IDA 2024 NOW OPEN -- Early Bird Deadline May 30, 2024
Frederic Gooris | International Design Awards Jury

FRÉDÉRIC GOORIS
Principal Designer Founder Studio Gooris Limited

Frédéric Gooris is an industrial design entrepreneur, trained as an engineer in Belgium, as a designer by Philippe Starck and Stefano Giovannoni, and as an entrepreneur in Hong Kong. His firm Studio Gooris works fuse narratives, innovation and common-sense entrepreneurship into iconic products for clients including Alessi, China Southern Airlines, Ice Watch, Ferrero, Seiko, Rollogo, DeSter, Gategroup and Qantas Airlines among others.

He has won numerous international awards for his work that spans from household goods, fashion accessories, cosmetics, lighting, audio, travel & sports goods, aviation, personal care and baby products.

Frédéric is also co-founder and creative director of Bombol – the company behind some of the most innovative baby furniture – and is about to launch a new optical brand Crisp Vision Company.

What do you think are the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the design industry now (in your particular sector)?

Design was already a complicated profession as it need to combine customers wishes, economics and technology. Current environmental concerns, supply chain issues and inflation add another level of complexity and require us to think even harder to make a product that is truly a gamechanger.

What did you most enjoy about the IDA judging process?

I enjoy most when you come across a great idea and you say to myself “Damn, I should have thought about that! Well done!”

How much influence does your own personal taste influence your decisions in judging a design award?

In French they say “ Les goûts et les couleurs ne se discutent pas “, or in other words, everybody’s taste is different. I try to judge more on the validity of the underlying idea, rather than the aesthetical interpretation.

What advice would you give to future entrants?

A powerful idea can be summarized in 2-3 sentences. Make sure you your description focusses on what is unique about your product and keep it catchy and short. Same goes for the photos, avoid tons of text, maximum some keywords. Remember, as judge, we go through hundreds of entries, the time we can spend on each entry is limited.

What did you learn from this experience, and is there anything that you learned that you will take back to your respective business?
When I used to participate to design competitions, I used to be very frustrated why judges “failed to understand” my entry. I learned through failure and as being a judge how important concise yet engaging communication is. I practice that now with every presentation I do.