The Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain has just announced the winners of the National Innovation and Design Awards 2023, prizes that each year recognize the trajectory of Spanish professionals and organizations that have integrated innovation and design into their professional strategy and business growth as indispensable elements, and that contribute significantly to the increase of the prestige of Spanish design.
In the "Trajectory in Design” category, the award went to designer Álvaro Catalán de Ocón for the international transcendence of his conceptualization of design as an indisputable narrative of the best and most inclusive Spanish design in the 21st century. With a presence on the five continents and iconic products such as the PET lamp, through a sincere dialog based on intercultural respect and the fusion of disciplines, materials, techniques and influences, from his studio in Carabanchel - outside the conventional industrial system - Catalán de Ocón has succeeded in sending a powerful message to the world of design, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, mutual support, sustainability, and the twinning of cultures.
In the "Design and Companies" category, the award went to the Basque company Ondarreta for being an exponent of excellence in furniture design in Spain, thanks to research, innovation, environmental and social sustainability, and dialog with the local environment as its hallmarks. This family business is led by the Arratibel sisters, two innovative women who have built their unquestionable success on the basis of the binomial tradition-audacity and a production process that combines technology and craftsmanship to perfection; their design concept seeks to bring harmony, a sense of connection and joy to human relationships, creating furniture with soul.
In the "Young Design Professionals" category, the following received awards Jordi Iranzo García, for being an example of the promising future of Spanish design and his ability to make an international impact as a result of a bold and committed vision with a new way of understanding space and the unexpected. With projects in China, Germany and Spain, and together with Àngela Montagud, his partner at Clap Studio since 2017, he has managed to create unique concepts that appeal to the emotions with an international, interdisciplinary and innovative approach that has enabled him to work with companies from all over the world over the course of his six-year career.
Urbaser received the award for its strategic commitment to innovation as a leading company in environmental management and the circular economy at an international level in the "Large Innovative Company" category. Magapor were winners in the "Small and Medium Innovative Company" category, for their combination of innovation and international leadership in a traditional field such as stock breeding, achieving an international leadership position in artificial insemination in pigs. And Natalia Rodríguez Núñez-Milara saw success in the "Young Innovative Talent" category.
Finally, there were two Special Mentions: professor, researcher and entrepreneur Joan Perelló Bestard, CEO of Sanifit, a pioneer in the development of drugs to treat calcium-related diseases, in the “Innovative Trajectory" category, and the graphic design studio Morillas Brand Design in the "Trajectory in Design" category.
