red dot exhibition opening in Vienna

Approximately 300 guests from the communication design industry got together on 22 January 2009 at the opening of the two special exhibitions “red dot presents: communication design at its best” and “Strichpunkt presents High Voltage Design” in the designforum of the Vienna Museum Quarter. “We are delighted to open our two special exhibitions, which have already been very successful in the red dot design museum in Essen, Germany, in Vienna today,” said Professor Dr. Peter Zec, head of the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, initiator of the red dot award and Icsid senator, in his opening speech. Alexander Szadeczky-Kardoss, chairman of the designforum, and Bernhard Grabmayr, managing director of Scholdan & Company, a client of Strichpunkt, welcomed the guests at the well-visited exhibition. In co-operation with the Austrian association of designers, designaustria, red dot will present the two special exhibitions in the Vienna designforum until 8 March 2009.

Kirsten Dietz und Jochen Rädeker, the managing directors of the red dot: design agency of the year, the Stuttgart-based Strichpunkt agency, present their special exhibition “High Voltage Design” which presents a cross-section of the company’s 12-year success story. The agency’s continuously outstanding design work inspired red dot in 2008 to annually award the honorary title “red dot: design agency of the year”. As the first design agency worldwide Strichpunkt now carries this title and will pass on the “Stylus” touring cup to the next agency of the year. Since its first participation in the red dot design award in 2001, Strichpunkt has been one of the creative agencies that have received the most accolades internationally and has become the most successful agency of the competition.

Out of 5,885 entries to the red dot award: communication design 2008 only 38 received the “red dot: best of the best” in December. The great interest in young designers was particularly positive, said Professor Dr. Zec. In times when everything had been there before in one form or another, it was a special challenge for young designers to develop innovative ideas and implement these creatively. The special exhibition “red dot presents: communication design at its best” also shows the special award for the best 2008 student work, “Die Weltkarte der Überwachung” (the surveillance map of the world), for which Raul Mandru and Tim Gatzki received the red dot: junior prize.

The Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen has already presented the exhibition “abstract – concrete – award-winning” as part of the collaboration with designaustria in the red dot design museum in Essen, Germany.