The Red Dot Design Award is an international award granted by Design Zentrum Nordhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. It is one of the most prestigious competitions in the world of design – considered a determinant of the highest quality and innovation. Both designers and manufacturers who want to distinguish their business activities through top-class design dream to receive the Red Dot. Projects – chosen on the basis of selection and presentation – are assessed by an expert jury in three areas:
- product design
- communication design
- design concepts.
Categories in the competition
Each member of the jury independently tests and evaluates the submitted items. The jury consists of as many as 50 experts from around the world. During the assessment, they take into account a variety of criteria.
In the category of product design special attention is
- paid to the degree of innovation
- ergonomics
- durability
- functionality
- and ecology.
In the case of communication design the award is given to:
- image campaigns
- packaging designs
- books
- brochures
- leaflets
- posters
- advertising illustrations, etc.
In the process of their evaluation, the jury takes into account vision and values, design and communication, and identity, as well as their clarity and emotional message.
In the competition for the best design concepts the jury assesses the degree of innovation and the aesthetics of the concept, service or product.
They also takes into account whether the project has a chance to become a finished product within 5 years or whether it can be successfully introduced to the market within a year.
The Red Dot background
The history of the award goes back to 1955, when – on the initiative of the Verein Industrieform, association – the first annual design competition was launched. The organisation was established on the initiative of the Krupp brand, the aim of which was to make products more attractive, modernised and adapted to the new post-war reality. This event was also accompanied by an exhibition that attracted global interest and served as a determinant of new trends in the field of design.
In the 1990s Verein Industrieform changed its name to Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen. Together with the new corporate design, the board of the association – headed by Prof. PhD Peter Zec – was also appointed. The creation of the Red Dot Award, as it is recognised today, was on his initiative.
More than an award
Design Oscars are not only awards and an institute, but also museums and a prestigious publishing house. The exhibitions, where the winning designs can be found, are locatedin Essen,in the building ofthe former Zollverein mine, as well as as in Singapore and Xiamen. A Red Dot Edition is responsible for publishing books on design and lifestyle, monographs of creators and compendiums of knowledge, as well as the annual Red Dot Design Award and Design Diary.
In this year’s Red Dot Desing Award Lena Lighting luminaires have been awarded two red dots.. The awarded luminaires included: Sizzano oraz UV-C Sterilon Flow Premium. Both projects were created by Jakub Zarzyński – a young, talented artist from Poznań.
The products were appreciated for: high-class desig, timeless aesthetics and energy-saving technologies, being a response to the dynamically changing reality.