Clerkenwell Design Week. 21/05/2024 Photograph by Sam Frost.
Time is running out to submit to the Clerkenwell Design Week Product Awards, so don’t miss your chance. Recognizing groundbreaking design and innovation across an array of categories—think: acoustics, commercial furniture, lighting, textiles, wallcoverings, and more—the awards celebrate must-see products shaping the built environment. As for the jurors, the 2025 CDW Product Awards features an A-list cast.
This year’s jurors include Linda Morey-Burrows, founder of MoreySmith Architects, Daniel MacInnes, director at PriestmanGoode, Shawn Adams, architect, writer, and founder of POoR Collective, Valeria Segovia, principal and design director for Gensler; AJ Paron, EVP and design futurist, Sandow Design Group, and Avinash Rajagopal, editor in chief of Metropolis Magazine. Read on to learn more about each jury member and glimpse standout designs from last year’s festival.
Get To Know CDW Product Awards Jurors
Shawn Adams, architect and founder of POoR Collective.
Shawn Adams wears many hats as an architect, writer, and lecturer. The multi-hyphenate currently teaches at the Architectural Association. But his efforts don’t stop there. He is also the outreach lead at housing architecture firm HTA Design in London.
After training as an architect at The Royal College of Art, Architectural Association, and the University of Portsmouth, Adams build a career that’s uniquely his own, centered on socially-minded design. With this concept in mind, he co-founded the design practice Power Out of Restriction (POoR) in 2019, which earned London Design Festival’s Emerging Design Medal in 2023.
Adams also writes for numerous design magazines such as Wallpaper*, FRAME, and ICON.
As the founder of MoreySmith, a London-based RIBA chartered interior and architectural practice, Linda Morey-Burrows is know for her astute eye and intuitive client collaboration. Working with major brands like Sony Music, Lazari Investments, and Coca-Cola to name a few, she has earned an international reputation as a designer with a knack for bringing client visions to life.
Known for her hands-on and creative approach to workplace psychology, Morey-Burrows creates environments that serve as an extension of each brand’s identity while empowering individuals within them. She also champions the refurbishment of heritage and existing buildings, ensuring the history of a space is woven into the final design.
As an avid mentor, Morey-Burrows ensures young artists have a platform as well as new opportunities for their work. With this in mind, she spearheaded The Spring Art Fair 2024, a selling exhibition held at MoreySmith’s studios in Borough, made up of 35 emerging and established artists.
Morey-Burrows often shares her expertise as a guest speaker at industry events and judge for international design awards, such as the CDW Product Awards.
Linda Morey-Burrows. founder of MoreySmith Architects.
Valeria Segovia, principal and design director for Gensler.
As a principal and design director at Gensler, Valeria Segovia adopts a forward-thinking and holistic approach to design. Her nearly 20 years of experience in the field also reflects her commitment to reducing environmental impact and enhancing community wellbeing. Recognized as an outstanding architect with a diverse design background, Segovia has worked on a vast range of projects from mixed-use spaces to commercial offices as well as hospitality locales and residential builds. Her work reflects her passion for reinventing and repositioning existing structures with a focus on sustainability and circularity.
Committed to the success of the next generation of architects, Segovia strives to foster intergenerational communication and mentor the next generation of architects and designers. She also sits on Hackney Council’s Design Review Panel and prides herself on being an advocate for equality, diversity, and innovation in the design industry as well as a member of Gensler’s Global Inclusion Committee.
Daniel MacInnes brings extensive experience in aviation to the design industry. As a director at PriestmanGoode, which he joined in 2002, he has worked on projects for airlines including Korean Air, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa and SWISS. His innovative design solutions inlucde concept work with seat manufacturers, cabin design with top airframe manufacturers, as well as experience in the growing eVTOL sector. Most recently, MacInnes led the design team at PriestmanGoode in developing the Air for All system, a break-through project enabling powered wheelchair users to remain in their own wheelchair for the entire journey.
Daniel MacInnes, director at PriestmanGoode.
Avi Rajagopal, editor in chief, Metropolis Magazine.
Sustainable design is always top of mind for Avinash Rajagopal, editor in chief of Metropolis—an award-winning architecture and design publication. In his role at the magazine, he advocates for sustainable architecture and design, spreading awareness about the latest innovations in the field. He also is a frequent speaker and moderator at events related to interior design, architecture, and urbanism.
Beyond his work for Metropolis, Rajagopal also is the author of Hacking Design (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, 2013) and has contributed to many volumes on design history, including The Culture of Nature in the History of Design (Routledge, 2019) and The Atlas of Furniture Design (Vitra Design Museum, 2019).
As EVP and design futurist at Sandow Design Group, AJ Paron always has her thinking cap on. Widely respected as a creative thinker, innovative leader, and engaging speaker and panelist, her work uplifts industry experts and newcomers alike, often centers on championing the next generation of designers.
Her experience includes creating and leading a multimillion-dollar award-winning design/build firm, developing national programs for ASID, and developing design research programs for the University of Minnesota. Paron also has specialized in procurement innovation, design implementation and collaboration, and environmental initiatives/LEED, workplace change management. Not the mention that she’s considered a pioneer in designing for neurodiversity.
Throughout her career, Paron has earned accolades from numerous organizations including IIDA, ASID, NKBA, NARI, USGBC, and Chrysalis Awards. She’s also been published in Harvard Business Review, featured in Forbes, and authored several books including a groundbreaking series on Interior Design for Autism by Wiley Publications.
AJ Paron, EVP and design futurist, Sandow Design Group.
Standout Installations From Last Year’s Clerkenwell Design Week
An outdoor installation from last year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. Photography by Sam Frost.
Visitors explore an illuminated walkway with geometric forms. Photograph by Sam Frost.
A playground installation at last year’s festival. Photography by Sam Frost.
A vibrant mural at Clerkenwell Design Week 2024. Photography by Sam Frost.