3rd December 2021

22 for 2022: Zetteler’s shortlist of the designers, makers and thinkers to watch in the year ahead

The creative world is teeming with talent and vision; brilliant, driven people who are dedicating their careers not just to raising their profile, but to making a meaningful positive difference.

We’re lucky to work across a huge variety of disciplines, to meet and work with a broad and inspiring range of people, working in all sorts of sectors – from frontline creatives to the change-makers behind the scenes. It’s a genuine joy when your actual job is to seek out and connect with interesting people.

Below are 22 individuals who are giving us goosebumps right now. Whether they’re reshaping our cities or transforming the fashion industry, producing amazing ceramic art or, almost literally, shooting for the moon, these are the people we think you should have on your radar, because they are most definitely on ours.

Shawn Adams

Shawn Adams – next-generation change maker

Shawn is an architectural designer interested in building communities over buildings. Even though he only completed his Master’s last year, he has already established himself as a significant industry voice, sharing his thoughts with the likes of Wallpaper*, FRAME, The Architects' Journal, ICON, Disegno, VICE, and OnOffice. Named a Rising Star by the RIBA Journal, he currently teaches BA Architecture at Central St Martins. Shawn’s determination to empower younger generations animates all his work – perhaps most explicitly through the POoR Collective (Power Out of Restriction), a social enterprise he co-founded that works to inspire young people, using design to connect and strengthen communities.

Jayden Ali

Jayden Ali – city shaper

If you follow the architecture press, you’ll almost certainly have come across Jayden Ali and the interdisciplinary practice he founded, JA Projects. Named one of the 40 under 40 by Architects’ Journal in 2020, Jayden works at the meeting point of architecture, urban planning and art, focusing on public projects that strengthen communities and benefit society. Right now, he’s part of the team working on the £8 billion Thamesmead Waterfront development, a joint venture between Lendlease and Peabody – the same housing association that provided the home in which Jayden grew up. As well as playing a key role in one of the biggest community-building exercises in London, Jayden is a senior lecturer on Central Saint Martins’ MArch Architecture course, a trustee of Open City/Open House, an advisor to city-making research centre Theatrum Mundi and a columnist at Elephant Magazine.

Nelly Ben Hayoun

Nelly Ben Hayoun – polymath and powerhouse

If you’re ever in the mood for a wild ride, read Nelly Ben Hayoun’s Wikipedia page. Nelly can be called an artist, a filmmaker, an experience designer, but the truth is she’s an uncategorisable creative force. Among her diverse, improbable and unfailingly impressive achievements are the establishment of the University of the Underground, the foundation of NASA’s International Space Orchestra, and collaborations with the likes of Noam Chomsky, Pussy Riot, Massive Attack and Kid Cudi. In 2022, Nelly launches the Tour De Moon – a lunar-inspired cavalcade of creativity encompassing live events and immersive experiences all across the country.

Simone Brewster

Simone Brewster – Renaissance creative

Simone makes this list for two reasons: 1) She’s a multitalented artist and designer whose work always has a statement to make, and 2) She has the most soothing voice we have ever heard. She has an architecture degree from the Bartlett – and you can see it in her work. Whether it’s sculptural furniture, large-scale jewellery pieces, and paintings inspired by the human body, Simone’s designs exhibit an extraordinary command of form and proportion. Using architectural principles to examine the relationships between form and texture with memory and emotion, Simone explores what she calls ‘intimate architectures’, fusing the European aesthetic tradition with her own Caribbean heritage in the process. If her work seems familiar, that might be because you’ve seen it at Collect in the Somerset House, on tour internationally with Crafts Council UK, or in this year’s Royal Academy exhibition – and we’ll wager you will see her at a host of high-profile shows next year too.

Lubna Chowdhary

Lubna Chowdhary – boundary-breaking ceramic artist

Lubna needs no introduction. The ceramic artist has been at the top of her game for a long time, producing an always-extraordinary body of work that occupies a unique space between architecture, sculpture, painting and craft. In Lubna’s hands, clay becomes a platform for cross-cultural exploration, informed by her own heritage as an Asian Muslim born in Tanzania and working in London. Zetteler met Lubna in person during her 2017 residency at the V&A, where she was researching colonial period furniture, and has continued to eagerly follow her career ever since. In the last 12 months, among many other achievements, Lubna unveiled the glorious tile installation Interstice at 100 Liverpool Street in London; opened her solo show, Code Switch, at Jhaveri Contemporary in Mumbai and most recently Erratics at PEER gallery in Hoxton – which included wooden sculptures inspired by her V&A residency. 2022 looks set to be just as prolific, if not more so, we’re excited.

Reuben Christian

Reuben Christian – dreamweaver

Reuben is a category-defying combination of coach, comedian, speaker, podcaster, performing artist and the most unfalteringly positive person we’ve ever met. His animating passion (and superpower) is helping young people understand, recognise and act on their potential to shape their futures. It is this drive that inspired him to found Dream Rehab, a workshop programme designed to help participants achieve their goals through collaboration and mutual support from diverse perspectives. As well as ‘edutaining’ individuals, Reuben shares his insight and optimism with a range of forward-thinking organisations including Samsung, BBC, VICE, Channel 4 and TED, and co-hosts the podcast What Is This Behaviour?, sharing the stories of South-Asian trailblazers defying convention.

Morgan Clement

Morgan Clement – Mr Nice Guy

It has been said that if everyone likes you, then you can’t be doing anything interesting. Morgan is living proof that that’s cobblers. He is, quite apart from being a brilliant creative producer and director, the most charismatic, friendly and downright lovely person you’re likely to come across. And, if you’ve watched an advert or a music video – or participated in contemporary culture in any way in the last few years – chances are you’ve come across him. Morgan is the co-founder of award-laden production company Object & Animal, where he concentrates on evolving a diverse stable of distinct directorial voices and creating culturally resonant projects for a roster of artists, like FKA Twigs and a new director we can’t get enough of, India Sleem. On top of that, Morgan’s also the co-creator of the cult queer club night Chapter 10, which is beyond brilliant, get involved.

Mac Collins

Mac Collins – the hardest-working man in design

2021 has been a massive year for this rising design superstar – and 2022 looks likely to follow suit. Mac Collins hit the Zetteler radar at the New Designers showcase in 2018, when his astonishing Ilkwa chair became the star of every press release we issued – and that was before it won the show's Belmond Award and then, later, the inaugural Cræftiga prize. In the three years since then, Mac has not stopped. 2021 saw him produce the Jupiter Chair for The New Craftsmen; add a beautiful pine bowl to the launch line-up of Finnish brand Vaarnii; join the Design Can steering committee; bag himself a London Design Medal; and see his Concur lounge set for Wallpaper* and AHEC’s Discovered show, now inducted into the Design Museum’s permanent collection. In a world of hype, Mac’s the real deal.

Leanne Elliott-Young

Leanne Elliott-Young – fashion futurist

Leanne is someone whose presence in a room changes it fundamentally, a force of nature, a rainstorm in the desert, a firework display at a monastery. As CEO and co-founder of Institute of Digital Fashion, she both embodies and subverts every cliché associated with the fashion world, and has dedicated her career to transforming the industry from within. Leanne founded the IoDF with the aim of entrenching more democratic and sustainable tech development and digital usage in the fashion sector. Working at the heart of an uncharted territory, Leanne straddles multiple worlds – tech, fashion and sustainability – and has become a global authority on topics such as digital futures, the metaverse, NFTs and other concepts that make our brains hurt.

Tara Gbolade

Tara Gbolade – eco architect

A RIBAJ Rising Star winner and a founder member of Paradigm – the network supporting Black and Asian representation in the built-environment sector – Tara is the founder of Gbolade Design Studio, one of the wave of bold, value-led emerging London architecture practices re-energising the industry with their emphasis on sustainable design and planning policy. As an architect, Tara designs to Passivhaus principles of energy efficient construction, and sits on the steering committee of Architects Declare, a network of practices dedicated to addressing climate and biodiversity crises. Her sustainability expertise has earned her a role on design-review panels advising local authorities on major planning applications – including leading the sustainability strategy for the new Harlow & Gilston Garden Town. We came to know of Tara through Sound Advice – and through her brilliant personal essay/letter to her younger self ‘Do Not Forget Your Power’ in Now You Know.

Fiona Ginnett

Fiona Ginnett – kitchen revolutionary

It takes a phenomenal amount of courage to be the first in your industry to stick your head over the parapet and call for sweeping, sector-wide change, but that’s precisely what Fi did this year with HØLTE. Immersed in the world of fashion design for the first six years of her career, Fi pivoted into design via the world of architecture, founding kitchen brand HØLTE with her partner Tom in 2019. Fi’s fashion-honed creative eye and studio-management experience proved invaluable in taking HØLTE from ambitious start-up into a sector leader, and this year they stirred things up even more by assessing and publishing the carbon emissions data of every single component they produce in a bid to make their clients – and industry peers – think more deeply about the climate impact of kitchen renovation. Truly a trailblazer.

Joseph Henry

Joseph Henry – urban space man

Unfailingly impressive as a thinker, event host and human, Joseph is a designer and urbanist using his powers to improve the world. As a public servant within the Greater London Authority, Joseph is committed to delivering a progressive model of urban development that addresses expanding populations while benefiting communities, society at large and the environment. This drive also inspires his work as co-host of Sound Advice (alongside Pooja Agrawal), the brilliant campaigning platform exploring and addressing spatial inequality in the built environment – through a head-popping cocktail of polemic and music. Somewhat surprisingly, he is also a board director at the Russell Maliphant Dance Company.

Julia Jomaa

Julia Jomaa – smooth operator

If you’ve admired one of Studio Walala’s massive urban artworks or landmark installations over the years then you should know that it’s not just Camille’s creative genius you’re appreciating – it’s also Julia’s artistic and operational expertise. An integral part of Camille’s life and work since they met during the creation of the breakthrough Dream Come True building in Shoreditch in 2015, former set designer Julia is now the co-director of Studio Walala, taking charge of the project-management and delivery of their commissions around the world. As their neighbours, we get to see Julia at work all the time, and she is a genuine daily inspiration. Now, her talent for understanding how the tiniest details work together with shaping the big picture is extending into a new project, bringing together art, design and community with Julia’s exceptional skills as a cook, fermenter, forager and host. We’re excited.

Lara Kinneir

Lara Kinneir – inter-sector connector

The work of design strategist Lara Kinneir is rooted in the understanding that connections and relationships between diverse stakeholders, from all levels of society, are essential to design interventions that improve life for people and planet. Her career has seen her slip smoothly between sectors, stepping from architecture and urban design to local government, academia and charity, bringing with her the capacity of design thinking to make positive change. Recently, she co-founded the interdisciplinary design office KINN, which works across industries to identify opportunities for positive change. Alongside, she serves as director of LSA Lab at the London School of Architecture, where she focuses on experimentation, analysis and innovation in education and across the industry. In short, if you’re interested in the power of interdisciplinary conversations and cross-sector relationships, Lara's the first person you call.

Kwangho Lee

Kwangho Lee – material innovator

The only person on this list we haven’t actually met in person (and we hope to change that asap), Kwangho Lee is an artist and designer based in Seoul. In the 15 years since he graduated with a degree in metal art and design from Hongik University, he has become one of the leading makers in South Korea, renowned for his unusual material choices (found objects, polystyrene, knitted plastic, etc) and inventive approach. We first spotted his work on Instagram through the curatorial platform sayhito_, then had the pleasure of working alongside him with the launch of Vaarnii earlier this year, for whom he designed the beautifully geometric AA Bench in pine. The bench typifies Lee’s fascination with joints and connections between materials, which is what keeps his practice evolving and ensures he always has something interesting up his sleeve.

Tom Lindow

Tom Lindow – artist inventor

Some people are eager to thrust themselves into the limelight; others quietly get on with the business of being a genius. Tom’s one of the latter. An artist and fabricator with a passion for materiality, Tom began his career in Scotland working in theatre and TV as a model maker before moving to London, where he brought his artistic expertise to Damien Hirst’s studio, Science, alongside Jake & Dinos Chapman and Paul Fryer. In the years since, he has carved out a reputation as a consummate problem-solver – the person you go to when you hit a seemingly insurmountable practical challenge. This gift for thinking around corners is what led Tom to invent NewBond – an aluminium-based surface material offering artists the distinctive beauty and tactility of paper combined with the permanence and durability of canvas – an archive-quality medium that elevates typically fragile artworks on paper to a gallery-ready standard. NewBond has already been embraced by a host of artists, including Idris Khan and Hugo Wilson, and Tom has plans to expand its possibilities further still in 2022, so watch this space.

Jonah Luswata – architectural designer and artist

In September, Ugandan designer Jonah Luswata unveiled his ingenious and beautiful reinterpretation of a Victorian moonlight tower for Brompton Design District – one of AHEC’s Designposts for LDF. Working on the project, we got to witness Jonah’s sheer drive and enthusiasm first hand. He has worked at Peter Barber Architects since 2016; was named one of RIBA’s next generation of Black architects in 2018; has worked on socially and environmentally minded buildings in both the UK and Uganda; and has just launched his own series of sculptures inspired by traditional African pottery. We can't wait to see what he does next...

Bisila Noha

Bisila Noha – maker, manager, activist

Bisila is what happens when you get talent and integrity in perfect balance. Based in London, the Spanish ceramic artist is not only a brilliant craft talent, she’s also a powerful force for positive change. Bisila is a co-director of arts and activism organisation Lon-art Creative, a collaborative platform for the exploration of social issues through arts; the project manager behind London’s newly opened pop-up LGBTQ+ community centre; AND the part time project manager for Design Can (and its only paid employee) – which means we get the joy of working with her every week. Through her artwork, Bisila challenges capitalist value systems and Western assumptions about art and craft – check out her sublime sculptural pieces at Body Vessel Clay exhibition at Two Temple Place, which opens on 29 January. Bisila will also show her work with Thrown Gallery in February at Collect.

Danielle Pender

Danielle Pender – woman wonder

We’ve been fans of Riposte – the smart, independent women’s print mag and online platform – since the first issue, which means we’ve also been fans of its editor, the altogether brilliant writer and speaker Danielle Pender for years. As well as the magazine (which, although it sits under the ‘women’s interest’ label, is an essential read by anyone), Danielle runs the Riposte Studio, which handles creative collaborations with major brands. Although 2020 put a spanner in the Riposte machine, Danielle continued to push forward, curating the English culture exhibition England Your England at Coal Drops Yard in September 2021; reviving Riposte for issue #13 (out now), and writing her first book of short stories. Watching Women & Girls will be published by HarperCollins in May 2022, and you will have to fight us to the front of the queue.

Wei Prior

Wei Prior – graphic content

We first encountered Wei Prior as one of the design trio Not Flat 3 – architects of Design Can’s graphic identity. Despite graduating only in 2018, the artist, graphic designer and writer has accomplished a phenomenal amount – including three seasons of visual campaigns for Paul Smith as well as projects with the likes of Puma, Kali Uchis and FKA Twigs. Today, he’s the director of his own studio, ChaChaanTeng, where he helms a team of five designers working on anything from animation and branding to photography and web design, while being sure to make time for pro bono work and self-initiated projects. Central to Wei’s practice is a belief in design as a tool to build communities – and we cannot wait to see the new and imaginative ways he’ll bring that belief to life in the coming year.

Alex Tieghi-Walker

Alex Tieghi-Walker – creative with time

A few years back, when we were out in California making a film with Monotype and Google, we called in to see old friend Alex at his home, back then, in Berkeley, Northern California. Within 24 hours, we’d swum in the sea, visited what felt like a desert, topped a mountain (by car) and slept in a vineyard. That gives you some idea quite how much Alex gets into his day – the man has a talent for bending time. A creative director who has worked with the likes of NOWNESS, Wallpaper* and The California Sunday Magazine, Alex left London for the US in 2016 to set up a creative-residency programme at a Sonoma winery, and has been based in the state ever since. Now based in Los Angeles, the most recent feather in his cap is Tiwa Select – Alex’s gallery celebrating self-taught artists and traditional makers. Championing the beauty of the handmade over the mass-produced, the platform is now in its second year and going from strength to strength.

Yosuke Ushigome

Yosuke Ushigome – transition technologist

Yosuke is one of those people you look forward to having meetings with, because you know your mind will be spinning for hours afterwards. Winner of the 2018 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award, he is the director and creative technologist of Takram – the design innovation studio with bases in Tokyo, London, New York and Shanghai – and an insightful and charismatic thinker, writer and speaker on the intersection of tech, design and society. Yosuke's sweet spot is futures research – specifically based on the concept of transition design – designing for the process of change itself, rather than solely for its outcome – which he believes can help us make better-informed decisions about our shared future.