Awards 26

Chris Baelus was a professor of product development at the University of Antwerp. He graduated in 1981 as an industrial designer from the NHIBS/Henry van de Velde Institute. After working as an independent designer for several years, he opted for education and research in product development. Until his emeritus status he has been affiliated with the Faculty of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp.

Simon Akkaya is senior industrial designer at npk design and co-founder of Analogue. With his experience as co-founder of an Amsterdam-based design firm, he combines years of design knowledge with entrepreneurship. He teaches at TU Delft and integrates human-centred design with sustainability and innovation. His research on designing for prosocial behaviour was awarded during Dutch Design Week, he was designer of the world's first biocomposite e-bike and received a Dezeen Award for his work furniture.

Lieselot Coenen is business manager and partner at studio de Ronners. In 2016, she founded the Belgian branch of the studio together with Arwen and Matthijs Ronner. With an interdisciplinary team based in Antwerp and Rotterdam, the studio works on graphic, digital and spatial issues.

Ingwio D'Hespeel is a lecturer and researcher in the Visual Design and Design for Impact programmes at LUCA School of Arts. He guides graduating digital designers in their creative proces and coaches interdisciplinary teams in tackling complex societal challenges. This is where he feels most in his element: at the intersection where education, technology, research and creative activism meet.

Dr. Annelys de Vet is a designer, researcher and teacher with a participatory practice for artistic projects in relation to socio-political struggles. She is the founder of the Subjective Atlases series and co-founder of the design label Disarming Design from Palestine. Until 2019, she led the Masters in Design at the Sandberg Institute in Amsterdam. Reflecting on these projects, De Vet completed her PhD research at the Antwerp Research Institute for the Arts in 2024.

Nedda El-Asmar completed her training in jewelry design and silversmithing at the Royal College of Art in London. She designs for Hermès, Puiforcat, Villeroy&Boch, Serax, Demeyere and Maison Vervloet, among others. From 2007 to 2019, she taught and was head of the Jewellery department at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Since 2019, she has been working in the same position at PXL-MAD School of Arts Hasselt. She has won several Henry van de Velde Awards.

From different roles, Elien Haentjens developed a deep understanding of the design sector over the past 20 years. As a journalist, she interviewed hundreds of designers, artists and architects; as a curator, she organised exhibitions and residencies in Brazil; as a jury member, she is a member of various juries and commissions and as a researcher, she contributes to the policy on design culture within the brand-new Flemish Expertise Centre Design.

Ben Hagenaars is Professor of Sustainable Design at LUCA School of Arts. He is coordinator of the Product Design department, for which he developed a new curriculum based on exploring, making and storytelling. As a researcher, he focuses on the role of design as a catalyst in the transition from a linear to a circular economy. He is also co-founder of design and innovation studio Omvorm.

Natalie Helsen is a lifestyle journalist. After five years of writing and coordinating fashion and design, among others, for De Morgen Magazine, she joined Sabato as a fashion and lifestyle journalist before becoming a freelancer in 2023. In fashion, architecture and design, her sociological background (VUB), her aesthetic fascinations and love for crafts, nuance and human stories flow together. Today, you can read her work in Weekend Knack, Sabato and Feeling, among others.

Dries Janssens is working for ceramics company Atelier Vierkant since 2005, where he is responsible for sales and strategic vision. The family business now has two generations on board, with design and production done entirely in-house, and 90 per cent of its clay pots exported. Atelier Vierkant received the Henry van de Velde Company Gold Award in 2025.

Marten Kuipers has worked as associate design director in Amsterdam for more than a decade. For the last seven years, he has been working at digital agency DEPT® on identities, websites and apps within worlds such as fashion, finance and culture. He also judges at award shows and hosts his own conference ‘Speakeasy’, where craft and AI are often discussed.

Greetje Lathouwers graduated as an architect from the then Henry Van de Velde Institute in 1994 and complemented this education with extras in graphic design, textile design and printing techniques. She combined an architectural practice with design supervision. Currently, she has been working full time for several years as head of training in Interior Design, unit Interior, Design & Architecture at Thomas More hogeschool.

Bie Luyssaert is Head of Public Relations & Communication at the Design Museum Ghent since 2020. At Design Flanders since 1999, she discovered her love for design in all its aspects. Promoting and supporting Flemish designers for more than 20 years has provided a thorough insight into the Flemish design landscape.

Luc Meirlaen graduated as an industrial designer from the NHIBS / Henry van de Velde Institute in 1988. After a brief stint as a designer of high-end hi-fi equipment at Synthese nv in Wijnegem, he started as a designer at Niko nv in Sint-Niklaas. He worked there in various positions within product development: as team leader R&D mechanics, as manager R&D and as project manager. Since 2022, he has been responsible for design, user experience and R&D.

Brigitte Mouligneau studied law and worked for the Leuven Faculty of Law and the Flemish Government. Her interest in sustainable transitions and network management grew from her focus on the more complex long-term challenges. For example, she was able to work at Vlaanderen Circulair in 2016, where she has been focusing on the transition to a circular economy in Flanders as the Transition Manager since 2018.

Katarina Serulus is an independent researcher and curator in the field of design and architecture. Her research interests include gender, national identity, transnational networks, club culture and non-disciplinary practices in design, architecture and visual culture. She (co-)curated several exhibitions in collaboration with the Flanders Architecture Institute, Design Museum Brussels and Vitra Design Museum.

Studio Wieki Somers was established in 2003 by Wieki Somers and Dylan van den Berg. The studio focusses on providing an enlightened reading of the everyday environment. The studio’s oeuvre distinguishes itself by a sensitivity to materials, technological ingenuity and fantasy. The studio works for international clients, such as Alexander Mc- Queen, Hermès, Moroso and Kvadrat. It has received numerous awards and its works are part of major museum collections.

Kate Stockman is an experienced brand and business strategist, future researcher and innovation coach and leads Future Business Studio, where she drives strategy and creative innovation projects for (inter)national design, fashion, food, hospitality and entertainment brands, helping them to see their blind spots and engage in sustainable growth. She is also a professor in trend Implementation (Erasmushogeschool Brussel), keynote speaker and has a background as a photographer and creative director.

Richard van der Laken is a renowned Dutch graphic designer, creative director, entrepreneur, initiator and ambassador of the social impact of design. Together with Pepijn Zurburg, he founded graphic design agency Designpolitie, graphic design collective Gorilla and design platform What Design Can Do. He has won numerous awards and their work has been included in the permanent collection of the Design Museum London and MoMa New York, among others.

Becky Verthé coordinates the Industrial Product Design programme at Howest (Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen). She is committed to a strong link between (manufacturing) industry and education. Her team develops research and design projects with students and companies around the themes driving the design landscape today, such as circularity and materialisation, design thinking and AI, co-creation and product-service systems. Until 2009, Becky worked at Designregio Kortrijk. She is also a board member of Trendvision.