FOCUS OPEN 2026 the JURY
OUR JURORS LOVE INNOVATIONS, COURAGE AND FRESH IDEAS

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Prof. Miriam Irle
interior & product design
Munich
LinkedIn

Miriam Irle is a product designer and since 2021 a professor of product design at IU International University of Applied Sciences. She also teaches in the Technical Design degree program at Deggendorf University of Applied Sciences. While studying at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle in Paris, she worked in the studios of Stefan Diez and Marc Newson.

Since 2010, Ms. Irle has operated a studio for product and interior design. She has realized a large number of projects in the areas of exhibition design, office design, and coworking studies. Her projects have been regularly published.

Miriam Irle researches topics related to the spatial-physical environment in the home office, as well as the use of AI tools in the design process.

miriam-irle.com

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Markus Orthey
Braun Design Director
De’Longhi Braun Household
Neu-Isenburg
LinkedIn

Markus Orthey, Braun Design Director, studied product design at the University of Applied Sciences in Mainz. A formative exchange year in 2000 at Swinburne University in Melbourne, Australia, and an internship at Matsushita Electric Works in Osaka, Japan, broadened his international understanding of design.

In 2001, he began his professional career at the legendary Braun Design Department, where he worked closely with designers from the Dieter Rams era. This period shaped his clear and functional design approach. From 2009, he was significantly responsible for the design of Braun shavers, clocks, and watches.

In 2013, Markus Orthey joined De’Longhi Braun Household, the company responsible for developing and producing Braun kitchen appliances. Since 2019, he has led a five-member design team there, which has won more than 110 prestigious design awards under his leadership since 2012. He also collaborates and conducts projects with universities such as Politecnico di Milano in Italy and TU Delft in the Netherlands.

braunhousehold.com

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Klara Kohler
Product Engineer
EBO van Weel B.V.
Rotterdam (NL)
LinkedIn

Klara Kohler earned a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Design Engineering (in Dutch) from TU Delft, and a Master's degree in Integrated Product Design (in English). She completed her semester abroad at Politecnica in Valencia, Spain.

Since 2019, she has been working as a Product Engineer at EBO van Weel, a small Dutch family-owned company in the transportation sector with its own production. Her technical and creative skills are well used there in product development for new concepts and the optimization of existing products.

Born and raised in Baden-Württemberg, she has been living since 2014 on the Dutch coast in The Hague with her partner (a physicist at the European Patent Office) and has had a daughter since 2024. She has a passion for nature and water sports.

ebovanweel.com

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Georg Fuhrmann
Managing director and CD
LIGHTSHAPE GmbH & Co. KG
Stuttgart
LinkedIn

Since 2015 he has been managing director of LIGHTSHAPE – Digital Experiences, focusing on the conception and implementation of interactive digital systems in AR, VR, and MR. His focus is on real-time visualization, immersive applications, and film and image productions for complex technical content. Current interactive technologies are pushed to the limits of feasibility to communicate technical content clearly and visually appealing, and to support people in their further education.

Previously, he worked as Art Director at Mackevision, responsible for image and film productions including concept development and direction. At RTT AG, he worked on media productions, data management, and the optimization of data pipelines for industrial real-time visualization systems in the automotive environment (Porsche).

He completed his architecture studies at the State University of Stuttgart in 2002 with a diploma. The emphasis was on computer-aided design, CAD and visualization systems, as well as early VR environments, including collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute and HLRS Stuttgart (CAVE-VR).

lightshape.net

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Christine Zimmermann
Managing Director
Hahn+Zimmermann GmbH
Bern (CH)
LinkedIn

Christine Zimmermann studied Visual Communication at the Bern University of the Arts (CH). In 2008 she co-founded the graphic design studio Hahn+Zimmermann in Bern with Barbara Hahn, focusing on projects in the fields of communication design and information graphics for national and international clients.

In addition to client projects, Hahn+Zimmermann Lab develops self-initiated projects with an artistic approach at the interface to other disciplines, as well as research projects. Regular talks at conferences.

Teaching activities and workshops in information graphics at design (universities of applied sciences) and in companies in Germany and abroad. Various national and international awards and design honors.

hahn-zimmermann.ch

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Daniel Rauh
Chief Industrial Design Officer
SHIFT GmbH
Wabern Falkenberg
LinkedIn

After studying product design in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Darmstadt, and Tel Aviv, Daniel Rauh worked at design studios such as designpraxis diener in Ulm and kpg design group in Täferrot. Since 2016 he has brought his design experience to the young purpose-driven company SHIFT, whose high design standards were evident from the start.

Along with a clear visual language, SHIFT stands for sustainable technology with a special focus on modularity, reparability, and resource conservation. The creators of SHIFTPHONES also aim for fair treatment and fair compensation for everyone involved in all phases of the product lifecycle—from raw material extraction to recycling.

Daniel Rauh is responsible for all design topics at SHIFT and also occasionally travels as a speaker and SHIFT brand ambassador in Europe. The products designed by him and his team have already been awarded various design and sustainability prizes.

shift.eco