Every year, Good Design Australia invites renowned design experts from around Australia and the world to participate in the Australian Good Design Awards evaluation process. The Jury takes this process very seriously, debating, discussing and often arguing about the merits of good design in a multi-stage judging journey.

Good Design Australia sat down with a few of the 2023 Jurors to dive deep into the high-calibre of entries submitted to this year’s hallmark season. We discussed the come-ups, trends, surprises and moments of friction, shone a spotlight on the power of First Nations design and explored what the 2023 projects can tell us about the future of design. 

But, let’s begin by illuminating the evaluation process from the very beginning.

---

From submission to speech

1. At the conclusion of the submission period, each Jury member is assigned to an Award Category that aligns with their line of work. Independently, they will carefully analyse, evaluate and score each project in the Category.

2. At the completion of the individual evaluation stage, Jurors come together with other inter-Category members. They will compare scores, checking thoroughness if a unanimous decision is reached and debating any disagreeances that arise. The Category Jurors emerge with recommendations that they present to the entire Good Design Awards Jury in a two-day judging marathon. 

3. The Jury meet-up brings together expert designers from all corners of the industry to evaluate, debate, recognise and award the most incredible projects submitted into the Awards. It’s where each Award Winner is solidified and the coveted Good Design Award of the Year is selected. The 2023 instalment unfolded on the shores of Sydney Harbour at the Sydney Opera House. 

---

Behind the scenes of the 2023 Australian Good Design Awards

---

Good Design Australia: What were some common elements or characteristics that you found consistently contributed to the success of a project or design?

Ken McBryde: When there was an emotional connection to the problem. That problem, that threat clearly motivates a solution. When you hear that story and when you hear how they solved it, that affects you. Man, oh, man, I’m getting goosebumps now. 

It provides really deep insight into an issue, providing a true understanding of what’s at play. People talk about unpacking a problem like unpacking a suitcase. The problem is – a suitcase is full of stuff. But, when you apply that genuine, emotional design and research process, you can unpack it and, suddenly, ideas reveal themselves. The ideas that come out of that will be generally irrefutably good, because they were well-founded, not on a whim. “I’d like it to be pink, or I’d like it to be blue. I think it should be this shape because it’s going to look good”. No, it’s this shape because of the wind, because of the geographic or the political context, or in response to an authentic human feeling. It’s deep insight that causes ideas to be there, and only ideas that are well-founded will be there in the end.

Brendan Hutchieson: Entries that made the effort to explain and illustrate their creative process rose to the top. Therefore, it was easy to evaluate the calibre – who the product is intended for, how it addresses their core need, and how the entrants implemented a creative process to deliver an innovative product, graphic, service or space.  

Secondly, nearly all, if not all, of the successful entries placed sustainability and/or social impact at their core. This tangibly illustrates the power of design to address critical planetary and humanistic needs.

Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan: For the Indigenous Design Award, it was those that broke down expectations of what First Nations/Indigenous design is and the incredible potential for industry wide and cultural impact.

I think overall recognising the importance of First Nations voices was vital to be represented in the design industry fairly, and how their processes came together in the core values, questions and considerations. 

---

Good Design Australia: Were there any specific categories or aspects of design that posed challenges or sparked particularly insightful discussions among the panel? 

Ken McBryde: There was lengthy discussion around the question of design being elite versus design being for everyone. Of course, there’s a place for both. Architecture, for example, has traditionally been an elite thing, yet more and more we’re obliged to make it accessible to everyone. It’s what modern methods of construction are doing – designing for manufacturing assembly and disassembly, to solve housing crises. These are global, and won’t be solved by conventional means. They’re the things that really motivate me.

Brendan Hutchieson: Some that come to mind: What constitutes sustainability and whether or not companies are genuine in their ESG targets, or simply ‘green-washing’ to inflate brand perception.

The importance of aesthetics was also a hot topic in the final round of judging in Sydney. My Jury group felt quite strongly that aesthetics are an important driver of product design and, consequently, brand value and equity. We were quite surprised that opinions from the panel varied a lot about the importance of aesthetics, ranging from “aesthetics just need to be fit for purpose” to “aesthetics are always paramount”. This was quite a relevant topic given that we were standing in the Sydney Opera House, arguably Australia’s single most prominent design icon, but also the source of much debate and controversy when it was designed and built.    

Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan: I believe it was unanimous [in the Indigenous Design Category], but when we are having to choose just one overall winner, that is the greatest challenge, as we never like to be seen as being in competition with one another. 

Regardless of who was announced as the final winner, the important thing is that it recognises the importance of First Nations voices within the design industry and the important work being done to share our culture.

---

Good Design Can you identify any emerging trends or shifts in design thinking that were evident among the entries this year? How do you think these trends might influence the design landscape in the future?

Ken McBryde: With the growing emphasis on sustainability, it’s made me think that perhaps in future we shouldn’t have the sustainability category. We should just note that good design isn’t good unless it’s sustainable.

Where designers fit in with AI is also an important one. I would suggest that AI is an incredibly powerful tool, probably one of the most powerful tools we’ve seen since the conception of building information modelling in three dimensions. But at the end of the day, a design is about judgement, human connection and human experience. So I don’t feel threatened by AI, I feel excited by it, because it allows us to make judgement from a wider set of opportunities. However, in the near future, given designers operate between what a client wants and how they get it, then our clients will obviously look to AI to expedite their ambitions.

What it does mean, though, is that we’ll have to be good designers of prompts, be very good at judgement and be particularly good at human interaction, because ideas still have to be presented and we still need to evaluate and recommend. So, the skill that designers will need more than ever will be emotional intelligence and people skills.

There is still a great opportunity for Good Design Australia to tap into more Indigenous knowledge. There’s 60,000 years, at least, of remarkable design knowledge. If you just stop and think for a moment about the physics of a boomerang, or about the political structure of 350 different groups operating in a cooperative and highly communicative way, they have a lot sorted out that we are only just beginning to acknowledge. 

We’re just at the beginning of good design from a non-Indigenous, or non-First Nations point of view. Up until this point, we’ve been incredibly arrogant and missed a lot of opportunities. I think Australian designers and Good Design Australia are steadily understanding that and we’re taking steps to learn more from our Indigenous cousins.

Brendan Hutchieson: This year, I’ve been encouraged by the translation of research-based technological innovations, in MedTech and AgTech for example, into commercially viable business solutions by the power of design. I expect this trend to continue into the future. 

Moving forward into the coming decade, the design landscape, like all industries, is set to undergo one of the largest transformations in history. This transformation is already underway and is characterised by the amplification of ecological and societal challenges intersecting with revolutionary new technologies such as AI. 

Change and innovation will happen at breakneck speed and, consequently, organisations will be in desperate need of creative guidance to make sense of this new world and their roles within it. Enter design. Designers have a unique awareness of these new technological trends, an empathy for people and the planet, and an ability to envision optimistic new concepts that solve real needs. 

Given this need, I see a strong and important future for designers. One where we become more central to strategic organisational decisions, and are able to deliver greater impact and value to business.

Emrhan Tjapanangka Sultan: I believe that each submission put forward [in the Indigenous Design Category] shows what First Nations and Indigenous design really is. 

It’s a way to not only share our culture with non-Aboriginal people but it also allows us, as Aboriginal people, to express our freedom of our own culture. How we choose to share that, as we’ve seen with each submission, has helped to shape and influence the future of the design landscape.

---

Thank you to the esteemed 2023 Jury

Good Design Australia extends our deep gratitude to the more than 70 Australian and international experts that make up the Jury. We thank them for giving up their time and for sharing their valuable expertise to evaluate this year’s Australian Good Design Awards.

Say hello to the 2023 Australian Good Design Awards Jury

Good Design Australia’s Automotive Design Award is a Special Accolade within the Automotive and Transport Category that recognises excellence in automotive design and styling.

Vehicles entered into the Automotive and Transport Category in the annual Good Design Awards are considered for the Best Exterior Design Award and Best Interior Design Award as part of the jury process.

---

A German word, “Brüder” translates to brother, and it’s aptly the namesake of Dan and Toby Bosschieter’s Brisbane-based venture that’s committed to forging “the best off-road adventure trailers in the world”. Born out of a passion for exploration and leaning on collected knowledge from global travels well off the beaten track, the company’s approach to design is fuelled by sustainable, comfortable and unbridled adventure.

The Bosschieter brothers were designing, developing and manufacturing military-spec off-road equipment for over a decade before founding Brüder. In that time, they emboldened a mission to innovate and build without limitation, fashioning off-grid companions that go where others cannot. 

Patented designs and systems, thousands of hours of testing in the most demanding of conditions and sustainable manufacturing processes were therefore brought to life as Brüder came to be and pushed this ambitious vision forward. 

Brüder’s appetite for adventure was fully on display when they took home multiple Australian Good Design Awards for their EXP-4 and EXP-8 adventure trailers in the 2023 Award season. On the heels of the 2023 Ceremony, Good Design Australia sat down with Dan and the team to dive deep into the Australian-born innovations.

---

Good Design Australia: First of all, congratulations on two Brüder innovations earning accolades in this year’s Australian Good Design Awards! How did it feel to be recognised on a global stage? 

Dan Bosschieter: Shocking to say the least! I got up there when we got the first award and I thought, “Yep, this is awesome”, and then they kept rolling out and I quickly realised that I didn’t really prepare for any of this. Besides that, it was fantastic.

I would have to assume that anyone that’s received any of the Awards could tell you about all the tears, trials and everything all behind it, but it was very, very humbling at the end of the day. To be a growing company and be compared to some of the other big groups that are out there was incredible.

GDA: Brüder began as a venture between two brothers pining for adventure. How does a childhood of exploration embody itself in the company vision?

DB: I guess the forefront of it is to try and design things that will go wherever we want to go. It’s mentioned in one of our catchphrases: to unleash adventure around the globe. So, it’s been all about trying to design a capsule that enables people to do that. 

Moreover, when you consider the old story: “When you have the time, you don’t have the funds, and when you’ve got the funds, you don’t have the time”, the truth is, some people do have both. Brüder can allow them to go into a position or scenario they’ve never been able to experience before, like, go properly off road and properly off grid at a level of comfort that’s never been possible.

GDA: To quote: “Brüder was born after a decision to create the best off-road trailers in the world”. What exactly are the elements that make an off-road trailer a world-best? 

DB: We are obviously going to be a little biassed, but it’s honestly the whole thing from the ground up. People often ask about what makes us unique? Or, what makes it able to do what it does? The fact of the matter is, the design process sees us thinking very carefully about the design of each individual component and how it can contribute to a better product overall. 

For example, yes, we’ve got our own patented suspension system, but it’s why we chose that vault to go there and why we don’t have rubbers in our suspension bushes that brings an entirely new dynamic to life. Even with the chassis, we built a very unique system around the way in which the body reacts with the chassis so that it works in harmony with the suspension. It’s not a specific part, it’s a thought-through process that creates something in the end that didn’t exist before. 

GDA: To mark something as a world-best, you’d assume a lot of testing would be involved. What did the testing process of these trailers entail?

DB: Like all designers, we do get things wrong, so it’s through genuine testing that we made sure that everything was right before they went to market. Luckily, being where we are [south-east Queensland], we have pretty good access to some pretty harsh environments. There are plenty of beaches nearby, Fraser Island for example, and we’ll drive 14 hours out into the Simpson Desert in January or February when the conditions are most challenging. So, most of our testing trips are usually when people aren’t around, because we want to try and get the “wrong” weather conditions first. 

Some testing is even more outside the box. The EXP-8 actually started out as a mobile geological laboratory, spending three years in the Middle East in 50+ degree heat before that design went to the public market. We’ve gone to continents all around the world for testing and trialling, as far as North America, South America, Africa. Right from the word go, we’re ensuring that each core component is going to handle what it needs to do.

In a few situations, we’ve been blessed with being able to work with different groups that come to us with a problem and give us the freedom to design from the ground-up. To make a long story short, we’ve taken these opportunities and wondered, “what else can we use that shell for? How can we reimagine that?”

GDA: Brüder manufactures in two sites based in Brisbane, Australia. Can you speak to the ins and outs of Australian design and manufacturing, especially in a time where the majority of automobile manufacturing has moved overseas?

DB: I’ll openly say that manufacturing in Australia is challenging. There’s lots of opportunities from other countries and other areas, but the big thing behind us working in Australia is probably because we were born and bred here – obviously everyone’s a little bit patriotic. 

So, while this means we can’t compete on price, we can compete on quality. To do this, we’re ensuring that every facet of what we’re doing is better. It makes us think about everything from our composites to our resins to our cabinetries to our colours, innovating to make sure that we’re at the forefront of the industry and not following anyone.

GDA: You say you want to make sure there is a world to explore for the next generation and beyond, so what comes into play in your design process to pave this way forward?

DB: Sustainability plays a huge part in what we do and making sure we’re at the pointy end of waste mitigation comes into play there. In the manufacturing phase, for example, 97% of the offcuts produced in the construction of one trailer are reused in another, while bio-resins are used at all points we can. 

When on the road, “treading lightly” is a concept talked about a lot – not digging up cracks, creating big ruts and things like that. So, the whole design of the trailer and how the suspension works actually enables the car to travel easier. This means that not only is fuel consumption lowered, it will actually roll over rough terrain a lot easier and hence the car doesn’t start spinning wheels and shooting dirt up in front. Also, the track width of the trailers are actually designed to follow the car, meaning the trailer isn’t pushing more sand or soil down or knocking over trees in its wake.

So, when we’re talking about sustainability, we’re looking at it with a much bigger, holistic point of view. It’s not just in the manufacturing and the materials that we use, it’s all about the designs in action too.

GDA: Coming away with the Best Interior and Exterior Automotive Design Awards for the EXP-8 and EXP-4 respectively, the projects are obviously ticking the “good design” box of Good Design Australia. As a team though, how would Brüder describe the concept of “good design”?

DB: I’ll actually go with the three F’s. Most people talk about form and function, but I’d say there needs to be form, function and fun. I’d also say that for something to be a good design, simple is better. But, if you’re going to keep something simple, it needs to work and be doing something in a way that’s new and unique. It’s why, from a company perspective, we purposely don’t go and check out caravan or RV shows because we’re just going to get ideas that are already out there. So we look to other industries, like trucking or boating, a lot actually. The people there have got some pretty cool concepts and different ways of looking at things that inspire us to stay ahead of the curve and stay innovating.

Good design here at Brüder also means not sitting still – coming up with new ideas. It’s why we love bringing young heads onboard, some that haven’t even been in the industry. It brings fresh ideas and fresh concepts, and they probably get sick of me saying nope, try that, nope, try that, but every now and then it’s like, “that’s a cracking idea, let’s give it go, test it out, see what happens”. If it’s a good concept, we will make it work. 

---

VIEW ALL 2023 GOOD DESIGN AWARD WINNERS HERE.