PRESS RELEASE [2] Hannover/Munich 22 February 2013 iF product award 2013

Superior design quality becoming evident all around the globe: in the year of their 60th anniversary, the iF design awards received even more entries than in 2012, featuring cultural diversity in all categories of the iF award and focusing especially on wood as a material, a component and a finish, according to the experts.

“An internationally renowned award with entries from 51 countries: the iF design awards 2013 have shown that the iF label as a seal of quality is regarded as one of the most coveted awards by companies and around the world”, said the jury.

Meeting in Hanover towards the end of November, the design experts discussed more than 3,011 entries in 16 categories of the iF product design award. In total, 981 products received the iF label because they were able to win the jury over with their outstanding design quality. The jury selected the top 50 of those to receive the coveted iF gold award for their superior design. Tonight, iF managing director Ralph Wiegmann, who hosted this year’s award ceremony in Munich, presented the winners with their gold iF trophy.

“This year, especially those countries whose design portfolio had not been the center of attention so far, were able to succeed with a broad range of diverse products. For example, Brazil and Turkey: these countries are producing fantastic products with well-considered cultural connotations that won us over with their captivating clarity”, said the jurors. “Also noticeable was the high number of products made of, or using, wood and displaying precise workmanship and . Perhaps wood is the material of our time, something like a statement alluding to our desire for warmth and cosiness.”

The Jury

Alongside jury chair Prof. Fritz Frenkler (f/p design GmbH, Munich/Germany) the jury for the iF product design award 2013 consisted of: Werner Aisslinger (Studio Aisslinger, Berlin/Germany), James Auger (Auger-Loizeau, London/UK), Christoph Böninger (Auerberg Produkte GmbH & Co. KG, Munich/Germany), Angela Carvalho (ncs Design, Rio de Janeiro/Brasil), Donghoon Chang (Samsung Electronics Co LTD, Seoul/South Korea), Franco Clivio (franco clivio, Erlenbach/Switzerland), Christophe de la Fontaine (Christophe de la Fontaine, Luxembourg), E. Sertac Ersayin (Kale Group, Istanbul/Turkey), Sylvia Feichtinger (Nokia UK Ltd., London/UK), Neil Frankel (Frankel & Coleman, Chicago/USA), Torsten Fritze (Studio & Partners s.r.I., Milan/Italy), Yuzo Fukunaga (Brother Industries Ltd., Nagoya/Japan), Francisco Gomez Paz (Francisco Gomez Paz, Milan/Italy), Stefan Grobe (defortec GmbH, Tübingen/Germany), Andreas Haug (Phoenix Design GmbH + Co. KG, Stuttgart/Germany), Henrik Holbæk (Tools Design, Copenhagen/Denmark), Henrik Jeppesen (Attention Design ApS, Copenhagen/Denmark), Andreas Kalweit (University of Wuppertal, School of , Wuppertal/Germany), Franziska Kolwalewski (Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung e.V., Munich/Germany), Jim Kraimer (Crown Gabelstapler GmbH & Co. KG, Munich/Germany), Sam Livingstone (CAR Ltd., Cambridge/UK), Martin Lotti (Nike Inc., Beaverton/USA), Carl Gustav Magnusson (CGM Design LLC, New York/USA), Achim Nagel (Prime site development GmbH, Hamburg/Germany), Oscar Peña (Philips Lighting Design, Eindhoven/Netherlands), Charlotte Sjödell (School of Industrial Design, Lund University, Malmö/Sweden), John Small (Steelcase, Strasbourg/France), Prof. Kilian Stauss (stauss grillmeier partnerschaft, Munich/Germany), Achim Storz (Design Storz GmbH, Zell am See/Austria), Niko von Saurma (BMW Group Designworks USA, Munich/Germany), Markus Wild (WILDDESIGN GmbH & Co. KG, Gelsenkirchen/Germany) and Michael Young (Michael Young Ltd., Hong Kong).

The iF design awards night 2013

For the second time in a row, the iF design awards night took place during Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW), offering both designers and companies exciting insights into the world of design. From 16 to 24 February exhibitions, discussions, guided tours and many more events focusing on important topics related to designers and design are taking place in Munich.

All 2013 iF design award-winning entries will be presented over more than 6,000 square meters of floor during CeBIT in Hanover from 5 to 9 March 2013. From July 2013 all award- winning entries will be presented in digital format in the new permanent exhibition at Hamburg’s HafenCity, with the 75 iF gold awards additionally being presented as original products.

Furthermore, from 22 February 2013, all award-winning entries will also be shown in the iF online exhibition and will be included in the iF ranking: www.ifdesign.de.

At a glance iF product design award 2013 _3,011 Entries _16 Categories • 01. transportation design • 02. leisure / lifestyle • 03. audio / video • 04. telecommunications • 05. computer • 06. office / business • 07. lighting • 08. furniture / home textiles • 09. kitchen / household • 10. bathroom / wellness • 11. buildings • 12. public design / • 13. medicine / health+care • 14. industry / skilled trades • 15. special vehicles / construction / agriculture • 16. research+development / professional concepts _981 iF design awards _50 iF gold awards _iF online exhibition: www.ifdesign.de

Your contact for further information and pictures: iF press office Cologne | Hannover Silke Gehrmann-Becker, Kevin MacArthur and Helena Broustin

Claudia Neumann Communication GmbH Eigelstein 103-113 50668 Cologne/Germany phone: +49 (0)221 913949-0 fax: +49 (0)221 913949-19 [email protected] www.ifdesign.de

For detailed information on MCBW see: www.mcbw.de