Swiss graphic artist Étienne Delessert wins top design award

A was an apple pie - Jeux d’enfant d’Etienne Delessert, 2005. © Etienne Delessert

Swiss illustrator Étienne Delessert has been awarded the Grand Prix Swiss Design 2023 – Switzerland’s top design award. Product designer Eleonore Peduzzi Riva and art historian Chantal Prod 'Hom were also nominated as design award winners.

The 2023 winners of the Federal Office of Culture award were recommendedExternal link by the Federal Design Commission. The prizes will be awarded at the Swiss Design Awards ceremony on June 13, 2023 in Basel.

Étienne Delessert, who was born in Lausanne in 1941, trained as a graphic designer. He became known in Paris and New York first in advertising, posters, then in illustration, animated films and painting.

Étienne Delessert © Robert F. Haiko

“For 60 years, Étienne Delessert, with his charismatic worlds and his singular drawing, has not only greatly contributed to the revival of children’s books, but he has also, throughout his career, invested himself in a remarkable way in the support to the field of illustration and publication in its work as editor and produce,” said the Federal Design Commission.

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Delessert has illustrated over 80 books translated into 14 languages. He has also worked as a press cartoonist for The Atlantic, The New York Times, Facts, Le Monde, Siné Hebdo, among others.

In 1973, he created the “Carabosse” animation film studio in Switzerland and in 2017 the “Les Maîtres de l’Imaginaire” foundation, whose objective is to promote the works of cartoonists from Europe and the US.

Eleonore Peduzzi Riva © BAK / Diana Pfammatter

Born in 1936 in Basel, Eleonore Peduzzi Riva has worked as an interior architect and industrial designer and a design consultant for various companies. 

“Through her pioneering work in modularity and the reinvention of traditional materials, Eleonore Peduzzi Riva contributed to the golden age of Italian industrial design. In the most successful period of her activity, she worked as an interior designer and product designer for renowned manufacturers, in various functions and in countless projects. Although his name does not appear in contemporary literature, his innovative work has not fallen into oblivion and deserves to be rediscovered and studied,” said the commission.

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Chantal Prod’Hom was born in 1957 in Lausanne, where she studied archeology. She later obtained a degree in museology and founded and directed the Asher Edelman Foundation.

Chantal Prod’Hom © Agence Muto

From 2000 she was director of the mudac – Museum of contemporary design and applied arts – in Lausanne.

“Through the various roles she has played, Chantal Prod’Hom has had a decisive influence on the discourse on design and has given visibility to this discipline in French-speaking Switzerland. Through her interdisciplinary and international vision, she has pioneered the curating of design exhibitions and paved the way for a new generation,” said the commission.

The culture office has celebrated national and international designers with the annual award since 2007. Each winner also receives CHF40,000 in prize money.