Hottest New Designs Unveiled.

DULLES, Va., June 24, 2010 – The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) unveiled the winners of the 2010 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) competition—a celebration of the year’s most inventive and creative product and product concept designs.  This year’s awards were chosen from the following categories:  commercial and industrial products; communication tools; computer equipment; design strategy; ecodesign; entertainment; environments; home living; interactive product experiences; leisure and recreation; medical and scientific products; office and productivity; packaging and graphics; personal accessories; research; service design; student designs and transportation.

This year the competition received the most entries since it began 30 years ago.  Submissions came from 29 countries to include: Australia, Austria, Brazil, Botswana, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States.  Out of 407 finalists, 38 were honored with the Gold award; while 64 received the Silver award and 88 won the Bronze award.

This year’s jury of design experts led by John Barratt, IDSA, president and CEO of Teague, presented “Best in Show” awards to the following products:  Slingbox 700U developed by NewDealDesign LLC and SlingMedia Inc.; Easy Latrine developed by International Development Enterprises (IDE) under funding from USAID and the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP); and Method Laundry Detergent with Smartclean Technology™ developed by Method Products Inc.

“The 2010 IDEA awards represented a fantastic tipping point for design as can be seen from the ‘Best in Show’ winners.  We have three winners: a technology-based digital product, an ecological responsible consumer product and a socially responsible solution to a basic human need.  No result could have more accurately reflected where industrial design finds itself today.  Certainly it would have been a mistake if we had forced a decision to be made between the extremes of what design can contribute to the world as well as to business.  Design works across the spectrum of human needs and issues and can produce excellence at both extremes,” said IDSA’s Chief Executive Clive Roux.

“We’re thrilled to have partnered with IDSA,” says Robert Safian, editor of Fast Company. “In our magazine’s July/August issue and at fastcompany.com, we reveal an inside look at how this year’s winners were chosen, including exclusive video from the judges. What emerges is a snapshot of what’s really important in the design world—the power and inspiration of design innovation and what it can mean for business, for commerce and for our future. “

“Congratulations to all of the IDEA 2010 winners.  Dow Corning is proud to sponsor this year’s IDEA awards, which honors design excellence from around the world.  At Dow Corning we have always encouraged invention and innovation.  In fact innovation is the lifeblood of Dow Corning and design is viewed as an integral part of the process,” said Kevin Shinn, IDSA, industrial design manager, Dow Corning Corporation.

The top corporate winners were Samsung of South Korea claiming five awards with Herman Miller, Microsoft, OXO International claiming four, and Activision, litl LLC and Panasonic Avionic Corporation claiming three.

Among design firms, fuseproject captured 14 awards; while IDEO received 12 awards; Smart Design received six; NewDealDesign LLC and Teague received five; and Ammunition LLC, Artefact and Ziba received four awards.  The Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, Calif., topped this year’s list of college wins with five awards.

The 2010 IDEA jury, made up of 18 world-renowned designers and design thinkers, spent weeks previewing entries online and two-and-a-half days of face-to-face evaluation and debate. Judging criteria focused on eight areas of industrial design excellence: innovation; benefit to the user; benefit to society and natural ecology; benefit to the client; visual appeal and appropriate aesthetics; usability testing, rigor and reliability for the design research category; and internal factors, methods and implementation for the design strategy category.

The sponsors for this year’s awards were Fast Company (media sponsor), Dow Corning, global leader in silicon-based technology and innovation and The Henry Ford.  This is the first year that The Henry Ford will house the IDEA award winners in its permanent collection to enrich the contents as they continue to tell the story of American innovation.

This is the third year for IDEA/Brasil, organized by Objeto Brasil and endorsed by IDSA to spur interest in design from Brazilian corporations as well as to heighten global awareness of Brazil’s rich design heritage.  This year 78 winners were honored.

For detailed descriptions, photos and contact information on this year’s IDEA winners, visit  http://www.idsa.org

About Industrial Designers and IDSA

Industrial Designers create satisfied customers by designing products, interfaces and services that are desirable, accessible, comfortable, ecologically responsible, innovative, safe and easy to use. In this way, industrial designers have a profound presence in almost everything people encounter during their daily lives.

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is the voice of industrial design committed to inspiring design quality and advancing the design profession through education, information, community and advocacy.   Founded in 1965, IDSA is a professional membership organization with more than 2,300 members in 27 chapters in the U.S. and internationally.