red dot awards 2012
Yearly red dot awards, also called "Oscars of design industry", are granted for outstanding achievements in design industry since 1955. "Red dots" dictate trends in industrial design and are an overview of most interesting initiatives in various categories. Awards and distinctions branded with red dot, are given to projects, which are characterized by particular innovativity, effective design and high finish quality. The organiser's headquarters are located in Singapore, and with the 1st place comes a monetary gratification of 5 000 USD.
This year, the competition received a record amount of 4 515 applications – 1 800 manufacturers from 58 countries competed for the first place. The winners of competition's previous editions are such renowned brands as Apple, BMW or Bosch. The red dot design award 2012's jury consisted of 30 experts from various parts of the world, among others such distinguished characters as Hadi Teherani, Ken Okuyama, Vivian Wai-kwan Cheng, Prof. Ken Nah, Prof. Renke He, Dr. Luisa Bocchietto, Wolfgang K. Meyer-Hayoz, Manuel Alvarez Fuentes, Simon Ong, Prof. Stefan Diez, Guto Indio da Costa, Prof. Ben van Berkel, Karen Korellis Reuther, Prof. Rudolf Schricker and Steve Leung. During evaluation the jury had been taking many aspects into consideration, among those were innovativity, functionality, ergonomics, quality and ecology.
Peter Zec – initiator of the award and competition's general director, as well as jury member, commented on this year's edition of red dot design: The best products in each category have met this year with not only strong competition, but also jury's critical eye. Experts have inspected, tested and evaluated every single project particularly thoroughly, while following the highest standards. With their achievements, the awarded have proved not only uniqueness of design, but also the fact, that the design has become an integral part of innovative solutions.
"Red dots" for Poles
The award for best product, red dot: best of best, was received by an oven fur Amica Zen furnishing, designed by a studio from Katowice, Code architecture&design Sp. z o.o. Apart from that red dots have been awarded to four other Polish products: reception counter Zig-Zag (design: studio InDesign), WOODI conference chair, Bisk brand Futura collection in bathroom accessories, shower sets and faucets category (design: Colorofon), as well as Thin – a leg switch for medical products. Additionally, two products – Ieda table lamp (design: Jeremi Nagrabecki) and blow sofa (design: Malafor) received honorable mentions.
Cosmic counter for elegant reception
Innovatory projects or reception desks enjoy popularity on the whole world. That's why it is particularly pleasing, that the Red dot product design award 2012 went to Zig-Zag counter.
Zig-Zag is characterised by economy of resources and effective colour. Long, rectangular piece of furniture with angular corners has a simple shape and light structure. The metal framework has been filled with glass. Through the use of bevels and varying width of the lines criss-crossing the counter, the product is distinguished by a particular elegance. The combination of sharp, gray corners with milky glass which, depending on lighting, can be given various colors, grants the counter a particularly effective look in thriftily arranged rooms with large area. The counter presents itself excellently on a lustrous flooring.
This exclusive product has been designed and created by a skilled architect Zbigniew Kostrzewa, the owner of In Design studio. Among the company's clients there is no shortage of known brands such as Canal+, HBO or Mc Kinsley. The counter has been manufactured by Fabryka Mebli Biurowych MDD, a leader in production of reception desks, who has been supplying the market with office furniture for years.
- Thousands of companies want to receive the red dot every year. We've received the red dot for the first time. But I believe that it is only the beginning of our run of luck and the new products which we will soon introduce to the market will reach the peak of our dreams, which is the red dot best of best distinction – said Jarosław Dąbrowski, President of MDD.
President's chair in the spirit of old days
Woodi chair in the concept of Anna Vonhausen, Creative Director at Sitag Formy Siedzenia, has gotten the company its third red dot. Designed in Poland, the product has repeated the success of Volder Eysing's Sitagego chair from 2010, inspired by layer construction of sport shoes, and of Ula Witzig's Sitagwave chair from 2009, which reacted to the movements of a person sitting on it. This year's victor alludes with its design and material to Arne Jacobsen's classic. Square shape, outlined by a thin plywood construction, gives multiple options for finish and upholstery. By maneuvering with colours and chair's filling, it is possible to adjust the furniture both to an office with a classic design, and to modern rooms serving various purposes.
Red dot design museum in Singapore
The works awarded in red dot design contest can be seen in two grand museums – one located in Singapore, the other at our western neighbours. The museum in Lion's City has the largest in all of Asia collection of modern design and attracts around 30 000 visitors a year. Its main attraction is the collection of two hundred products awarded with red dot, presented on 1 400 sq m together with other discoveries of modern design.
Essen red dot design museum
The second branch of red dot design museum is larger, having 4 000 sq m and, together with structures such as the Ruhr Museum, making up a huge cultural complex, created on the grounds of a post industrial Zollverein mine in Essen ( by the way, the board of Zollverein foundation includes a Pole). Interactive museum, in which 1 500 modern projects have been arranged, attracts 140 000 visitors every year. Red dot design museum's outpost has been planned in a way, so that the awarded works could be seen from various levels and perspectives. All exhibits, apart from the small ones, are within arm's reach and can be touched, while some of them, like the pulse mattress, can be tried out as well.
To summarize Poland's successes in red dot design contest this year, one has to say, that industrial design is our fellow countrymen's strong point. Often under-appreciated in their own country, Polish designers achieve great success abroad and are a group highly sought after by international employers. Without them, office equipment would have been much poorer.