Cannes Lions Names Dan Formosa Product Design Jury President

Cannes Lions has today announced that award winning designer Dan Formosa will preside over the Product Design jury at this year’s International Festival of Creativity. 

Dan Formosa, a consultant in design, was a member of the team that designed IBM’s first personal computer. More recently he established two design collectives – 4B, focusing on design and gender, and Brainpool, focusing on perception and our emotional connections with products and brands. 

“Every product a company creates is a personification of the brand that created it,” says Dan. “More specifically it’s a representation of the people standing behind that brand. Inclusion of the Product Design category is therefore extremely appropriate for the Cannes Lions awards program. It’s 2015 – the product is the message.”

Cannes Lions introduced the Product Design category last year, acknowledging that as a global awards celebrating creativity in communications, it was essential for the industry that product design and the part it plays in brand communications is recognised. The category focuses on the applied use of physical products in aiding the communication of a brand ethos as well as its use to have a positive impact on improving people’s lives.

“The Product Design category is a necessary piece in the make-up of our awards. Design touches everyone’s lives every day and as Dan mentions, is an intrinsic part of every brand. We’re delighted to have someone of Dan’s standing at the helm of the category as we establish it further in its second year,” said Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions. 

To recognise the complexities and time taken to bring products to market, Cannes Lions has introduced a two year eligibility date range for the Product Design category (1 March 2013 - 30 April 2015). The products the section caters for have also been extended this year, with two new categories for Toys and Promotional and Bespoke Items.