Global and regional digital leader LG Electronics has won the ‘Design Team of the Year 2006’ award at the reddot design awards for its focus on design management. This is only the second time that the design department of an Asian company has won reddot’s ‘Radius’ Trophy.
The award ceremony was held in Essen, Germany, on June 26 with more than 1,200 people, representing the design industry, business, media, politics, and culture.
For the ‘Design Team of the Year’ Award, instituted in 1989, reddot selects companies that set exceptional, new standards in design through innovation. Previous winners include notables such as Apple, adidas, Mercedes-Benz, Nokia, Audi and Sony, the only other Asian company to win the award.
Earlier this year, LG broke industry records by winning reddot design awards in 20 categories and iF design awards in 11 categories. Products that propelled the company to the top were its wall-mounted projector (AN110), dual-core widescreen notebook PC (T1), 50-inch plasma TV, 42-inch LCD TV, front-loading washing machine and the Chocolate phone.
The wall-mounted projector and dual-core widescreen notebook PC performed especially well, winning reddot’s ‘Best of the Best’ design award. The Chocolate phone continues to be a bestseller in Europe and Asia.
The ‘Radius’ Trophy, which is inscribed with the names of all winners since 1989, was presented to Jae Jin Shim, head of display and media design at LG Electronics, by Mr. Stephan Dietrich of adidas’ design department, last year’s winner.
Explaining the selection of LG Electronics for this year’s honour, Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the reddot design award and president of the international umbrella organisation of design Icsid., said: “LG have a position of their own and set trends with products such as the wall mounted projector. Through innovative technology and design, LG has advanced from pursuer to contender. All its activities and products focus on human needs in the digital age.”
K.W. Kim, President, LG Electronics, Middle East and Africa said: “At LG, design is just as important as technology. Internally, we refer to R&D as 'research and design.' Our focus is not just on technology, but on creating products that enhance the lives of our customers. Our designers come up with some of the most stunning ideas and our engineers are extremely inspired to make them happen.”
Kim added: “In June, LG consolidated its existing commitment to design and officially declared its “Era of Design Management.” Many factors have facilitated the company’s ability to compete so effectively on design. LG’s Corporate Design Center is treated with the same importance as the company’s technology R&D centers.”
LG is the first company making a full range of electronics products to win the Design Team of the Year Award. LG’s award-winning products will be exhibited at reddot’s Design Museum until next year’s award ceremony.
About LG Electronics, Inc.
LG Electronics, Inc., (KSE: 06657.KS) is the leader in consumer electronics and mobile communications. The company has more than 72,000 employees working in 77 subsidiaries and marketing units around the world. LG Electronics is the world’s largest producer of CDMA handsets, residential air conditioners, optical storage devices and home theater system. With total revenue of more than US$ 35 billion (consolidated US$ 45 billion), LG Electronics is comprised of four business units: Mobile Communications, Digital Appliance, Digital Display and Digital Media.
LG Electronics’ goal is to enable the intelligent networking of digital products that will make consumers’ lives better than ever. For more information, please visit www.lge.com.
About The red dot design award
With over 5,000 entries from 40 countries, the red dot design award ranks among the largest design competitions worldwide. The competition is divided into three sections - product design, communication design and concept design - which are staged and adjudicated separately. The coveted trophy is the red dot, the international seal of quality for outstanding design. URL: http://www.red-dot.de/
About Design Team of the Year
Hall of Fame: The "design team of the year" title is highly respected within the profession and well known throughout the world. It has been awarded annually by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen since 1989 to international design teams which continuously produce innovative design work. As a sign of recognition, the design team receives the "Radius" challenge trophy.
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