It’s party time – well, apart from Star Wars Day and Cinco de Mayo, it’s also the time of the year when the A’ Design Award and competition reveal the winners annually! The A Design Awards span literally a hundred categories, and they consider creating a comprehensive list of the best designs internationally, in all disciplines. Annually the A’ Design Award and competition are held like the Yellow Pages of Good Design, and you can be a part of it too by participating!
A’ Design Award and Competition is much more than a regular award program. Actively seek out, market and add value to the project as well as the designer in the form of a wide range of value-added services such as a customized PR campaign, online exhibition and even a platform to sell your design on… And these perks are not only limited to design, but extend to designers and creators as well. Your participation allows you to obtain a proof of construction document, inclusion in Design Business Network A, and a Design Fee Calculator service that allows you to accurately price your design services to future clients, allowing you to set up your own design practice.
Judged by a grand jury made up of 227 elite designers and educators, below is a selection of the winners of the A’ Design Award and Competition 2021. We’ve picked some of our favorites from this year’s winners list which includes categories like Product Design, Social Design, Technology, furniture, medical design, and transportation design. Scroll down to take a look at what’s making waves this year in the design circle! And don’t forget to register below to participate in the competition for 2022-23 to make sure you get your work and get the recognition you deserve!
Get early registration for the 2022-23 A Design Awards by clicking here!
Beach cabin on the Baltic Sea – Peter Kochia
Part conservatory, part cabin, the Beach Cabin on the Baltic Sea offers stunning panoramic views of the beach. Located in northern Poland near Gdask, this small gastronomy facility has a minimalist shape that fits naturally into a beach environment. The cabin consists of two parts – an enclosed space, and a spacious, open living/dining area that provides shelter with an abundance of natural light. The glass facade gives viewers a great view of the ocean, beach and even the sky from above! The building stands on stilts so it doesn’t touch the terrain directly…meaning it literally floats on top of the sand. Tell me this isn’t the most architectural piece I’ve ever dreamed of!
Haragana lounge chair by Tobias Kappeler
Haragana is a lounge chair made of bent steel tubes and cork discs for seating. Its metallic outline resembles, to any clever observer, an armchair, however, the Haragana does not have any cushions or upholstery. Instead, the seating area is divided into 6 discs distributed on the base and backrest. Visually, Haragana aims to defy the chair stereotype by being radically different, but functionally speaking, it is still comfortable to sit on, with cork discs providing just the right amount of softness and support. In general, the chair also fulfills another purpose – to provoke a feeling of curiosity and always invite you to try to sit on it!
Tecno Camon 19 Pro Design Team Multicolor Mobile Phone
Using patterns and light to define your phone’s unique look, the multicolored mobile phone comes with a Mondrian-inspired grid of pearl swatches that changes colors based on whether or not it’s exposed to UV light. At first glance, the multi-colored phone immediately reminds of a Google Project Ara… but as Google quietly ditched the endeavor citing complex issues, the Tecno Camon team took its network style to the next level. Combining that with inspiration from French painter Edouard Manet, who brought light to painting and is credited with creating the Impressionist art movement, Tecno Camon created the Multicolored Mobile Design – a stunning grid-based back design that also responds to UV rays and changing colors/tints when exposed for ultraviolet rays.
GS-X One Food Delivery Robot from Shanghai Gaussian Automation Tech Dev.
The waiters have two hands… GS-X has four! Well, equipped with four drawers, the GS-X is a smart service robot that can deliver food to tables with efficiency, accuracy…and a smile! With dual cameras positioned at the top and bottom, the GS-X can quickly perceive the environment and plot routes for contactless delivery. The epidemic made you paranoid? Well, the GS-X can also take temperature measurements, which facilitates epidemic prevention and control.
A case of rare Irish whiskey from Emerald Isle by Tiago Russo
Inspired by Faberge eggs, Emerald Isle whiskey reflects similarly rare luxury with the luxury of its packaging. A statement of whiskey, art and craftsmanship, whiskey bottle and bottling use Faberge as a recurring design accent throughout the entire collection. The sumptuous colored gemstones on the chest reflect the traditions and natural beauty of Ireland. Described as the rarest and most expensive whiskey ever sold, only seven units of Emerald Isle whiskey were produced and sold at auction, with bottles selling for a starting price of US$2 million! Each egg shaped bottle comes enclosed in a luxury wooden display case and enclosed in a glass case. Open the display box and each bottle will also be accompanied by drinking accessories, a Faberge replica, a luxury wristwatch, and a set of Cohiba cigars to complete the entire experience!
Draw a single calendar by Dan Wang and Ziqiang He
Designed as a calendar as well as a one-time-a-day paper towel dispenser, Draw One mounts on your kitchen wall. Now why would one in their right mind combine a calendar and a towel dispenser? Well, designers Dan Wang and Zhiqiang He wanted people to respect and cherish time as well as paper. “One calendar sketch is a simple calendar that uses the shape of a tissue box as a symbol of precious time,” the designers stated. The calendar uses individual sheets of paper to display the date, with each sheet also used as a paper towel. The catch is that you can only use one paper towel per day, so you are automatically conditioned to be more economical and not waste paper towels. On top of that, as the year ends, you can simply add another set of 365 paper towels to your Draw One wooden distribution box.
E390 Electromobile by AIMA TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
The E390 might not have an incredibly sexy name, but it sure looks amazing. Unlike scooters that are usually known for less than slender body language, the E390 boasts an incredibly lean profile, which allows it to have the allure of a moped, with the mould of a scooter. Built for urban commuting, the E390 looks stylish in a contemporary sense, with clean styling, a new blue road, and a beautifully slim but piercing headlight! And while you can’t see it in the photo, the E390 also boasts an incredibly well-designed dashboard that perfectly blends into the look of the scooter without a single divider or line!
Echo hanging chair by Evo Andrich
“The soaring ball, a focus capsule, a refuge for the senses”, that’s what Ivo Andric prefers to call his design rather than just a “hanging chair”. After all, the Iko doesn’t look or feel like your traditional chair. Designed like a weaver’s nest, this tiny hanging cocoon provides an enclosed and elegant space for you to rest in, allowing you to take a secluded break right inside your home. The chair is shaped like an icosahedron, creating a geometric dynamic that complements most home decor, and it comes with plush cushions and felt-lined acoustic panel walls to give you comfort and peace whenever you want it!
Canairi indoor air quality monitor by Hans Augustenborg
Designed to look like home decor, Canairi actually serves a very important health purpose – it tells you whether the air quality is good or bad. This gorgeous yellow bird mounted on your wall either stands upright, letting you know the air you breathe is clean, or drops dramatically to give you an alert when your air quality drops below acceptable limits. The idea comes from the ancient belief that canaries were used in coal mines to detect danger, especially carbon monoxide. If the bird faints, this is a sign that the carbon monoxide levels were too high and the miners will be directed to evacuate. Not a particular ethical use for canaries if you ask me, but I assure you, no canaries were harmed in making this air quality monitor!
Migo 3D Printer by Junshen Pan and Jie Shen
Named after the word Amigo, this tiny 3D printer is small enough to take with you wherever you go! About the size of a cat or small dog, the Migo fits perfectly in your backpack (you know the kind you use to carry pets) and can be carried from home to work…although it wasn’t exactly built for work. As you can see, due to its small size, Migo can’t really print larger objects – which makes it ideal for educational use rather than professional use. Gone are the days when kids carried books in their backpacks. The future involves kids with their own 3D printers! Although no, I’m pretty sure the printer isn’t designed to run while in a backpack…yet.
Get early registration for the 2022-23 A Design Awards by clicking here!