Arts Minister Rachel Nolan presented the 2011 Queensland Premier’s Design Awards, announcing Nicki Lloyd as Smart State Design Fellow and Yen Trinh as Emerging Design Leader.

Lloyd, a DIA Fellow and Director of Lloyd Grey Design, was recognised for her “long-standing commitment to fostering design thinking in Queensland through her business, as a lecturer at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, and as a member of several professional organisations including the Design Institute of Australia (DIA), Australian Graphic Design Association and Australian Marketing Institute,” said Nolan.

The Smart State Design Fellowship is awarded to an individual who has made a significant contribution to developing the design culture in Queensland.

Good Morning Cereals – by Lloyd Grey Design

“I am enormously proud to receive this year’s Smart State Design Fellowship,” said Lloyd.

“I’m looking forward to exchanging ideas, interacting and collaborating with extraordinary people; being an advocate for design excellence and championing design-led solutions to Queensland Government’s Toward Q2.

“Also, serving on the Queensland Design Council is a great honour and one where I’m looking forward to effecting positive change in design.

Safe Food Queensland – by Lloyd Grey Design

“Ahead is a year of creative fulfilment. I have much to share and plenty more to learn. It will be an inspiring, energising and enriching experience.”

Yen Trinh, as 2011 Emerging Design Leader, was recognised for her involvement in projects including “designing landscapes, furniture, exhibitions and graphic design across Australia, as well as in Toronto and New York among other international destinations,” said Nolan.

“She is a passionate advocate for design as an agent for social change and is strongly involved in many programs focussed on rethinking everyday experiences through innovative design.”

Priority Seat

“I don’t feel like I come from a traditional design background, so I’m excited that a lot of my interests around design strategy, collaborative process and community driven design is now recognised as a legitimate part of the bigger design discussion,” said Trinh of her accolade.

“I’m passionate about how we engage people in the creative discussion of urban design, public spaces and cities.

Brisbane PARK(ing) Day

“I’m using the award to research public design festivals on this topic, with the dream to create one here.

“The aim is to stimulate wider and more aspirational public conversations about urban design, what our cities are and what they could be.”

As well as the winners announcement the Queensland Premier’s Design Awards played host to the Indesign Challenge, which caused much design mayhem and a whole lot of fun.

5 teams of local designers were supplied the same materials and given the same brief – to create a design solution to help connect and bring people together in public spaces.

Winning the challenge was the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) team, consisting of Amy Saunders, Dan Young, Rebecca Stephens, Tom Grist, Sian Farrell and Patrick Hayes.

Using cardboard, plastic and various scraps they created the Queensland Monster, a cardboard creature for people to have their photos taken with in different places, for the photos to then be uploaded to a Queensland Monster Facebook page.

Congratulations to Nicki Lloyd, Yen Trinh and the QUT team!