Intelligent Energy’s ENV, the world’s first purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle, designed by leading British designers Seymourpowell, has won a coveted Gold Award at America’s leading product design awards – The IDEA Awards – presented by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and sponsored by BusinessWeek.
30 June 2006
Juror Alistair Hamilton (IDSA, VP, Corporate Innovation and Design, Symbol Technologies Inc) commented on the bike for BusinessWeek: ‘It was designed to sell the new technology. People will understand that it is viable and use it.’
A jury of eighteen leading thinkers in the design world spent many days previewing entries online and two days of intense, face-to-face evaluation and debate on the IDEA awards, one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions. Judging criteria for each entry focused on five areas of industrial design excellence: design innovation, benefit to the user, benefit to the client/business, ecological responsibility, and appropriate aesthetics and appeal.
This year the jury awarded 27 entries the sought-after Gold award, while 39 entries received Silver awards and 42 won Bronze awards. In this third year of being open to all international entries, the jury recognized 35 designs from 19 countries outside the US, including entries from Australia, Austria, Canada, PR China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, The Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Total international entries from 28 countries totaled 499, up from 423 in 2005, underlining the stiff global competition ENV faced to win its award.
Juror Alistair Hamilton called the bike: ‘Alien and earthy, irreverent and inviting. The ENV bike is a beautiful design contradiction.’ whilst juror Richard Eisermann, the founder of Prospect, said it was: ‘A refined aesthetic that smoothly expresses the sophisticated technology that makes this bike go!’
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The BusinessWeek IDEA report will hit news stands around the world today, with an in-depth analysis of the winners. IDSA’s quarterly magazine, Innovation, will publish information on the Gold, Bronze and Silver winners in its annual Yearbook this autumn.
‘With the rapid changes occurring in technology, commerce and society, it takes real leadership to define meaningful new products and services and deliver them to the market,’ said Jury Chair Chris Conley, IDSA, co-founder and director of Chicago-based consulting firm Gravity Tank. ‘The winners should be proud. The disciplines of marketing, technology, business and design should take note. These are the year’s best.’
A ‘People’s Choice’ award will also be presented this year when the winners are honoured at a black tie ceremony at the Hilton Austin in Austin, TX on Wednesday, September 20, the final day of ‘Elements of Change,’ the highly anticipated 2006 IDSA National Conference and Education Symposium, where the ENV bike will also be exhibited. Many of the winners will be featured in the conference’s Design Gallery and Expo. All 106 winners with descriptions, photos and contacts will befeatured on IDSA’s web site from today.