What Do Kanye and IKEA Have In Common? They’re Both Up for Design of the Year

What do IKEA and Kanye West have in common? No, there’s no official word of a collaboration between the two yet. But both have been nominated for Design of the Year awards, which were announced earlier this week by London’s Design Museum.

For 2017’s Beazley Designs of the Year awards, there are 62 nominations divided amongst the six categories – architecture, digital, fashion, graphics, product and transport.

IKEA snagged the top award for 2016 with its flat pack refugee shelter (though Better Shelter is already getting a redesign because of fire concerns). The Swedish retailer is nominated this year for its wedge dowel, a fitting that allows furniture to snap together in seconds, no tools needed. If you own a LISABO table, you’ve already seen the quicker assembly in action.

In the product category, IKEA is joined by Nimuno Loops, the popular tape that turns any surface into a base for LEGO blocks, and Steelcase’s Westworld-esque Rapid Liquid Printing collaboration with MIT, among others.

Kanye’s Life of Pablo tour merchandise and pop up stores are nominated in the fashion category. 21 separate stores were open for a few days last August and it “was the first simultaneous, global pop-up event, spanning the U.S, Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia,” says Design Museum. Also nominated in the fashion category is the Pussyhat Project and the Nike Pro hijab.

In architecture, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture snags a nomination for Adjaye Associates. The “long-awaited symbol for the African American contribution to the nation’s history and identity” joins projects from Zaha Hadid and OMA in the running for Design of the Year.

Check out all the nominations across the categories over on Dezeen.