You can measure successful products in sales, profits, and even reviewer ratings. But once a year or so, it’s nice to admire works based simply on their ingenuity, artistry, and pure design achievement. That’s why we love annual design competitions. Since 1953, the iF Design Awards have recognized great products, awarding its seal of quality to excellent designs throughout the world.
In 2014, more than a dozen of those awards went to products designed by PTC Creo customers. Check out our gallery of winners, and you’ll see why:
Whirlpool Ares Combo. Winner of the prestigious Gold award, the Ares is a simple but elegant front-load washer/dryer. A unique black bow-tie console integrates all the functions into a slim user interface. The machine “presents an emotional experience by fading-in/out on cycle status,” according to the iF Awards website. This is the fourth iF award for Whirlpool China.
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Kuhn Rikon AG knife sharpener. This good-looking device features a space-saving collapsible design, secure no-slip feet, and a “grip-tight” handle. All critical when consumers work with sharp objects. And like so many great Kuhm kitchen products, it comes in colors! Play the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at Kuhn’s headquarters in Switzerland presented by PTC partner INNEO.
Schneider Electric Miluz. For Latin American consumers who want classy home products, Schneider developed the Miluz. With a good finish and clean design, the Miluz is a line of switches and sockets that are attractive, yet remarkably affordable and easy to install.
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Sonos PLAYBAR™. Immersive hi-fi sound for the TV, the Playbar also streams music through this one easy-to-use player. Designers combined exposed aluminum with high-performance speaker fabric to make this sleek object. And in the spirit of keeping things simple, the design doesn’t need a subwoofer or speaker wire.
DÜRR EcoCCore. The highlight of this industrial cleaning system is its mineral glass housing. Turn on the interior lighting, and the gray glass becomes transparent so you can see what’s going on inside the system. A modular control terminal and intuitive user interface help make this machinery a stand out design.
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Bosch Tassimo VIVY. Soft shapes and clean lines define this tiny one-cup espresso maker. The Tassimo includes several nice to have conveniences, including an easy to refill water tank, a self-cleaning program, and “Intellibrew” technology to ensure every drink is personalized and perfect.
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Kohler Moxie. This award winner is a well-designed wireless speaker that streams your music from a showerhead. You can also undock it use it outside the shower, which would be useful when you’re in the middle of your favorite podcast and the water starts running cold. Watch the video below to see it in action.
Festool EHL 65 EQ. Some of the best woodworkers in the world won’t use anything but Festool. The company specializes in high quality and excellent design, and, not surprisingly, has collected 32 iF awards over the past 11 years. This year’s standout product, the EHL 65, is a one-handed planer with a soft-ribbed grip that weights just 2.4 kg.
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Schunk ROTA-S flex. The ROTA-S is a highly flexible and super light chuck. Well-suited for machining a broad range of workpieces on a mill or turn center, “the ROTA-S combines the proven lathe chuck with extended guideways, reducing deadweight up to 60%” reads the iF Awards page. “Due to the short height of the chuck, there is plenty of space for workpiece and tool.”
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Lenovo Yoga. Lenovo designed the Yoga 8 after studying user’s problems and needs. The company says it redefined the handheld device and rethought the structure. The pad is now more comfortable to hold in one hand. And the cylinder handle works with the integrated stand to make watching videos or conferencing online more convenient than ever.
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Liebherr LH60 Litronic. A special-purpose piece of heavy equipment for material handling, the LH60 Litronic includes design elements such as convex rear panels, a bold fuel tank, and a cubic shape broken up by formal features, such as chamfered lines and trapezoidal ventilation openings. At the same time, its restrained design and unmistakable appearance reflect Liebherr’s high-end manufacturing tradition, according to the iF website.
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Image courtesy of Liebherr.com
Bang and Olufsen BeoPlay H6. “When an object is truly authentic, it blends in and it supports your style,” say the designers at Bang and Olufsen. With the BeoPlay H6, they created a headphone that incorporates leather, aluminum, and memory foam for a product that’s not just ergonomic—it’s also attractive. Of course, they didn’t ignore the sound quality either. Meet the team in the video below.
Volvo Construction Equipment ECR88D. This compact excavator is another example of award-winning large machinery. It’s practical, durable, and easy to clean. But it also has a modern distinct appearance that the iF Awards website says makes it easy to recognize as a Volvo. The design focuses on the driver, making the experience intuitive, safe, and comfortable. Watch the machinery take down some hard-to-reach brush in the video below.
Microsoft xbox One Game Controller. According to the iF Awards website, the Microsoft Xbox One controller increases game play efficiency and precision, with sculpted lines that provide better control for immersive gaming experiences. The Microsoft team says the new controller is the result of tests with hundreds of models and hundreds of hours of gaming, to ensure the device is as comfortable as possible, even hours into marathon gaming sessions. Hear about the tiny changes that led to the big improvements in Microsoft’s award-winning design in the video below.
Ed – Congratulations to these and all our customers who thought of new and more attractive ways to solve design problems in 2014! Has your company won a design or innovation award for a product designed with PTC Creo? Contact us at creo@ptc.com to share the news!
