Successful Xiamen International Design Week
From 29 October until 1 November 2016, Red Dot brought the world of design to the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Center in China. For the fifth time in a row, Red Dot was the major partner and trade fair organiser of the Xiamen International Design Week (XIDW). With an exhibition area of 12,000 square meters, the fair focused on the curation topic of international design awards, being one of the largest-scale design week events in the Asia-Pacific region. This year, Red Dot again presented a selection of current Red Dot awarded products and communication designs in its booth. Also various Red Dot winners from all around the world were on site to present their design studios and companies to the visitors at their own booths. In the frame of the fair, Red Dot also provided the Red Dot Academy which is an academic programme for advanced design studies.
Awarded products on show at the Red Dot booth
At the Red Dot Booth, visitors could see current products, which received a distinction in the Red Dot Design Award. Similar to the exhibition in the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany, people had the opportunity to find out more about good design and could even test and touch many of the exhibits. On show was amongst others the sofa “Uncle Jack” by manufacturer Kartell and designer Philippe Starck. A visitor stated: “What I find very interesting is that the sofa is made of polycarbonate and thus is transparent. It seems to be very light and does not take lot of room visually although it is around two meters long. I could imagine it for my small apartment”.
Another product, which rouse a lot of attention, was the Scooter “Yedoo Wolfer” from the manufacturer Intrea-Piko and the designer Jaroslav Juřica. The jury of the Red Dot Award stated: “The curved aluminium profiles lend this scooter elegance and dynamism. Thanks to its sophisticated concept, it is furthermore highly durable.” A further exhibit was the trampoline “Bellicon Jumping Fitness” which combines the advantages of high-quality trampolines with design. The T-bar is quickly attached and detached, additionally the individual height of the bar can be quickly and easily adjusted. However, it was not only the big products that had all eyes on them, also filigree objects were well attended. The ring series “Cut” by Sally Kiss (KISSdesign) showcases a fascinating geometric design idiom. Inspired by the cutting of diamonds, it is made of stainless steel using advanced industrial laser micromachining technology which requires meticulous planning of the object.
Red Dot winners presented their design achievements
Numerous Red Dot awarded designers and manufacturers presented their design performances during the Xiamen International Design Week 2016. Jacob Jensen Design for example had a booth at the fair. With more than fifty years of insight into innovation, technology, communication and sustainability, the design studio provides total design solutions for clients all over the world. With over 800 products reaching the market, Jacob Jensen Design is among the world’s most highly recognised studios today.
Furthermore, RDD Design Network was on-site, a network design firm based in Austria that showed their specialisation in industrial production, capital goods, corporate design and recycling plants. The company develops functional and highly aesthetic products with a modest nod to the countless international design awards like the Red Dot Award. Also exhibitors from Germany were there, such as Phoenix Design, which is regarded as one of the leading independent product and interface design studios in the world. Consistently oriented towards the user and typical for the brand, in open exchange with interdisciplinary design teams and the clients: that is how Phoenix Design develops products and entire product ranges. Among the products designed by Phoenix Design are e.g. office products, bathroom furniture and sanitary products, computers and robotics, medical technology, luminaire systems, machines, equipment and facility technology as well as entertainment electronics.
Red Dot Academy provided training possibility
Additionally, some Red Dot experts gave lectures at the Red Dot Academy to impart knowledge of how to succeed with good design: The academy was again geared to designers and design managers as well as entrepreneurs and marketing strategists. In the seminars, the participants learned the characteristics of good design by examining best-practice examples. Those insights were dealt with in detail in the lectures and also became part of the final exams. Those who passed the exam received a diploma, which proves their design skills. The lecturers were Hideshi Hamaguchi, Lutz Fügener, Joris Debo and Aart van Bezooijen.
