JURY PRESIDENT FOR 2025 ANNOUNCED: RENOWNED ITALIAN DESIGNER, WINNER OF THE COMPASSO D’ORO AND AMBASSADOR OF ITALIAN EXCELLENCE WORLDWIDE WALTER DE SILVA WILL HELM THE SELECTION PROCESS
THE PRESTIGIOUS AWARD WILL BE PRESENTED AT THE 65th GENOA INTERNATIONAL BOAT SHOW
Nominations are now officially open for the sixth edition of the Design Innovation Award, the most prestigious industry prize to be held in Italy. Promoted by the Italian Marine Industry Association and the Genoa International Boat Show, the Design Innovation Award recognises the very best of research and innovation across the boating sector internationally, while also promoting the pinnacle of what is known in Italy as the “Bello e Ben Fatto” (literally what is “beautiful and well-made”), a hallmark quality of Made in Italy design.
Walter De Silva, one of the most celebrated Italian designers on the global stage, will be acting as the President of the 2025 edition’s Jury, composed of international experts from the fields of boating, design and culture. An internationally renowned designer, Walter De Silva is considered one of the masters of contemporary automotive design. Born in Lecco, Italy in 1951, Walter De Silva kickstarted his career back in 1972 working for Centro Stile Fiat. After heading the design department of the I.DE.A Institute under the direction of Renzo Piano, who designed the Genoa Boat Show’s complete waterfront redevelopment project, he was recruited to become head of the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo in 1989. From 1999 he headed design at SEAT, then the Audi Group (Audi, SEAT, Lamborghini), and as of 2007 that of the Volkswagen Group, ending his career at the VW Group in 2015. He then founded the company Walter De Silva Automotive, an independent automotive design consultancy firm. He was awarded the Compasso d’Oro award for lifetime achievements in 2011 and has been nominated “Ambassador of Italian excellence worldwide”.
“I am thrilled to chair the jury of such a prestigious award, an award that aims to underline the importance of design, where innovation and design quality merge with sustainability and beauty,” commented De Silva. “A constant search for beauty becomes the inspiration behind creating something that comes to life from the spark of an idea, behind the craftsmanship of designers, engineers and technicians, who transform that idea into sculptures infused with a timeless style, the essence of Made in Italy design. The excellence of the Italian boating industry thus takes on the role of a point of reference for the promotion of Italian design and for spreading the core values of beauty around the world.”
In just a few years, the Design Innovation Award has become an international benchmark for those who design the future of boating: from designers to manufacturers, pioneers of innovation. The award projects a vision that values avant-garde projects and underlines the commitment to a design capable of combining the best of quality, technology, sustainability and beauty.
Since its first edition in 2020, the Award has steadily grown, establishing itself as a cultural and design space of excellence. Since the approximately 40 nominated projects in its first year, the pool of candidates has broadened to an average of over 90 projects submitted in each of the most recent editions. A trend that testifies to the vitality of the sector and the growing interest of companies in innovation, design and sustainability.
The award ceremony will be held on 19th September 2025, in the evocative setting of the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, as part of the 65th Genoa International Boat Show (18th – 23rd September).
“The Design Innovation Award is currently one of the most eagerly anticipated moments of the global boating scene. It provides a privileged observatory, not least because of the leading role the Italian boating sector plays worldwide, and a respected platform to host an intersection of the visions, languages and technologies that will shape the future of the industry,” stated Piero Formenti, President of the Italian Marine Industry Association and Genoa Boat Show organising company I Saloni Nautici Srl.
“The Genoa International Boat Show and the Design Innovation Award share the same vision: to tell the story of an industry that is in a constant state of evolution. The Design Innovation Award rewards those who demonstrate the courage to innovate, to accept and face the challenge of sustainability and digital transition, to design without ever looking away from the future,” added Marina Stella, General Manager of the Italian Marine Industry Association, “The Award stands out as one of three world events in the sector and first on the Mediterranean.”
The Award is open to all Italian and international exhibitors at 65th Genoa International Boat Show.Applications may only be submitted online by 5th September 2025, by filling in the form provided on the official website: https://www.salonenautico.com/en/design-innovation-award/
The ten awarded product categories are as follows:
- Sail, motor or inflatable boats (up to 10 m LH)
- Sailing boats (up to 14 m LH and over 14 m LH)
- Motorboats (up to 14 m LH and over 14 m LH)
- Superyachts (over 24 m LH)
- Maxi RIBs (over 10 m LH)
- Multihulls
- Boating Equipment and Components
- Onboard electronics and software
Three Special Awards complete the prize pool, recognising:
- Outstanding Innovation
- Outstanding Career
- Outstanding Talent: dedicated to high-potential ideas and entrepreneurial journeys.
“Today, nautical design embodies a cultural frontier, where sustainability, innovation and formal identity are intertwined. The Award is a tool to recognise and reward those who know how to interpret the changes taking place,” commented Luisa Bocchietto, architect and Coordinator of the Award Steering Committee.
The Design Innovation Award’s Jury, made up of experts from the industry and chosen by the Steering Committee from among recognised personalities in the fields of boating, design and culture, each year ensures a rigorous, impartial and high-profile selection process.
The Award Ceremony will take place on an important day of the Genoa International Boat Show, one dedicated to internationalisation, innovation and sustainability, all of which represents a perfect synthesis of the Award’s guiding principles. Numerous events are, in fact, scheduled on 19th September: the Genoa International Boat Show and Italian Marine Industry Association’s commitment to sustainability will take centre stage with: the fourth edition of the World Yachting Sustainability Forum, the international event promoted by the Italian Marine Industry Association in cooperation with the magazine International Boat Industry; the European Sustainable Boating roundtable – organised in cooperation with EBI, the European boating federation – the focus of which this year will be on international trade; and a Conference devoted to ESG Criteria organised by the Italian Marine Industry Association with the participation of RINA and BPER, dedicated to the challenges and opportunities facing sustainable boating.
Within this context, the Award focuses on those projects that best interpret the capability of the boating industry to evolve, innovate, and dialogue with global markets, leveraging quality, research, and attention to sustainability. An award that, edition after edition, confirms itself as a privileged observatory on nautical design trends and a prestigious platform for the enhancement of Made in Italy excellence and the most avant-garde realities on the international scene. During previous editions, the Design Innovation Award has also distinguished itself as a springboard for emerging ideas and projects with a high innovative content, contributing to the visibility and development of new entrepreneurial trajectories across the boating sector.
Significant examples include Moi Composites (Milan Polytechnic), winner of the 2020 Innovation Award with the world’s first 3D printed fiberglass boat MAMBO; UniBoat (University of Bologna), awarded in 2021 for a highly experimental university project on sustainable boating; and Ecoracer by nlcomp, which brought to the public’s attention the first racing boat built from natural fibre and recyclable thermoplastic resin. These experiences are all tangible proof of the strategic value the Award provides in promoting ground-breaking synergies uniting business, research and creativity, charting new courses towards a sustainable and competitive future
