New generation designers formed into Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026
Dutch Design Awards (DDA) has unveiled the new generation of designers in the running for the Emerging Talent Award 2026. The fifteen nominees form the Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026, a group of up-and-coming and exceptional designers who, with a radical imagination and thinking and a distinctive voice, are redefining what design means today. The three winners from this cohort will be announced during the Dutch Design Awards ceremony on 17 October, as part of Dutch Design Week.
Nominees by the jury
The shortlist for the Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026 has been selected by the internationally oriented jury, chaired by Borre Akkersdijk, following an open call to the design community to nominate talented individuals.
“The DDA Class of 2026 represents the true, expansive reality of Dutch design at its best. It is defined by a distinct red thread of radical thinking. The limelight on these super-smart, creative people is more important than ever”, stated the jury.
The jury follows: “In a saturated world where everyone is an artist, this list cuts through the noise. The DDA Class of 2026 brings together 15 visionaries who choose to raise their voices and critique the world through design. They prove that emerging talent is defined by the raw persistence to perfect a craft, build new systems, and make the invisible physical. This is where the future of creativity is heading”.
The fifteen finalists for the Emerging Talent Award of DDA26:
Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026
The Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026, the designers of today and tomorrow, will come together on several occasions to encourage the exchange of new ideas, collaborations, and directions and to transform existing design and new challenges into new creations that shape the future.
The emerging designers and their disciplines:
Colette Aliman utilizes sound knowledge as a critical methodology for immersive installations and acoustic art.
Esmay Wagemans molds and sculpts wearable objects directly on the body to embody a cyborg feminism in fashion.
Estelle Barriol & Fanny Bordes (Studio ACTE) uses local reused materials built for self-construction like a temporary experimental pavilion.
Gijs Schalkx builds fully operational vehicles by hand within localized ecosystems.
Hsin Min Chan deconstructs her experience and identity, gender politics, power, and social phenomena into artifacts that reflect the dynamics of human bodies and behaviors.
Julia Janssen makes the challenges of our digitalizing society and relationship with AI tangible through performative and interactive installations.
Jun Fujisaku crafts objects like an office chair that express the dynamics of interior architecture and dismantle embedded values of domesticity and spatial governance.
Maggie Laylon Saunders (Striptopia) reimagines strip club culture as a consent driven design and is a staple of the Dutch queer nightlife and festival scenes.
Necim Abiadh works around identity and cultural hybridity throughout commercial and artistic practices.
Ori Orisun Merhav explores the relationship between new manufacturing methods with natural materials like working with lac.
Rosalie Apituley works with prototypes and visualizations for alternative representations of energy systems.
Sondi explores how power dynamics and narratives operate within game mechanics and visual environments influences encoded biases and algorithmic discrimination.
Ülkühan Akgül bridges heritage craftsmanship with digital media to critically confront cultural identity, capitalism, and our uneasy relationship with AI and online algorithms.
Yorick Westerkamp manipulates and fetishizes the clothes existing in his wardrobe into a new collection.
Yuro Moniz is a ceramist who uses clay as a material memory capturing the essence of what makes us human.
Read more here about the selected designers and view the images.
Ceremony Dutch Design Awards 2026
On Saturday 17 October 2026, the Dutch Design Award Class of 2026 will gather for the awards ceremony (invite only) during Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven.
From the fifteen finalists, three designers will each receive a grant of €10,000 to support their professional development. Keep an Eye Foundation, which supports young and creative talent, is providing the prizes.
DDA aims to continue providing future generations of designers with a global platform and to encourage collaboration between different generations. In addition, the Dutch Design Awards Class of 2026 will have the opportunity to expand their network within the national and international design community.