WIM – Interactive Stroke Therapy, designed by students Jenny Holmsten and Thomas Helmer of Umeå Institute of Design won the Best in Show Award.
“The final results showcase a diverse cross section of high design and everyday products that are thoughtful and well considered.” – IDEA Jury Chair Michael Kahwaji, IDSA, Senior Design Manager at Whirlpool Corp.
(PRWEB) September 20, 2018
On Sept. 19, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) announced the Gold, Silver and Bronze winners of the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) during the IDEA Ceremony at The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, LA. The IDEA competition is one of the world’s most prestigious and rigorous design competitions.
From a field of nearly 1,900 entries, the jury chose 145 winners, 32 of which are Gold winners. A full list of this year’s winners can be found in the IDEA gallery.
IDEA Jury Chair Michael Kahwaji, IDSA, Senior Design Manager at Whirlpool Corp., led nearly three dozen, global design experts in judging categories covering products, experiences, strategies and more. Onsite jurying was held in May at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, MI.
“The final results showcase a diverse cross section of high design and everyday products that are thoughtful and well considered,” commented Kahwaji.
Here are some of the special award winners:
Best in Show Award: WIM – Interactive Stroke Therapy, designed by students Jenny Holmsten and Thomas Helmer of Umeå Institute of Design, is a new type of interactive stroke therapy that empowers and supports a patient’s recovery at home. “This project identified an incredibly important need and developed a meaningful, useful and beautiful solution while allowing the patients to gain back their independence,” stated IDEA 2018 juror Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness, IDSA.
Curator’s Choice Award, chosen by The Henry Ford's Chief Curator and IDEA 2018 Juror Marc Greuther: SNOO, designed by the fuseproject design team and Dr. Harvey Karp of Happiest Baby, is a robotic bassinet that reacts to a baby’s cries and movements, creating the world’s safest crib. “A great product shouldn't make you feel that you are compromising. Often in the category of infant products, parents have to sacrifice aesthetics for safety but SNOO brings both together and gives you an extra focus on convenience,” declared IDEA 2018 juror Jose Gamboa, IDSA.
Jury Chair’s Award, chosen by IDEA 2018 Jury Chair Michael Kahwaji, IDSA: Eargo, designed by Ammunition for Eargo, is a Class I, FDA-regulated hearing device designed for adults who experience mild to moderate hearing loss. “This design truly improves the human condition, making it worthy of IDSA's highest honor,” remarked IDEA 2018 juror Cory Herbst, IDSA.
Plastics Innovation Award, chosen by sponsor Plastics Industry Association (PIA): Eargo – In choosing this Gold winner, PIA said, “The concept of developing a ‘sleekly designed’ hearing aid targeting younger adults was both interesting and innovative. As the Boomers and Gen-Xers age, this brings a new group to the hearing loss community, and creating a device with their demographics and interests in mind was not only creative, but socially responsible for these generations.”
People’s Choice Award, voted online by the public: TurboTax Visual System Redesign, designed by Intuit Consumer Design Team, developed a completely revolutionized, cohesive system that will purposefully flex along each customer’s unique journey and deliver an innovative experience end to end. “Perfect example of taking a nascent market, analyzing it and applying design methodologies to address broad market needs,” observed IDEA 2018 juror and IDEA 2019 Jury Chair Jon Winebrenner.
The ceremony was followed by the IDEA 2018 Gala, sponsored by Samsung, also at The National WWII Museum. IDEA 2018 winners will be featured in IDSA’s INNOVATION Yearbook of Design Excellence 2018. Congratulate the winners using #IDSAIDEA @IDSA on Twitter; Industrial Designers Society of America on Facebook and LinkedIn; and @IDSAdesign on Instagram.
About IDSA
The nonprofit Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is one of the oldest and largest industrial design associations in the US, representing thousands of members in dozens of Student Chapters, Professional Chapters and Special Interest Sections in the US and internationally. IDSA sponsors the annual International Design Excellence Awards® (IDEA), one of the world’s most prestigious and rigorous design competition. The Society leads National Industrial Design Day annually on March 5. IDSA hosts events including the annual International Design Conference, District Design Conferences and niche conferences, bringing together some of the biggest names and brightest minds in industrial design and related fields. Learn more at IDSA.org.