Lexus launches 'Design Matters' campaign

Lexus has hosted an event called ‘Design Matters' in New York City, as part of a new strategy to showcase the brand's commitment to design.

Toyota's global president Akio Toyoda attended the event along with Mark Templin, executive vice president of Lexus International, who said, "Lexus is expanding as a global company and we need to speak to a broad global audience. There's no better way to do that than through design."

Templin used the event to announce its other design-related campaigns. The Lexus Design Award, launched in October, is a competition designed to develop the next generation of designers. The two winners earned the opportunity to work with mentors Sam Hecht and Junya Ishigami, with their projects displayed at Museo della Permanente in Milan, Italy, during the Milan Salone del Mobile.

Another campaign is the ‘Intersect by Lexus' spaces. These will appear in a number of cities and are designed to allow people to connect to the brand through design, art, fashion, culture, movies, music and technology. Interior designer and founder of interior design agency Wonderwall Masamichi Katayama has been commissioned to develop the spaces. The first ‘Intersect by Lexus' will open in Tokyo, Japan, this summer while appearances in New York City and Dubai have been confirmed.

The carmaker has also released a new global lifestyle magazine, ‘Beyond by Lexus', that contains vehicle information, stories on design, art, architecture and travel. It will be available on Lexus International's official website on 1 May. The carmaker will also launch a series of short films created with The Weinstein Company the first of which will premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival next month. They will also be featured on the Lexus short films website.

The last of the campaigns features humanoid figures, created using techniques employed in the development of Lexus cars, such as 3D printing. Materials, including bamboo and walnut found in the interiors of Lexus cars, as well as Lexus exterior paint, were used to construct the figures.

By Rufus Thompson