Standards Australia has today launched the 2010 Australian International Design Awards, recognising product design and innovation excellence.

Manufacturers and designers of professionally designed products available for sale in Australia or products professionally designed by Australians for overseas market can now enter the 2010 program and be in the running for Australia’s top design award.

The Australian International Design Awards is the nation’s most prestigious design assessment program, recognising excellence in product design and innovation since 1958. Past winners include the Qantas A380 Economy Seat (2009), Flaik snowsports performance tracker (2008), Ford Territory (2004), and Cochlear Nucleus 24 Contour (2000).

Products are assessed on their individual design merits against a range of criteria including innovation, visual and emotional appeal, functionality, quality and manufacture, human factors and environmental sustainability.

By participating, companies may achieve independent design endorsement, increase their exposure to consumers, potential clients, product manufacturers and design-related businesses as well as gain international recognition and a local marketing edge.

Winners and finalists may receive measurable outcomes including media exposure, print and online promotion, point-of-sale advantage, product exhibition opportunities, market credibility and peer recognition.

“The real benefit in entering the Australian International Design Awards comes from the valuable add-ons applicants are exposed to,” says Stephanie Watson, Program Director of the Australian International Design Awards.

“Not only is your product independently assessed by a panel of Australian and international design experts, we also offer a range of marketing opportunities for all applicants to tap into, including trademark licensing agreements, high profile media opportunities and product exposure.”

For Ian Alexander, Managing Director of Hughie Products, entering the Hughie Sink in the 2009 Design Awards continues to generate positive outcomes. The portable sink earned a Design Mark for good design, and international exposure that money can’t buy.

“We feel as though we have won even though we didn’t actually receive a Design Award,” says Alexander.

“We have received a huge response since the Australian International Design Awards put Hughie Sink on its website,” he says.

“We have been contacted for more information and sales from the United States, Costa Rica, Ireland, Spain, France, The Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates. Information about the Hughie Sink has been posted and translated into at least 20 languages across Europe and Asia. We have been astounded by the response, all of which is good publicity and will hopefully lead to sales or import and export by a distributor.”

The 2010 Australian International Design Awards is now accepting entries across nine categories: Consumer, Business and Technology, Medical and Scientific, Automotive and Transport, Sport and Leisure, Housing and Building, Heavy Machinery, Architectural and Interior Products, and Student.

Entry closes Tuesday 1 December 2009.
Enter online at www.designawards.com.au

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The 50th Anniversary Icsid World Design Congress Sets to Make a “Design Difference” in the Future

Four keynote speakers and nine symposia leaders will invite participants to map out a design vision for the world of 2050

The 50th Anniversary ICSID Congress will be held in Singapore from 23 to 25 November 2009. The congress, subtitled “Design Difference: Designing our World 2050”, will involve participants helping create and debate potential design solutions to some of the key challenges facing the world of tomorrow. The solutions which are developed will have a life beyond the conference, as they will be shared with other design groups and with stakeholders such as governments around the world. Already delegates from 25 countries have confirmed their attendance.

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Six design students from all over Britain have come together to create a product that will help the poorest people on earth.

The Innov8 Design Challenge, which took place at Manchester Metropolitan University, assembled some of the country’s most promising product designers for an intensive week-long workshop.

The event was organised by True Reflections, and run in conjunction with Thare Machi Education (T.M.E), a British charity that produces educational DVDs, teaching the world’s poorest people about topics such as disease prevention, farming and human rights.

The six budding designers, some of whom are recent graduates, were given a simple brief: how can we provide an interactive tool to facilitate engagement with digital approaches to education?

T.M.E Director Steve Clarke: “People in the developing world aren’t familiar with DVD technology like we are in the West. They don’t immediately see a square on a remote control, and recognise that it must mean “stop.”

After a hard but rewarding week, which included talks by experts such as Mark Sims, former Regional Managing Director of Kellogg’s, the group have produced a prototype controller, which has been presented to T.M.E. The charity will now move the product to its next stage, which is mass-production.

True Reflections’ creative director Ben Widdowson was delighted with the outcome of the project.

“The candidates for the innov8 Design Challenge exceeded all expectations and worked incredibly well together to deliver a high quality solution to the client at the end of the week.

“For anyone to design a product from concept to prototype in a week is an extremely difficult challenge, but I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we all took something valuable from the experience.”

Steve Clarke of T.M.E:
 “We were delighted to collaborate with True Reflections through the Innov8 Design Challenge, it was a rare example of talented people, an academic institution, and an innovative young company coming together to bring beneficial change. This is all the more significant when the target beneficiaries are amongst the world’s poorest people.

“I am really pleased with the final proposed design, it is comfortable to hold, and looks really distinctive. We are going to look at inviting sponsorship from interested companies to cover the tooling costs for large scale production.  As the electronics can be adapted to instruct any make of DVD player I can imagine this design becoming recognisable in many countries around the world. We are also considering possible commercial applications with a view to raising funds for the charity”

As well wanting to design a product for the developing world, True Reflections were very keen to give the students work experience which will stand out on a C.V. Dan Taylor, who recently achieved a first from Sheffield Hallam, felt he benefited from the project: “The work we did is sure to appear in my portfolio and I believe that it will provide that cutting edge over many other job applicants"

For further information on Innov8, and photos of the project,  call Ben Widdowson, on 0844 556 0841, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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So you just graduated this past spring, and now you’re looking for a job as an industrial designer. Times are tough, but you’re pretty confident in your work. You wish you had some connections, but the couple internships under your belt will only get you so far. First things first, you’ve got to build up your network. So you designed a “sweet” logo, started a new blog and twitter account, and bought a great new pair of glasses to interview in. You’re all set, right? Think again. Most of your peers are doing the same things, and your best chance to make a good impression is to stand out from the crowd. Here are five popular methods of self-promotion that I challenge young designers to reconsider.

Don’t Design A Logo

…Especially one that uses your initials. I’m not sure why we do this, but industrial designers feel a strong need to brand themselves with a logo, and they typically involve our initials in some sort of ligature. Because the majority of us aren’t good graphic designers, these logos typically fail to make the impression we’re hoping for on our websites and portfolio covers.

Instead, borrow a page from the 2D design playbook: type your name in a simple, classic font and let your work speaking for itself (like here, here, or here). Now that you’ve saved yourself a few hours or more, why not do something more productive for your portfolio? Enter a design competition, back sketch one of your old projects to make it more current, or learn a new piece of software. Whatever you do, make sure you’re investing your time towards something that helps you be a better industrial designer.

Don’t Write A Blog

Photocredit: Andy Piper

Last time I checked, designers spend most of their time drawing and visualizing ideas, not writing about them. There are plenty of good reasons to start writing about design, but before you do, ask yourself why it matters to you. Blogging is popular and easy, but unless you’re a writer (and most designers aren’t), you can probably find some better way to promote yourself or refine your point of view.

Spencer Nugent, co-founder of IDsketching.com, offers this advice. "Think of something unique you can bring to the table. One of our most unique and popular posts was on microwaving prismacolor pencils to keep them from breaking. That post alone brought over 10,000 new visitors to the site. Stick to your guns and be prepared to defend your point of view. You're putting yourself out there for EVERYONE to see. Not everyone will agree with you, so you have to be prepared to stick to what you believe in.”

If you do decide to write a blog, “post about topics, not yourself,” says Nugent. “We try to post things that people will find interesting. Sometimes we post about ourselves, but we try not to. Again, pick a theme, or concept for your blog and stick to it. Your blog is a design project too!"

Don’t Follow Me on Twitter

Twitter has exploded over the last year, so it isn’t a surprise that you’re on it, searching for the best designers to follow. Don’t rely on Twitter to make meaningful connections, because you’ll just be one in a hundred people following me. I’m not even that popular. Follow reBang and you’ll be one in a thousand. When you have this many followers, receiving messages can be more of a nuisance that anything else, and that’s not the impression you’re after.

Instead, consider commenting on my blog. More specifically, ask me a thoughtful question. It shows that you take the time to read the content and engage in a conversation that isn’t ruled by abbreviations and a specific number of characters. Even better, get me to follow you or do some fantastic design work deserving of a blog post! Remember, social media tools help you network with people, they won’t do it for you.

Stop Wearing Pumas

Photo Credit: Scott Schuman

I can spot a young industrial designer from 100 yards away. Here’s the look, top to bottom: Eccentric eyewear (optional), simple graphic tee, bold watch and/or belt, relatively dark denim, and Pumas in a bold colorway. Don’t get my wrong, Puma makes some great products and I’m really just picking on them as an example. There are a few other designer stereotypes, one of which probably comes to mind for you. I don’t like the way designers so quickly adopt their own stereotype. We tell our clients to differentiate themselves, but we can barely do it ourselves!

We lose credibility when we can’t walk the talk. What we wear says a lot about who we are. Let’s be designers, but be ourselves too. If you don’t care about fashion then your work can speak for you. If you’re one of those people, you should at least consider buying a pair of tailored, non-pleated pants.

Stop Saving the World

Photocredit: http://architecture.myninjaplease.com/

…Unless you actually are. Designers have identified that their skills can help people beyond the mass markets of the first world, but we’re far from making a big impact on our own. The truth is, some designers like talking about making a difference more than they like actually doing it. Raising awareness is only a small first step towards fixing one of the world’s many problems. If you really want to make a difference, think about volunteering at a soup kitchen…or moving to India.

Ramsey Ford is an industrial designer who recently took on this challenge by moving to India and starting the non-profit Design Impact. "Last year, I attended the ‘Design for a Better World’ conference at RISD. What struck me most about the conference was that the common thread was not design, but entrepreneurship. The mantra for the weekend seemed to be, 'shut up and do it'." Ramsey plans to make a real difference by gaining empathy for India’s true design needs. Admittedly, this is pretty bold, but what have you done lately to design a better future?

I hope this article challenges you to reconsider some of the more popular methods for creating a personal brand. Before you pour hours of work into any project, think about your key strengths and what makes you stand out. Choose projects that will help show those off. After that, if doing some of these things still makes sense, then go for it. But seriously, don’t design a logo, especially one with your initials.

About the author: Michael Roller is senior industrial designer at Kaleidoscope, where he leads award-winning design efforts on a range of consumer products. As adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati's College of DAAP, Michael mentors industrial design students through the Design Communication course. Focused on understanding the dynamics of design within business, he writes about this overlap at the aptly named blog Strategic Aesthetics.

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