Spanning different geographies and professions, this month’s panel of jury members is united by shared design expertise. These 20 creatives will vote and decide on this month’s top projects and products. Get to know them below.

Ankur Choksi, principal and cofounder at Studio Lotus

Ankur Choksi’s practice advocates for adaptive reuse and sustainability in architecture. With a visual communications degree from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, he started his career with graphic design, exhibition and museum design. He cofounded New Delhi's Studio Lotus in 2002, where he oversees and directs large-scale integrated hospitality and adaptive reuse interventions. Drawing inspiration from regional culture, and local material and craftsmanship, Choksi integrates storytelling into the studio’s work. Actively engaging with academia and the design community, he shares his knowledge and his experience in the industry as a visiting faculty member, guest lecturer and juror at various institutions in India.

Cathy Wang, founder of Montaigne Design

A Canadian-Chinese interior designer, Cathy Wang brings 20 years of experience in hospitality design in North America and China, with qualifications from the International Academy of Design in Toronto. Wang founded Montaigne Design in Shanghai in 2011, where she leads a multi-cultural team dedicated to international chain and boutique hotel design. Through her studio, she strives for timeless, elegant and retro-modern spaces that mix emotion, design, art and local culture. Her cross-cultural vision and sensitivity in her approach enable her to maintain fresh perspectives and insight. Wang is always looking for a creative challenge, keen to learn new crafts and explore new ways of thinking and doing things.

Christina Prodromou, director at Cox Architecture

Christina Prodromou is a visionary Australian designer, currently leading interior design in Cox’s Melbourne studio. With over two decades of experience, she works mainly on the design of community and cultural spaces, workplaces and bespoke hospitality and living, passionate about crafting immersive, people-centric environments that blur project typologies and contribute to public life. With a hands-on leadership style, Prodromou engages with clients and stakeholders to collaboratively deliver successful design outcomes that connect to their context and resonate with the people using them.

Christopher Lye, Principal and Hong Kong Retail Sector Leader at Woods Bagot

Having worked in the UK, Hong Kong and China, Christopher Lye has completed numerous retail and commercial projects and gained significant know-how in project and design management over 15 years. He is involved in many large-scale retail design projects across China and brings expertise in the revitalization of urban environments. As part of Woods Bagot’s Retail Design Centre of Excellence group, he supports the Hong Kong and Shenzhen studio as the firm’s main retail hub for different global project reviews and collaborations.

Elnaz Taghaddos, cofounder of E plus A Atelier

Elnaz Taghaddos received a Master of Engineering degree in architecture from Shahid Beheshti University, and later cofounded E plus A Atelier. With numerous residential and hospitality projects in the United Arab Emirates, Canada and Iran completed in the last decade, Taghaddos draws inspiration from nature and organic shapes, and seamlessly blends styles and materials in her designs.

Esin Karliova, founder of Studio Karliova

Based in Amsterdam, Istanbul-born Esin Karliova is an interior designer and educator, and founder of Studio Karliova. Since 2008, Karliova has been involved in education: she has served as a teacher of colour theory and design fundamentals at various schools, including the University of California Berkeley. Her rich background and creativity have formed her design approach, where function, form, colours and textures create balanced and sustainable interiors.

Heather Dubbeldam, principal at Dubbeldam Architecture + Design

Heather Dubbeldam is the founder and principal of Dubbeldam Architecture + Design in Toronto. Leading an award-winning studio, Heather is committed to creating innovative projects that embody sustainable approaches. Through her practice, Dubbeldam always strives for a high level of excellence in architecture and works towards setting new standards for the profession. Her studio’s work has been featured in the Venice Architecture Biennale, alongside eight other internationally recognized women-led architecture practices from around the world.

Javier Jiménez Iniesta, architect and director at Studio Animal

After receiving his architecture degree from Alicante School of Architecture in 2001, Javier Jiménez Iniesta has been actively involved in the design industry and academic research. His work with Studio Animal involves contemporary spatial identity design and has been widely celebrated. He currently directs the Master in Creative Retail Design at the European Institute of Design in Madrid, and he is a professor at the Elisava School in Barcelona as well as a visiting professor at the Monterrey School of Architecture in Mexico.

Jenn Celesia, owner of Jenn Celesia Consulting

Before launching her consulting agency, Jenn Celesia gained over two decades of experience in strategy, design and consulting within the corporate real estate industry. She has lived and worked in the US, China, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and held regional leadership roles at Gensler and global furniture manufacturer Haworth before starting her consultancy in 2024. As a workplace advisor, Celesia promotes agile real estate strategies and design solutions. Her diverse and multi-cultural background offers her a unique perspective on commercial solutions for the global workplace landscape.   

Ke Xie, founder of Signyan Design Agency

After graduating from the Oil Painting Department of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, in 2008, Ke Xie founded Signyan Design Agency, specializing in hospitality and commercial architecture and interior space design. His design approach is aimed at resonating with the client’s vision, and focuses on human psychology, fostering comfort and local craftsmanship. Through his design agency Signyan, Xie aspires to promote simple and natural lifestyle values.  

Kot Ge, founder of LSD Interior design

With a practical spatial vocabulary and rational thinking, Kot Ge promotes an eclectic point of view in his design practice. He established LSD Interior Design in Shenzhen in 2007, which specializes in commercial and hospitality interior design. Later the studio expanded in Shanghai, counting numerous interior projects across China. Ge believes that as a designer he has the responsibility to solve real issues, meet real demands and express real feelings through his practice.  

Matteo Ferrari, architect at Matteo Ferrari Studio

Matteo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy, and studied architecture at the University of Ferrara including a year of exchange at the Catholic University of Cordoba, Argentina. After graduating in 2008 he settled in Madrid, starting his professional career. Founding his eponymous studio in 2015, Ferrari sought to redefine links between the creative process, functionality and aesthetics. He has worked with various brands including Aesop, Zara, the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum, and Malabab. In 2016 he began a close collaboration with Ciszak Dalmas.

Meshary AlNassar, creative director and founder of studio Meshary AlNassar

A Kuwaiti interior architect and designer, Meshary AlNassar graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in interior design from the American University in Dubai. In 2018, he established his design studio in Kuwait City, focusing initially on high-end residential design. AlNassar's versatile background expanded the studio’s scope into architecture and product design. Inspired by Scandinavian design and soft interiors, and with a deep understanding of Kuwait’s local market, AlNassar introduces designs relevant to the region yet with an international twist.

Micha Klein, executive director of Liganova

With almost 20  years of retail design experience, Micha Klein is responsible for brand space concepts, designs and installations for brands in the consumer goods, sportswear, fashion and automotive sectors. Trained as an architect, Klein joined brand and retail marketing agency Liganova after working in several high-profile studios. He is involved in retail and brand-building projects internationally, and he’s interested in consumer behaviour trends and the sustainable transformation of commercial spaces.

Moein Jalali, founder and senior architect at Moein Jalali and Partners

Moein Jalali has an extensive educational background with a Ph.D in architecture. After gaining experience in versatile roles across the architecture field, he founded his namesake office Moein Jalali and Partners in Karaj, Iran, and serves as a board member and department manager of architecture at Memar Parto Parsian Company. He’s a member of InspireLi Awards, where he shares his expertise of bringing contextual layers to modern and innovative design on a global scale.

Patrizia Moroso, creative director at Moroso

Directing her family's furniture business Moroso for almost 40 years, Patrizia Moroso transformed the local Italian company into an international design brand. Over the years Moroso has invested time into scouting for new talents, and collaborated with numerous designers and artists at the beginning of their careers. She encourages designers to revive applied arts and experiment with materials. In 2010, she founded the Moroso Award for contemporary art with curator Andrea Bruciati, offering a period of residence to three selected creatives. Moroso has also created a collection of iconic designs from all over the world in the last 20 years.

Rahul Mistri, principal designer at Open Atelier Mumbai

Rahul Mistri is the principal designer of the international design studio Open Atelier Mumbai. Comprising over a decade of focused practice, Mistri's portfolio includes residential, commercial, hospitality and corporate projects. He cofounded Office Blank in New York with Jugal Mistri and established Open Atelier in 2013 in Mumbai. Mistri contributes as a visiting professor at the Academy of Architecture and various other design institutions across India.

Søren Pihlmann, architect and founder at Pihlmann Architects

In 2021, Søren Pihlmann founded the Copenhagen-based office Pihlmann Architects. Together with his team, Pihlmann explores future building materials and the potential to craft progressive narratives with what already exists. The studio’s portfolio ranges from temporary pavilions and residences to cultural institutions, all connected through the central role of the material. Taking a holistic approach to design, the studio is involved throughout all phases of its projects.

Viktorija Valiulyte, senior designer for Nike EMEA flagship stores

A Lithuanian-born interior architect currently based in Amsterdam, Viktorija Valiulyte is a senior designer for Nike EMEA flagship stores. She has worked on global and award-winning retail, hospitality and residential projects for clients, like Mandarin Oriental, WeWork, Bloomngdale's and Westfield. After gaining her bachelor's degree in interior architecture in London, she relocated to Amsterdam and Hong Kong to begin her professional career. She has recently translated her love for art and ceramics into Chasegrase Studio, where she creates ceramic artwork and objects.

Zhifeng Wang, founder and creative director at A3 Vision

Zhifeng Wang, founder and creative director of A3 Vision, has worked in design for over 20 years. Bringing a wealth of knowledge, Wang founded A3 Vision in Shanghai in 2008, and is committed to designing timeless interiors by maximizing spaces' potential with minimal intervention. The studio mainly zooms in on commercial projects, adopting an innovative and human-centric scope.