The lockdown during the ongoing pandemic inspired this year’s designs.
Date: 11 May 2021
Yinka Ilori, who studied Furniture and Product Design, was the co-creative director and designer for this year's Brit Awards 2021, where he and artist Es Devlin designed the winner's trophies and the stage.
This is the first time in the award’s history where the design has been worked on collaboratively, and where the winners receive not one trophy but two. Each winner is encouraged to give the smaller, second trophy to someone else, celebrating the act of giving during a difficult year.
This is not the first time Yinka has designed work for the Brit Awards. In 2019, he was commissioned to create a special edition print, titled Love in a Line, which was signed and gifted to all of Universal Music’s Brit Awards nominees, which included Drake, Sam Smith, Ariana Grande and many others.
Yinka explains the concept behind the designs: ‘The idea came from the experience of lockdown, where your neighbour you’ve lived beside for six years and never say hello to, suddenly gave you flowers, foods, acts of kindness. I wanted to capture that.’
Primarily a furniture designer, Yinka’s style is immersive and multi-sensory, making use of bright colours and geometric lines – a nod to the Nigerian aesthetics of his upbringing, all evident in the design of the trophy.
Marianne Forrest, Head of 3D at the School of Art, Architecture and Design, said: “A giant in the making, Yinka has found his forte in the design world. His adaptability, designing everything from chairs (his original training) to architectural and artistic installations to Brit Award Trophies demonstrates his extraordinary ability to cross disciplinary boundaries. Even with this, he maintains his particular voice through everything he designs. Colour and joy permeate everything he does.”
The ceremony took place Tuesday 11 May at the O2 Arena and was part of the government’s live events pilot scheme.
The winner's trophies designed by Yinka Ilori and Es Devlin.