About Red Dot Award: Product Design

The Red Dot Award: Product Design, whose origins date back to 1955, appraises the best products created every year. In 49 categories, manufacturers and designers can enter their innovations in the competition. On Young Professionals Application Day, graduates of design courses who have obtained their academic qualifications within the past five years have the opportunity to take part in the draw for one of 50 free registration places. According to the motto “In search of good design and innovation”, the jury evaluates the entries and only awards a Red Dot to products that win them over with their high design quality.

Awards

Red Dot: Best of the Best

The Red Dot: Best of the Best is awarded for ground-breaking design and is the top prize in the Red Dot Award: Product Design. This prize is reserved for the best products in a category.

Red Dot

The Red Dot is the award for high design quality. The international jury only awards this sought-after seal of quality to products that feature an outstanding design.

Honourable Mention

The Honourable Mention is awarded by the Red Dot jurors for a particularly well-executed aspect of design work. Products that impress the judges with a well-thought-out detail solution are awarded this prize.

Categories
From fashion and accessories to consumer electronics and vehicles, household appliances and furniture – you can choose between 49 different categories when participating in the Red Dot Award: Product Design.
1. Home and Seating Furniture

Carpets and runners, chairs, coffee and side tables, cupboards, decorations and accessories, dressers, home furniture accessories, home textiles, multimedia furniture, recliners, room dividers, seating, shelves, sideboards, stools, storage, stoves, tables, upholstered furniture, wardrobes, other

2. Bedroom Furniture and Beds

Bedcovers, bedroom furniture accessories, beds, bedsteads, bed tables, bedroom textiles, frames, mattresses, pillows, storages, wardrobes, other

3. Lighting and Lamps

Architectural lighting, built-in lighting, ceiling lights, chandeliers, decorative lighting, desk lamps, downlights, dynamic lighting, emergency lighting, floodlighting, floor lamps, guidance systems, hanging lamps, light bulbs and tubes, lighting ranges, lighting systems, mobile lighting, outdoor lamps, outdoor lighting, pendant luminaires, reading lamps, retail lighting, solar-powered lamps, special purpose lighting, spotlights, table lamps, wall lamps, other

Red Dot Jury

The Red Dot Jury comprises some 40 international experts. They test, discuss and evaluate each entry individually, live and on site.

The submissions are not compared with each other, but are assessed individually. While the set-up of the jury changes annually, one element remains the same: All members commit to the “Code of Honour”, which states that jurors cannot participate in the adjudication of products they were involved in.

Here is an insight into the jury session of the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2019:

Red Dot Jury 2020 >
Judging Criteria

The evaluation process is based on various judging criteria which are constantly adapted to new technical, social, economic and ecological requirements. They provide an orientation framework, which is complemented by each individual juror according to his or her expertise and socio-cultural background.

The judging criteria include amongst others:

·Degree of innovation
·Functionality
·Formal quality
·Ergonomics
·Durability
·Symbolic and emotional content
·Product periphery
·Self-explanatory quality
·Ecological compatibility

Red Dot: Design Team of the Year

The honorary title “Red Dot: Design Team of the Year” pays tribute to a design team that has distinguished itself at the highest level through its continuously innovative design achievements. No designer and no company can apply for this top individual award.

Young Professionals Application Day

On Young Professionals Application Day, designers who have graduated within the past five years have the chance to apply for the draw of one of 50 free registration places.

If they win an award, the emerging talents benefit from extensive and free measures, all of which communicate their success in an internationally visible way.

The Young Professionals Application Day took place on 4 December 2019.