Swiss Design 2002: Netzwerke / Réseaux / Networks

“I always feel really good between two stools; it may be a bit uncomfortable, but there’s a lot of freedom in that border zone.” So begins the quixotic Swiss Design 2002 , the published results of the Swiss Federal Design Competition, a juried award that recognizes the best of Swiss fashion, visual communication, industrial, jewelry, and stage design. From 260 submitting designers the jury selected 24 prizewinning projects, including garments by Lela Scherrer, Han Phu Tran, Rachel Imboden, and Daniel Hermann, photographs by Gian Paolo Minelli and Ruth Erdt, paper by Happypets Products, an electric comfort mattress pad by Simone Lüling, illustrations by Anne Crausaz, and book packages by Gilles Gavillet. As evidenced by a web-like layout of texts and images, Swiss Design 2002 takes the network as its theme, and considers the rehabilitation of some apparently questionable practices and the necessity of professional networks. Essays by Martin Heller, Ruedi Baur, Patriza Crivelli, Sabine Dreher, Christian Muhr, Meret Ernst and Ralf Michel. Paperback, 8 x 11 in., 226 pages, 250 color illustrations