Prof. Oliver Grabes

Oliver joined P&G in 2009 to become the Head of Braun Design and has been Chairman of the BraunPrize since 2012. Under his leadership the design team established the design strategy of “Past Forward” with contemporary and innovative products that put Braun ́ s core values of simplicity, quality and good design back into the centre of the user experience.

Since then, a wide range of products following this philosophy have created strong global business success and have been awarded with a record number of international design awards, re-establishing Braun ́s unique brand equity. Oliver’s focus is on joyfully simplifying the way people interact with products and systems in today’s increasingly complex world. His passion is in building best-in class emotional product and brand experiences that leverage the power of “Good Design”.

“It was important that this year’s competition reflects the international and digital-first nature of the world we live in today. We’re excited to have assembled a diverse group of some of the most talented creative leaders from across the globe. It is a privilege to have their expertise to judge and award the wonderful talent that will emerge from the competition.”
– Prof. Oliver Grabes

Born in Rockford, Illinois, Virgil Abloh is an artist, architect, engineer, creative director, artistic director, industrial designer, fashion designer, musician, Dj, and philanthropist. After earning a degree in civil engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, hecompleted a master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT),Chicago. At IIT, while studying a design curriculum devised by Mies van der Rohe, Ablohbegan to craft the principles of his art practice. The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago presented a major traveling survey of Abloh’swork in summer 2019—one of the highest attended exhibitions in the museum’s history. Currently, Abloh is the Chief Creative Director and founder of Off-White™ and Men’s ArtisticDirector at Louis Vuitton.

“As with any industry, it’s important that we nurture young up and coming talent that will continually push the boundaries of what is possible creatively. It’s an honour to be a part of a judging panel as we play our own part in helping the next generation of creatives and innovators.” – Vigil Abloh

Gary Hustwit is the world’s preeminent design filmmaker, known for his documentaries Helvetica, Objectified, and Urbanized. His films have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the South by Southwest Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival, among others, and have been broadcast by BBC, HBO, PBS, Netflix, and outlets in 25 countries.

His film and photographic work has been featured in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art New York, Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, Design Museum London, Venice Biennale, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Storefront for Art and Architecture New York, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, and the Colette Gallery in Paris.

Gary was named one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company. His most recent documentary film is Rams, about German design legend Dieter Rams, featuring an original soundtrack by Brian Eno.

“I’ve been a fan of Braun for many years, and it’s a privilege to be part of this year’s jury panel. I had the opportunity to do a deep dive into the company’s design history during my research for the film I made about Dieter Rams. The BraunPrize has an important lineage and continues to be a fantastic platform to showcase and nurture young creatives in the design industry and beyond. I’m excited to be part of this initiative and I’m really looking forward to seeing some groundbreaking new ideas.”
– Gary Hustwit

Founder of SWNA, Sukwoo Lee started his career as a product designer at Samsung Electronics in Seoul and went to the U.S. to work as an industrial designer at the industrial design company of the Fuseproject and Teague.

From 2008 to 2011, he was the global creative lead and principal industrial designer at Motorola. In 2011, he set up SWNA in Seoul where he established a global portfolio carrying out design projects for global brands such as Google-Nest, BMW, Hyundai Motors, Samsung Electronics, LG, Disney and the Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Lee is highly regarded amongst the young design community and most recently joined as a jury member for the iF2021.

“It is an honour to be part of the jury for such a meaningful and important award. Whilst studying for my university degree, I was inspired by many of the BraunPrize winning submissions and I have closely followed the work of Braun and Dieter Rams throughout my career. I’m excited to see what this year’s competition will bring.”
– Sukwoo Lee

After graduation from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts -The School of Design, Cecille Manz studied at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki. She founded her own studio in Copenhagen in 1998. Here, Cecilie Manz designs furniture, tableware, lighting, and electronics. In addition to her work with industrial manufactured products, her experimental prototypes and more sculptural one-offs make up an important part of her work and approach.

Cecilie Manz is a multiple international award winner, including the Thorvald Bindesbøll Medal (Denmark), the Bruno Mathsson Prize (Sweden), Kunstpreis Berlin (Germany), the Finn Juhl Architectural Prize (Denmark), Designer of the Year 2018, Maison&Objet Paris and Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 2019 (France).

„Encouragement of the next generation of designers is crucial.“
– Cecilie Manz

Li leads the design development of Xiaomi’s smart hardware portfolio, a position she has held since 2011. She is a multiple international design award winner, including iF Design Awards, Red Dot Awards, Good Design Awards and Design for Asia Awards.

With over 15 years’ experience, Li has expertise in a wealth of areas including design practices, the impact of consumer insights on design and the complete manufacturing process.

Li Ningning has a Master’s degree in Industrial Design from the Art Center College of Design in the U.S. and a Batchelors degree from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China.

“Good design is far more than designing products that are aesthetically pleasing - good design has the power to improve and change the world by thinking from the original point of the projects. The challenge Shape Tomorrow is a fantastic opportunity for young designers to address and provide solutions to several global issues we are facing”. – Li Ningning

Stefan Schamberg started his career at Braun, and has now been with Procter & Gamble for 35 years. Beyond his position as the Managing Director of R&D Germany, he leads the Research and Development team for the Braun brand globally. As the site leader of the German Innovation Center Kronberg (GIC), he continuously works on the optimization of P&G’s Innovation Center footprint in the Rhein-Main area. In addition, Stefan Schamberg is responsible for P&Gs R&D Global Capability Organization for Devices/Appliances technologies and platforms.

After graduating from the University of Applied Sciences Dortmund, Stefan Schamberg started his career in 1986 as a design engineer and later project leader in the household category of Braun. He was then promoted to R&D Director for the Global Braun Household sector. After that, he led the development of the first Gillette Power Razor MACH III Power and worked on new venture projects within the Gillette group. Following this, he led the integration of Braun Power Toothbrushes, Oral-B Manual Toothbrushes and helped creating the foundations of the Oral Care category for the company. Stefan established the Smart Product Transformative Platform technology research group in Corporate R&D. Stefan is an experienced R&D leader in product- and process development and a true expert for appliances, electronic and connected devices across a wide range of product categories.

“When I began my career as a design engineer I was fortunate enough to take my early steps into the industry with Braun, a brand that always stands for good design, functionality and sustainable long-lastingness. The BraunPrize provides the next generation with a similar opportunity to showcase their creativity and the scope of their imagination to produce concepts that could change the world. It will be exciting to see what this young talent will produce.”
– Stefan Schamberg

Johanna Schoemaker is a former BraunPrize Winner so understands what it takes to win the competition. She is the co-founder of Quite Quiet jewellery, a Berlin-based jewellery label that focuses on sustainability and design.

Johanna Schoemaker also supports organisations as an independent design consultant on various projects in the fields of medical devices, personal health and wearable tech. She is especially passionate about projects at the intersection of industrial design, brand strategy and user experience.

Johanna Schoemaker has worked for a wide range of clients across industries including Braun, Microsoft, Samsung, Intel and Physio Control. Her work has been recognised with many international design awards such as the IDEA design award, iF and Red Dot concept design award and the Green Good design award.

“I was fortunate enough to have been part of the BraunPrize experience and know first-hand the impact that winning can have on a young designer’s career. I’m very excited to be joining as a judge this year, and to see what great design concepts we receive that could help to improve and change the world we live in for the better.”
– Johanna Schoemaker