Jury

Selection jury

Sarmīte Poļakova

Designer, founder of Studio Sarmīte and the brand "(un)woven". She works with and around materials, which are transformed into continuous research and products of art, design, science and human interaction. Alongside her design activities in the studio, Sarmīte teaches at various European universities and runs workshops on materials, circularity and sustainability.

Maija Rozenfelde

Partner and Design Director at KID Design studio and Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Graphic Design at the Art Academy of Latvia. In the design process, she enjoys delving into different fields, looking for the most authentic solution possible and always maintaining the attitude of a curious beginner. The most important projects of recent years have been created together with Stenders, Latvian National History Museum, Laima, XXVII Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival, JVLMA and other clients. Maija's work has won awards at the Red Dot, Print Awards and Art Directors Club Europe, as well as the National Design Award of Latvia 2020 Grand Prix.

Brigita
Bula

Founder of Brigita Bula Architects and advisory board member of the Latvian Association of Architects. Brigita's architects' office creates sustainable architecture for green and forward-thinking clients: private residences, office interiors, public buildings, cafés and exhibitions. The Salt House designed by her in Pāvilosta received the Grand Prix of the Latvian Architecture Award in 2019 and was nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2022.

Anna
Andersone

Design entrepreneur, one of the leaders of the startup ecosystem in Latvia, and head of the Riga TechGirls association and movement. Anna has been involved in design, communication and technology and entrepreneurship for more than 20 years, co-founding the startups "Froont" and "berta.me" and serving on the board of "TechHub Riga". Under her leadership, Riga TechGirls has trained more than 20 000 people in Latvia and abroad. Anna is a guest lecturer at the Riga School of Economics (SSE Riga) and co-founder and head of the StartSchool technology and business programme.

Agris
Batalauskis

A justice professional whose track record in senior positions is highly valued. He has been responsible for the supervision and implementation of many strategic development projects and has represented the interests of the justice sector in various international fora. Since 2022 Director of the Patent Board of the Republic of Latvia. Thanks to his active involvement in the activities of the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the EUIPO European Design Award ceremony took place in Riga in September 2024.

Evija
Krištopane

Co-founder of the design association Support System. She creates organisational identities, writes design theory and develops projects based on it. Previously, she led the design team at Overpriced, created the brand strategy for the Sport Palace Gardens project and organised KDD's online design talks. She studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology Design Institute in Chicago and the Netherlands Institute of Art, where she is currently researching the vocabulary of contemporary design.

Edgars Zvirgzdiņš

Designer, founder of design studio "Associates, Partners et Sons" and co-founder of the scandi brand "Aretai". In addition to his design practice, he is involved in design management and the development of brand design strategies. She is interested in bridging different media and collaborating with a wide range of professionals to create expressive experiences and products. Several projects Edgars has been involved in have been awarded the National Design Award of Latvia, the Latvian Architecture Award and the Red Dot Design Award in Product Design.

Mārcis
Ziemiņš

Designer and founder of Don't Panic Design Solutions. Previously working as a graphic designer in various advertising agencies, he has been creating a wide range of environmental and product design solutions since graduating from the Eindhoven Design Academy 10 years ago: set designs, interactive installations, moving objects and other solutions for cultural and entertainment events, which have won countless international awards. Mārcis' creative ideas find their solution in experiential design projects, using new forms of expression and ways of interacting with the audience. Mārcis is also a lecturer in product design at the Art Academy of Latvia.

Reinis Leo Miķelsons

Designer and architect, co-founder of design studio "Gateris Works". Previously worked at SZK and Annvil interior architecture studios, participated in the interior design of Zunda Towers, managed the interior design of Zuzeum art centre and several hotel and restaurant interior design projects in Norway. In addition to commercial projects, together with graphic designer Eva Abduļina, he has been researching the translation of Latvian forms into everyday objects. Together with his colleagues he founded the new design platform "Home Ground".

Alise
Dīrika

Product development and user experience specialist with a background in digital design and technology innovation. Co-founder of data visualisation platform Infogram. She has led the product team at animation and vector graphics solutions startup Linearity and developed product solutions for the Prezi platform. Alice is currently working at HackMotion, developing a solution to help golfers analyse their movements and improve their game. She actively supports young entrepreneurs and technology professionals as a mentor at Riga TechGirls and Unilab.

Oskars
Cirsis

Co-founder and Creative Director of digital agency WRONG Digital with more than 15 years of experience in digital design and communication. His work has been recognised in competitions such as Cannes Lions, Adwards, Eurobest and Red Dot. Oskar experiments with the latest technologies to create innovative solutions. He is an active member of the Latvian design community, sharing his experience and knowledge with other professionals and students of the Latvian Art Directors Club school.

Jury from previous years

NDAL 2024 jury

NDAL 2023 jury