Paula Dib
International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year 2006
http://www.transformadesign.com.br

Paula Dib is a Designer and Consultant, and develops the research, creation and production of products together with handcrafting communities in different areas throughout the Brazilian Territory. Ceramics, modelling, textiles and weaving, and other techniques, often inherited by the craftsmen from parent to child for generations, become renewed and refreshed with the interference of the Designer, without losing, though, its intrinsic cultural and regional characteristics.

By suggesting the introduction of new colours, forms, uses and prime-materials, Paula tries to discover and bring forth the best of each craftsman's knowledge and heart, while stimulating the people's self-esteem and the value they give to their culture. The objective is to enhance the product's quality, creatively transforming it into a marketable product that can improve the income and the quality of life of the group. Paula Dib has always been focused on developing projects involving design, society, and nature. She has held exhibitions, oriented impoverished communities in the metropolitan area of Sao Paulo - Brazil, acted as a designer consultant on traditional handcrafts for the SEBRAE (Brazilian federal organization for business development), and worked on several projects for economical development of handcraft communities throughout Brazil. In 2006 she was named as the winner of the British Council 'International Young Design Entrepreneur of the Year' (IYDEY) award.