The significant impact of Yves Béhar will be celebrated in a dedicated exhibit at Design Miami/ in December
Eminent Italian watchmakers Officine Panerai announced as Presenting Sponsor for the award dinner and will design and present the
Panerai Design Prize for Design Miami/ Visionary Award
On Tuesday September 29th, Design Miami/ announced designer Yves Béhar as the recipient of the Design Miami/ 2015 Design Visionary Award. Inaugurated in 2014, Design Visionary is an award that celebrates significant contributions made to the field of design. Yves Béhar is being recognized for his holistic design vision and especially the substantial impact he has made through humanitarian projects such as the INDEX-award winning One Laptop Per Child and See Better To Learn Better.
“Yves is not only a perfect example of what the Design Visionary Award celebrates, but also demonstrates what the industry can achieve by truly making the world a better place through design. The impact of his work does not limit itself to the world of design, but resonates in every corner of the globe and we are very proud to have him as our Visionary this year.” Rodman Primack, Executive Director, Design Miami/
The work and impact of Yves Béhar will be explored in a dedicated exhibition space on site at the Design Miami/ fair. Further insights into his career to date will be afforded during an on-stage interview to be conducted at the fair.
Widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in the industrial design sphere, Béhar has brought his integrated design approach to industry leaders such as Herman Miller, Jawbone, SodaStream and August, among others.
In evidence of the strength of design as an agent of social change, One Laptop Per Child has provided over 3 million laptops to children in the developing world, while See Better to Learn Better distributes 500,000 pairs of prescription eyeglasses yearly to schoolchildren in Mexico, so far benefiting 438 million. Béhar’s latest and most ambitious venture, in collaboration with USAID, DFID and the Nike Foundation, is SPRING, a pioneering business accelerator based in East Africa that provides finance, world-class mentors, and technical expertise to businesses that can improve the lives of adolescent girls.
The award will be presented at the Design Visionary dinner on December 2 during the Design Miami/ fair week. Officine Panerai will act as Presenting Sponsor of the event and CEO Angelo Bonati will honor Béhar with the first-ever Panerai Design Prize for Design Miami/ Visionary Award at the dinner.
“As a firm believer in the power of design to effect change and transform lives, it is an honor to be recognized by Design Miami/ with this prestigious award. As an incubator for dynamic design dialogue and the development of new ideas, Design Miami/ provides a unique global platform for presenting our work.” Yves Béhar
Design Miami/ is the global forum for design. Each fair brings together the most influential collectors, gallerists, designers, curators and critics from around the world in celebration of design culture and commerce. Occurring alongside the Art Basel fairs in Miami, USA each December and Basel, Switzerland each June, Design Miami/ has become the premier venue for collecting, exhibiting, discussing and creating collectible design. For more information, please visit www.designmiami.com