Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018 – Fair adjudication of the products live and on site
The regular registration phase for the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018 is well under way: Manufacturers and designers can enter their best products at the regular rate up until 16 January 2018. “Latecomers” still have until 9 February to register. After submission for the competition is complete, the next step is to prepare the products for the competition and to send them, as each object must be made available in the original form for the adjudication process. After that, it will be up to the international jury to judge the design quality of the entries. In March 2018, the jury members will convene for an adjudication process spanning several days in order to test and assess the products.
International experts assess original entries
The heart of the Red Dot Award: Product Design is its jury. Recognised experts from all over the world ensure the high quality standards of the competition and thus the reputation of the Red Dot label thanks to their specialist knowledge. As one of the world’s largest design competitions, the Red Dot Award guarantees a fair and independent assessment. All jury members are bound by the Code of Honour, which states that they cannot take part in the evaluation of a product if they were involved in its production process. In addition, no jury member is permitted to be employed by a manufacturing industrial firm. This prevents them from judging their own achievements or the achievements of direct competitors.
There is one special aspect to the judging process: Each product is submitted as a functioning original, and the experts can handle it and try it out. This is an important basis for the evaluation process, as photos and presentation boards alone do not provide certainty of a product’s design quality. The touch and feel of an object, which encompasses factors such as the materiality, the finish and the surface structure, play an equally important role. Functionality, too, can only be appreciated when the original product is made available.
This is why it is important, for example, to deliver technical entries together with accessories such as remote controls, chargers and adaptors so that they can be connected to the power network. Objects in the Lighting and lamps category must be fitted with installation devices, while vehicles must be registered and insured, as the jury will drive them. Exceptions are made for entries in the Interior design category and for particularly large products, like ships or machines. In this case, the jury will assess the products using photos and films.
Correct presentation of the products
An effective presentation of the product that fills the jury members with enthusiasm, and in a best-case scenario wins them over, is especially important. This is why entrants can submit product displays, presentation charts, brief description texts, images or a video in addition to the original product in order to give the jury a comprehensive impression of the product.
Registration still possible until 9 February
Designers and manufacturers from all over the globe whose products are manufactured using an industrial production process have the opportunity to enter their products in the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018 at the regular rate up until 16 January 2018. Latecomers have until 9 February to complete their registration.
» For further information and to register, go to www.red-dot.org/pd
