The German Innovation Awards were created by the German Design Council to fill a gap in the award scene. The competition’s aim was to identify significant and powerful product innovation. Six hundred and fifty participants competed for the award, including industrial giants, hidden champions and start-ups. They all have one thing in common: a solution, an innovative detail or a service that generates real added value.
»We are very impressed with the quality of the submissions we have received«, said Andrej Kupetz, CEO of the German Design Council, which considers innovation a decisive factor to be promoted in the global marketplace. He is convinced that companies will truly benefit from this competition, because the awards represent valuable communication tools. The goal of these awards is to bring to light the great effort that companies put into improving their products for users and to advertise their innovative strengths across the industry, in professional circles and in the media.
Prizes are awarded to those innovations that have a lasting impact. The German Innovation Awards are not based on novelty alone; they identify and honour those innovations which can demonstrably add value for the user. Even when dealing with the details of a comprehensive solution, a radical focus on user-centred features and the human individual must be at the heart of the endeavour. As Kupetz explains: »This approach is particularly successful when the future users are involved in product and design development. Many companies have realised this and are now employing special methods to integrate the user in the development process in order to create an optimal product capable of asserting itself in the marketplace and of distinguishing itself from the competition.«
The German Innovation Awards are given in two categories:
»Excellence in Business to Consumer« and »Excellence in Business to Business«. The jury also selects a winner in the additional category of »Design Thinking«. The jury awarded »Gold«, »Winner« and »Special Mention« prizes in a total of 40 categories. The products include everything from bionic gloves to cleaning technologies, fibres for 3D printing, charging stations for electric cars and coffee soda, as well as IoT platforms.
Evaluation criteria
The assessment criteria for the German Innovation Awards include the level of innovation, user benefit and cost-effectiveness. The innovation strategy should take into consideration social, environmental and economic sustainability as well as the judicious use of energy and resources. Factors such as location and employment potential, durability, market maturity, technical quality and function, materiality and synergy effects also play key roles in the decisions of the jury. The winners were selected by a stellar jury consisting of physicists, patent consultants, computer scientists, financial experts, product designers, technology historians and marketers. Kupetz emphasised: »This enables us to ensure an individual, unbiased and professional evaluation.«
Click the following link to view images of the awards ceremony and the 34 Gold winners, as well as a list of the Gold winners: http://bit.ly/GIA_presse
Information about all the award winners is available at: www.german-innovation-award.de/en/winners
