers and corporate clients gain an understanding of creative processes and to sharpen their competitive edge. The newly-founded Faces of Design Academy spotlights a range of different topics, from Open Design and Hybrid Thinking to Lean Development and Guerilla Marketing.

Held at exclusive locations and presented by leading thinkers and experts, the Faces of Design Academy helps companies and individuals alike develop new skills, placing them at the forefront of innovation and creative spirit. You can find additional information about our kick-off event on pages 68 to 71 of our Winners´ publication, and about the Academy´s upcoming programme by clicking here.

At the same time, our involvement in the international design scene has led to further cooperations with fantastic partners. We continue to support the well-known summer school programme at the Domaine de Boisbuchet in France, and 2010 saw the launch of a new B2B platform for museums around the world, MUSCON Sherp. We created MUSCON Sherp in close cooperation with the Vitra Design Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum London, the Netherland Architecture Institute Rotterdam, and the Museum für Gestaltung Zurich. You can find additional information in the article on page 76.

Going forward, we aim to open the Faces of Design Awards themselves to cooperation partners, to enrich the participants' experience and to help our partners gain additional recognition for their contribution to international design.

But now, do not let us keep you longer; we hope that you will enjoy browsing the work and profiles of the winners of the Faces of Design Awards 2011! If you have any feedback, comments or tips, you can always reach us at anna.rojahn@facesofdesign.com.

With best regards from Berlin,
Anna & Friedrich

Please click on the images below for an enlarged view!

The winners of the Faces of Design Awards will now be presented to over 1.000 key decision makers in the world of design in an elegant print publication.

Thank you all very much for participating,

and for your many encouraging notes, questions and tremendously helpful feedback! We are very much looking forward to creating more opportunities like this for you in the future - and of course we hope to see you again for the Faces of Design Awards 2012! Please keep in touch and let us know how you're doing!