Design Museum: Marco Campardo is 2nd Winner Celebrating Emerging Designers

The Design Museum announces designer Marco Campardo as the second recipient of ‘The Ralph Saltzman Prize’. Ralph Saltzman co-founded and was president of Designtex – the leading company in the design and manufacturing of applied materials for the built environment.

This annual design award celebrates emerging product designers. As a commitment to the future of design, Marco’s work is being showcased in a display at the Design Museum until 3 April and he receives a £5,000 bursary to support his work.

Created by Lisa Saltzman on behalf of the Saltzman Family Foundation, and launched in November 2021, The Ralph Saltzman Prize reflects the Design Museum’s overarching commitment to championing new talent and nurturing the development of a vibrant design sector.

The annual prize aims to support emerging talent. It does so through a bursary and display at the Design Museum. Campardo succeeds product and furniture designer Mac Collins, who was the inaugural prize winner in 2022.

For this year’s competition, five established designers each put forward a young designer who is currently making waves in the field of product design. All the emerging designers are trying to point a new direction for design. They do this, either by supporting the green transition, through technical innovation or presenting compelling design ideas. Campardo was nominated by designer Edward Barber of Barber Osgerby.

Marco Campardo is a London-based designer and maker, working with industry, private and public clients. He designs objects, exhibitions, and site-specific installations. Campardo has a particular interest in manufacturing and material experimentation as a form of critical practice. He subsequently uses it to explore wider narratives about culture, materiality, identity and authenticity.

Lisa Saltzman said:

“I created the Ralph Saltzman Prize as a legacy to my father. My father was an innovator and a pioneer who had a keen eye, great taste and he thought outside the box. He was a trailblazer, renowned for his creativity.He was a visionary, and exceptionally innovative. He was an incredibly kind and generous man and the best father imaginable. I miss him more than I can say but I know this prize is an initiative that will endure. The Ralph Saltzman Prize is a way to give young designers an opportunity, an honorarium and a show.

“Marco is a fitting winner of the Prize. His work is very of the moment and visually arresting. He is using a lot of waste material and showing a clear sustainability narrative. His idea of re-using and the focus on sustainability is utterly compelling. This is something my father was doing over twenty years ago so he is continuing that legacy.

“Marco’s work looks to tap into William McDonough’s notion of cradle-to-cradle design, the notion by which design and production of products of all types can be done in such a way as that at the end of their life, they can be truly recycled and reused.”

“My mother encouraged my father to start his own company and was supportive from the beginning and throughout. The prize is inspired by his passion and commitment to great design.”

Justin McGuirk, Chair of Judges for The Saltzman Prize, and Chief Curator at the Design Museum, comments:

“We are delighted that Marco has won this year’s Saltzman Prize. His practice spans an impressively diverse range of approaches, including inventive uses for waste materials. The way he creates small-scale versions of industrial processes is particularly intriguing. Whatever his process, the outcomes are always alluring.”

Winner of the prize, Marco Campardo said:

“I am extremely honoured to have received the Ralph Saltzman Prize. Having moved to London from Italy and set up my practice in 2019, the fact my work has been recognised by the judging panel is extremely humbling, as well as an encouragement for the future development of my work. The fact that the Design Museum has decided to reward work that is often speculative and sits somewhat outside the canon of industrial design, is perhaps a testament to the richness of the contemporary design landscape.

I would also like to thank Ed Barber and Jay Osgerby for nominating me for this prize, giving me this unexpected but incredibly exciting opportunity to showcase my work to the wider public, and to Lisa Saltzman for making it all possible.”

Marco was nominated for the award by established designers Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, who founded their London studio in 1996. Their diverse body of work spans industrial design, furniture, lighting and site-specific installations as well as gallery and public commissions such as the London 2012 Olympic Torch and projects for the Royal Mint.

The 2023 Shortlisted Designers included:

Marco Campardo nominated by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby
Rio Kobayashi nominated by Bethan Laura Wood
Joseph Y. Ewusie nominated by Yinka Ilori
Simon Ballen Botero nominated by Ilse Crawford, CBE
Timi Oyedeji nominated by Jon Marshall

The nominees were invited to present their work to a selection panel including the museum’s directorate and members of the Curatorial Committee, along with Mr Saltzman’s daughter, Lisa Saltzman.

Ralph Saltzman was a key design figure whose curiosity and collaborative spirit is evident in the legacy of innovation he leaves behind and in Designtex, the company he founded nearly 60 years ago. Designtex’s development of sustainable textiles and the partnership that emerged between William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart won First Prize in the International Design Sense competition at the Design Museum in 2000.

Marco Campardo’s work will be featured in a free display open to the public from 2 February – 3 April 2023 at the Design Museum. For more information, please visit designmuseum.org

The museum is delighted to host an evening with Marco Campardo on Tuesday 21 February at 6:30 – 7:40 pm. Marco will be in conversation with Ed Osgerby from Barber Osgerby, who nominated him, and the discussion will be chaired by the Design Museum’s Senior Curator, Rebecca Lewin. Tickets can be found on the Design Museum’s website.