Design with Japan: Selected Designers Announced

Design with Japan
- A collaborative residency programme connecting Swiss designers with Japanese manufacturers-

Supported by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Embassy in Japan, this programme forges connections between the innovative power of Swiss emerging designers and Japanese manufacturers. Its goal is to nurture an intercultural collaborative environment that pushes the boundaries of design. This collaboration comes to life through the development of a series of prototypes, a project exhibition and media exposure.

Selection Committee:
Tsuyoshi Matsuzawa, Managing director of E&Y Co.,Ltd / Professor at the Department of Design and Fine Arts, Osaka University of Arts Junior College / Jury for the Good Design Award
David Glaettli, Creative Director
Laetitia de Alergi, Designer, Creative Consultant, Colour Specialist
For more details about the project here

Chosen from a large number of qualified applicants, the selected designers are Anthony Guex, a product and interior designer based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Noerani Rutz, a product designer based in Zurich, Switzerland.

To celebrate the launch of this project, we are excited to announce a talk on November 16 (Saturday) featuring David Grettli, Creative Director of Tajimi Custom Tiles, as the moderator. We warmly invite you to come to Tajimi and join us for this engaging discussion!

Date and Time: November 16, 2024 (Saturday) from 16:00 to 17:00 (followed by cocktails at 17:00)
Venue: Tajimi Custom Tiles Gallery (10-6-49 Asahigaoka, Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture)
Featured Speakers: Noelani Rutz (Product Designer), Anthony Guex (Product Designer), David Glättli (Creative Director of Tajimi Custom Tiles)

Simultaneous interpretation will be provided.
Participation is free, and no reservation is required.

Anthony Guex is a Swiss product and interior designer based in Lausanne with a focus on product, furniture, and interior design. With over seven years of experience as a cabinetmaker and foreman in the wood industry, he studied interior design at the HEAD-Genève and earned a Master degree in product design from ECAL / University of Art & Design Lausanne in 2015. Anthony divides his time between his design studio and his role as Artistic Deputy at ECAL. He collaborates with national and international brands such as New Tendency, Okro, Tectona, Ecal, and Fogo Island Workshops of the Shorefast Foundation in Newfoundland, Canada. @anthonyguex

Noelani Rutz is a Swiss product designer based in Zurich. She graduated with honors from ECAL/école cantonale d‘art de Lausanne, where she worked as a teaching assistant the following two years. After gaining experience working for Shigeki Fujishiro in Tokyo and Jörg Boner productdesign in Zürich, she is now focusing on her own practice. With a keen eye for detailed simplicity, her hands on approach commits to a thoughtful combination of traditional craft, material research and pragmatic solutions. @noelanirutz

The talk on November 16 and the activities of the participating designers in Tajimi will be featured on Vitality.Swiss and our social media channels. Stay tuned!