Promotion: the six finalists for this year's DesignEuropa Awards have been revealed, including industrial designer Dieter Rams as the winner of its lifetime achievement award.

The awards aim to celebrate "designs and industry pioneers" who have protected their design and intellectual property rights across the EU.

It also seeks to mark the long history of famous registered designs across the EU such as the Bialetti Moka pot, the Lego brick and the Porsche Turbo.

This year's event will take place in Riga, Latvia, on 25 September.

A new category, the Next Generation Design Award, is being introduced to recognise designers under 30 years old. The idea behind the new category is to show a "reflection of the abundance of young design talent in Europe", the organisation said. The first winner of this new category will also be announced at this year's ceremony in Riga.

The industrial design prize, which is awarded by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), has two categories: the industry award and the entrepreneurs and small companies award.

In the entrepreneurs and small companies category, Swedish company Transparent's see through turntable by designer Per Brickstad is one of the nominees. The brand says the music player has "a focus on repairability and sustainable design".

It will be going up against Module One, a smart home battery system by designer Jan Wellens for start-up MyGrid, described as prioritising "accessibility and sustainability".

Also in the category is Arseni Timofejev's Piil design for Arsenit, a cantilevered wood-and-steel holiday home in Estonia that combines environmental sustainability and functionality, according to the brand.

The industry award also has three nominees this year. These include Danish brand Bang & Olufsen, nominated for its modular Beolab 8 speaker by NOTO design team.

Romanian company Meze Audio has been nominated for its Empyrean II headphones, designed by Antonio Meze.

The final nominee in the category is healthcare brand Linet, for its Essenza 300 hospital bed that was designed for improved safety and efficiency.

The six finalists were chosen from 800 applicants from across Europe and come from Belgium, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Romania and Sweden.

DesignEuropa Awards 2024 will also see Rams win the lifetime achievement award for his "major impact in the field", EUIPO said.

The designer's work includes the 606 shelving system for Vitsoe, which was designed in 1959 and is still sold today, and numerous designs for consumer products company Braun.

These include the LE speaker range, which was relaunched in 2019, and the T2 cylindrical lighter.

Rams is also known for his impactful Ten Principles for Good Design, which he formulated in the 1970s and which include his maxim "less, but better".

"This year's DesignEuropa Awards brought together, once more, a high level of participation from Europe's top design talent, featuring six incredible finalists and honouring Dieter Rams with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his influential, timeless designs," said EUIPO executive director João Negrão.

"We celebrate design excellence and the innovation that drives the European design industry forward."

The DesignEuropa Awards 2024 finalists were chosen by a panel of judges led by chair Lorenzo Imbesi, architect and professor at the Sapienza University of Rome and president of the Cumulus Association.

desihPrevious lifetime achievement winners at the award include designers Hartmut Esslinger, Giorgetto Giugiaro and André Ricard. Las year's winner was Swedish designer Maria Benktzon.

More information on the event and how to follow it on www.designeuropaawards.eu

The photography is courtesy of the DesignEuropa Award.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for EUIPO as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.