Asia - from product piracy to design award

Results and trends of the red dot award: product design 2006

The final decisions in the international and renowned “red dot award: product design 2006” have been made: Out of 2,068 submitted products from 41 nations, a total of 485 have received the renowned “red dot” quality label of design; another 36 have received the red dot: best of the best for highest design quality. The festive presentation of awards will take place on 26 June 2006 in the Essen Opera House, the Aalto Theatre.

“The creative imperative”: The theme of this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland appealed to the gathered leaders in business and politics to react creatively to global challenges – an appeal which applies even more to manufacturing companies that take part in the international competition with their products. “Many companies have been successfully investing in innovation and design for a long time in order to stand out from the competition and to convey their brand values”, explains Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the red dot design award and president of the international design association ICSID. “However, creativity by itself is not enough; the products also have to be of high quality. And it is also the task of design to communicate this quality.” Receiving an award in an internationally renowned design competition such as the “red dot award” is an important indicator whether a product has the potential to be successful on an international scale. The products that have only recently received the “red dot” quality label for their high-quality design in the red dot award: product design 2006 competition show how successful the combination of quality and creativity is.

Competition results
The results of the red dot award: product design 2006 show the growing significance of high-quality design: after 1,857 entries in 2005, this year the competition had a new record high of 2,068 entries from 41 countries. Due to the clearly increased design quality, the international jury awarded the red dot 485 times and 36 products received the red dot: best of the best as the best of their category.

Asia – from product piracy to design award
After Asian companies and designers – apart from Japan – have mostly been in the spotlight in recent years due to so-called product piracy, this region appears to be increasingly developing a design quality of its own. Professor Dr. Peter Zec explains that “entries by Asian companies in the design competition have once again increased clearly. Within the last two years, the number of submitted products has almost quadrupled. This shows that above all global Asian companies are increasingly recognising that in the long run they cannot rely on low prices only. Instead, the quality, the brand development and product culture are becoming increasingly important to create loyal customers in western industrial nations.” Thus, the number of red dots going to Asian companies is rising: 98 products received a distinction in the red dot award: product design 2006, mostly in the product category “Media and home electronics” – whereas just two years ago it was only 33 products. Zec: “This means that western competitors have to prepare for tough times and be even more innovative and creative.”

The jurors’ observations
The jurors were impressed with the overall very high quality standards of the submitted products, which can now be found in all industries. Even in product categories that used to be neglected with regards to design such as Medicine and Life Science as well as in the trades design has become an important as well as essential competition factor.

In traditionally design-oriented industries such as the manufacturing of automobiles or household appliances the influence of design has increased insofar that innovative and partly futuristic forms are created which successfully communicate the high technisation in this field and point the way to the future.

In the field of media and home electronics, however, devices have become so complex that design is not living up to its full potential yet. In this field it is creativity, not technology, which currently sets the limits, according to the jurors. However, design experts expect a large break-through in the near future. Products such as the iPod Nano by Apple or a projector by LG indicate the future direction.
 

The gala: awards presentation on 26 June 2006, 6:00 pm
The award-winners will be honoured at the traditional festive award ceremony in the Essen Aalto Theatre. Like every year, numerous design personalities will meet with prominent figures from politics, sports, media, and entertainment from all around the world and will honour the best of industrial design at this cultural event. At the following Designers’ Night in the red dot design museum award-winners and guests will celebrate together into the early hours.

The special exhibition in the red dot design museum
The award-winning products will be displayed in the special exhibition “Design on stage – winners red dot award: product design 2006” from 27 June to 23 July 2006 in the Essen red dot design museum, which is located on the premises of the “Zeche Zollverein” world cultural heritage site. With more than 1,000 products on more than 4,000 square metres the red dot design museum houses the largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design worldwide.

The red dot design award
With more than 5,000 entries in its categories red dot award: product design, red dot award: communication design, and red dot award: design concept the red dot design award is one of the leading and largest design competitions worldwide. Since 1955, the Essen Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen has annually selected outstanding design quality and paid official tribute to the award-winning products in an exhibition.