B O R N W I N N E R S

B O R N W I N N E R S The Land Rover BORN Awards celebrate peerless lifestyle design, and the latest winners exude the perfect blend of style and substance 70

DESIGN INNOVATION A great design is one that stands the test of time, and creating one is no easy feat. From the Series Land Rover vehicles (and their direct successor, the Defender) to, more recently, the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover is no stranger to creating a design that is not only true to purpose, but also captures the popular imagination. Outside the world of cars, too, some brands stand out better than most when it comes to creating products with peerless, iconic design. From the Zippo lighter to the Anglepoise table lamp, the Swiss Army knife to the Panton chair, they are universally acknowledged as being as aesthetically beautiful as they are cleverly functional. Recognizing such feats of peerless design was the central idea behind the 2018 BORN Global Awards. The BORN Awards, co-sponsored by Land Rover for the second year running, are a themed annual celebration of global creativity, design and ingenuity across a range of lifestyle categories. BORN was founded by Jean- Christophe Chopin as a digital premium network of creative professionals and a B2B marketplace for designled products. The Awards laud products, and their makers, that inspire and challenge. Competition is fierce: this year, some 7,000 entries from six world regions had been whittled down to just 48, whereupon the stage was Left: the Brompton folding bicycle has been cleverly electrified. Top: Land Rover Design Chief Gerry McGovern lauds the award winners. Above: Brompton’s Will Carleysmith and David Rhys with their award set to recognize the best of the best at the awards ceremony held in London’s Design Museum. In the Mobility Design category, it was another much-loved British brand that triumphed: the electrified version of the Brompton folding bicycle. A design classic, its lines have remained virtually unchanged ever since production began in 1981. It’s so common to see London commuters snappily folding up this small bicycle to easily carry it onto the Tube, or unfolding one on their way out before smoothly zipping away down the street, that the Brompton has come to symbolize urban freedom and convenient last-mile connectivity. The electric variant, launched last year, feeds the booming e-bike market with a characteristically neat, high-quality folding solution. A lightweight, easily detachable battery pack allied to an ingeniously compact 250-watt motor in the front wheel hub intelligently boosts cycling performance and reduces effort. A worthy winner, for as Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer Gerry McGovern, who was on the panel of judges at the event, put it: “To truly deserve the term ’peerless’ takes imagination, intellect, wit and more than a little wisdom.“ Read on for an overview of the rest of the winners: a prestigious roster of design heroes and future classics. 71