Results of the red dot award: design concept 2006

The international competition that opens a window to our future has concluded for the year; the final decisions for the red dot award: design concept 2006 have been made.

By its very nature, a design concept competition is more than an identification of the latest innovations; it is a showcase of strong design ideas that goes beyond appearance, beyond aesthetic form. As a result, the jury worked hard to understand the background of each idea, getting into the designers’ minds and exploring each idea to its full potential.

Designers from 40 countries took up the challenge to give their concepts a voice, each bringing their design closer to the coveted affirmation of their talent. The task given to the jury this year was not easy. 478 submissions were received, which the jury noted were of higher quality over last year’s entries, and then pored over each detail before making their final selections.

The result is 72 winners in total; 60 have been awarded the “red dot”, and 12 have been conferred the “red dot: best of the best”.

Receiving an award in an internationally renowned design competition such as the “red dot design award” is a barometer for the future. It is a confident prediction of a design concept’s market viability and what the future will look like.

Jury Observations

This year, there are a number of concepts that address the concerns of changing lifestyle of people in terms of age, capabilities and our changing environment. Strong ideas with simple designs and the importance of the user experience were recurring themes in a number of the concepts submitted this year.

“Universal Toilet” by Mr Kim Changduk and Mr Hong Youngki and “Touch Messenger” by Samsung Design China were 2 designs that focus on the disabled, products that will make it easier for the disabled to be even more independent.

Multi-tasking has been brought to new heights, yet navigation seems to be getting easier with some winning concepts like the “t-pad” by Mr Chua Wunfong, “classic usages” by BenQ Corporation, and “onyx handset prototype” by Pilotfish GmbH.

“Firelator” by D'article, NewProducts and VIQ, integrates with one`s home both technologically and aesthetically, while the fuel cell battery in the “e-book” by LG Electronics is both functional and attractive. Both concepts showcase that green and safe products can be beautiful.

Jury Workshop

The red dot award: design concept competition launched its first “Jury Confessions” discussion with an audience of students and professionals from the design industry in Singapore. The jury shared their experiences from the competition and gave insight into working in the international design scene, whether it was about design as a professional career or managing their own design studios.

The jury also answered a wide range of questions from the audience covering the differences in design between countries to what advice they had for aspiring designers.

Award ceremony and special exhibition

The festive award ceremony will take place on 24 November 2006 at the red dot design museum in Singapore. The award-winning entries will be exhibited in the special exhibition, “International Design Concepts 2006”, at the red dot design museum in Singapore beginning 25 November 2006.

A highlight of the award celebration will be the announcement of the red dot: luminary winner. The red dot: luminary is a special prize given to the best entries of the entire competition, and includes an award of $ 5,000 US.

Nominees for this year’s red dot: luminary are the red dot: best of the best winners for this year:

- FIRELATOR SYSTEM by D'article, NewProducts and VIQ

- Buddy Emergency Kit by Ms Helen Tang Lin from California State University, Long Beach, USA

- universal toilet by Mr Kim Changduk and Mr Hong Youngki from Daejin University, Korea

- Ring Faucet by Ms Lim Sun Liang from National University of Singapore 

- Phoenix by Mr Russell Henning from San Jose State University, USA

- CASCUZ by Mr Alberto Villarreal

- Classic Usages by BenQ Corporation, Lifestyle Design Center

- Tringa by Mr Gerald Wirthenstätter

- £used Energy Consumption Reduction by Mr Jack Godfrey Wood and Mr Fred Chak from Central St. Martins College of Art and Design, UK

- Solar Lampion by Mr Damian O'Sullivan 

- off-snow rescue devices by Newplan Product Design Co.,Ltd.

- e-book by LG Electronics

The red dot design award

With more than 5,000 entries in the 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.

Here you can download the full results.

For more information please contact:

Ms Leong Su Ming

red dot Singapore

Phone +65 6534 7194

Fax +65 6534 7141

Email suming(at)red-dot.sg