Over the past 21 years, VIVID Emerging Designer Awards has become Australia’s most lauded launch pad for nascent design stars. Held annually at Decor + Design in Melbourne, the 2024 competition raised the bar yet again, presenting an extremely high calibre of finalists across the Furniture, Lighting, Object, Concept, Colour and Student categories.

Curated by Daniel Dalla Riva of Latitude Group, the VIVID judges were particularly impressed with the work of Amy Vidler, an artist and designer who handcrafts furniture, ambient lighting and experimental forms that function as artful additions to the built environment.

Driven by imagination and expert craftsmanship, Amy’s practice aims to delight the senses and elevate spaces. Her objects are intended to bring joy, both in the crafting and the beholding.

Her work certainly brought joy to the judges! Her delightfully bulbous light Mozzarella won the Lighting Design category, and she was awarded the 2024 Judges Choice Award for both Mozzarella and another design, Ripple.

We asked Amy to share her background and creative process to inspire other emerging designers and inspire them to enter the 2025 VIVID Emerging Designer Awards…

Amy, what has your journey entailed to become a designer maker? When did you first become interested in design?

From a young age I was interested in art and design as I’ve always loved to draw, paint, sculpt and build things. There was permanently a project on the go at home, from sewing clothes to restoring cars, I loved anything that allowed me to creatively use my hands.

As a teenager I moved from home to Brisbane to study Fine Art and a Bachelor of Design at the Queensland College of Art. Following on from university I worked in the tech industry for 10+ years as a User Experience Designer. It wasn’t until I returned to Australia several years ago that I started to explore how my lifelong passion of design and making could be more than a hobby.

Amy Vidler at work on her lighting design ‘Ripple’

How would you describe your design approach and aesthetic?

I’d probably say I have a sculpturally experimental design approach. Rarely do I have a fully formed idea which I then execute on. Rather it’s an observation of a small element or shape that intrigues me; I’ll study it and build on the form/design from there. There’ll be many iterations and experiments before settling on the final direction.

Aesthetically I tend towards minimalism and delicateness even though a lot of my pieces are quite large. I enjoy creating that contradiction with the soft textures and shapes yet aiming for a strong impact in space.

Your light Mozzarella received the 2024 Lighting Design Award at VIVID Emerging Designer Awards. You were also awarded the Judges Choice Award for both Mozzarella and Ripple. Can you tell us about the ideation and creation of these pieces? 

Mozzarella came about as part of a fun experiment. I made a series of little lumpy lamps that were different combinations of all the sizes I have of the ‘bumps’ shades. The large bump combined with the medium just sat beautifully together and so I decided to take the design further.

Mozzarella, by Amy Vidler

My intention was to keep it very low and squat, with the stainless steel base and little round feet almost not in view. It was a bit of a happy accident as it created a form that had this wonderful satisfying surface tension. It makes me think of mozzarella balls being gently squished onto a hard surface with the palm of your hand, almost to the point of bursting, but not quite.

The Ripple lamp was quite a diversion from my usual aesthetic, with the intention of making an object that was as much an artwork as it was a lighting piece. Using a basalt fiber weave (opposed to chopped strand glass matt I normally use) on an undulating surface, it created a wavy effect reminiscent of moonlight rippling on water.

What’s interesting about the surface shape combined with this particular basalt fibre is that it changes its appearance depending on the natural and environmental light that falls across it. In my opinion Ripple is just as interesting to view with the light off or on, and has so many different visual expressions throughout the course of a day and night.

Ripple, by Amy Vidler

What current projects are you working on? What’s next?

Right now on my workbench, I am making a collection of my lamps for a local residential project, and I have a couple of new lamp ideas I’m experimenting with when I have spare time.

Excitingly, I’m also working on a huge spherical light for a retail space in Melbourne. It’s 800mm in diameter, so it has been a really challenging piece in terms of making the mould for it. Many, many pieces of foam were CNC’ed, glued together, sanded and smoothed to make a perfect sphere which I could make a mould from. Now that I have that finished and have laid up the fiberglass to create the shade, I’m in the process of fabricating the brass suspension kit so it can hang from the 5m high ceiling. I’m enjoying the challenge and scale of this project.

Amy Vidler

Why are the VIVID Emerging Designer Awards important for Australian emerging designers?

I think VIVID is a crucial step in any emerging designers’ career, everyone eligible should enter! The talent, innovation and execution of the work entered is incredible, making the competition a worthwhile endeavour for market and general design feedback.

VIVID gives the finalists wonderful exposure to established creatives and design leaders, as well as networking opportunities with peers and industry professionals.

Also, it’s simply a well-established and highly respected Australian awards program run by incredible people from Latitude Group and Decor + Design. I’m extremely grateful to be part of the 2024 program and I’m honoured to take home a couple of awards, thanks for having me!

The future of Australian design is bright. If you’re an emerging designer with less than 5 years in practice, or a design student, the VIVID Emerging Designer Awards is a brilliant way to reach the industry. The 22nd edition will be held at Decor + Design from 16th – 18th July 2025, with entries opening in February. Register your interest now to receive updates on VIVID and the world of interiors.