The Best Product Designs of 2005
July 15, 2005 | Levent OZLER
Design is fast becoming a must-have competency for corporations.
It has evolved from a simple way of giving form and color to products into a powerful tool for "C" suite executives.
Design methods get managers close to their customers, design research helps top execs visualize the future, and design strategies help companies innovate.
No wonder, then, that the annual Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEAs) have become so hotly competitive.
Sponsored by BusinessWeek and run independently by the Industrial Designers Society of America, the contest is where global corporations test their design prowess against one other.
The 2005 winners represent the best of the best from the U.S., Asia, and Europe.
Many of the prizes went to designs that solved highly complex problems. U.S. and Canadian companies used design to reinvent old product categories, revive tired brands, and simplify complicated products.
Asian companies, led by Samsung, used design to leapfrog from invisible equipment suppliers to name brands on a global scale.
And European corporations built on their design strengths in style and fashion.
There were 1,380 entries in 2005, with 991 from U.S. companies and design consultancies and a record 423 from 29 other countries.
Of the 148 awards, 38 are golds, 59 silvers, and 51 bronzes.
more: businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_27/b3941401.h (1,144)
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