Alex Padwa

Born 1956, an industrial designer specializing in the design of vehicles, medical equipment, and complex systems. A Senior Lecturer at Shenkar’s Department of Industrial Design and its master’s degree program in design (and head of the Department from 2003 to 2014). Holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from Bezalel (1984) and a master’s degree in automotive design from the Royal College of Art, London (1987). Since 2004, leads an independent design studio bearing his name.

“Products are like people. They have their own stories, characters and souls, and like people, they all deserve their own faces, to express their individual personalities and virtues. Everyone can be creative. You don’t have to be a designer to come up with a great idea or even a concept, for a new product. But no one but a good designer is capable of translating a concept, into a three-dimensional coherent and useful object. This object should respect a whole range of constraints and needs, while being aesthetically meaningful, different from the others, fresh and distinct, and emanate the right personality.”

The jury panel’s decision:

The Edmond de Rothschild Design Award for Product Design is granted to Alex Padwa for his exceptional skill in developing objects marked by a precise and expressive form language – including in the complex spaces of the medical, automotive, and manufacturing fields.

The large scale characteristic of most of the works in his impressive portfolio positions them, in terms of presence and user experience, in between the worlds of product design and architecture. Whether it’s a vehicle, an MRI system, or a biopsy analysis instrument, Padwa composes iconic 3D creations that challenge paradigms of design. User experience, ergonomics, and interface – all are addressed and packaged into a readable icon bearing his distinctive signature.

The committee wishes to acknowledge Padwa’s longstanding involvement in design, in parallel to serving as a lecturer in academia, instilling in generations of designers a love for design and for independent, creative, top-tier work. “In recognition of his ingenuity, virtuoso abilities, passion, and uncompromising professionalism, Alex Padwa is named winner in the Senior Designer category of the Edmond de Rothschild Design Award for Product Design.”