SABS AWARDS 09

SPECIAL REPORT: SABS AWARDS 09

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN >

DESIGN IS ABOUT THE FUTURE: THE TIME TO CHANGE TRACK IS NOW Design reflects change. Change as the norm, not the exception, reflects how South Africa and the world has changed. “Yet 40 years later, the ordinary person in the street continues to ask the obvious. ‘Where in our market are our goods? Where do we buy South African designed products?” asks Linda Mvusi, chairperson of the SABS Design Excellence Awards 2009 adjudication panel on the 40th anniversary of the awards scheme.

Mvisi, an architect with around 30-years’ of experience knows what she is talking about. Trained in Ghana and the UK, she has practised in several countries before settling in her country of birth, where she has served on the adjudication panels of the SABS’ various design awards for more than a decade.

While reflecting on the adjudication of the 2009 Awards, Mvusi ponders on an important scenario: “South Africa

Linda Mvusi, chairperson of the SABS Design Excellence Awards 2009 share some insights with Prof. Singh and Dr Bonakele Mehlomakulu, CEO of the SABS.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN > pays a hefty premium by continually valuing extraction industries and manufacturing for export at the expense of industrial production the manufacturing of South African design for our domestic economy. Will South Africa continue to pay northwards of 5% of our real Gross National Product in Intellectual Property, billions of Rands in fees and royalties for other countries’ ideas? I hope not.”

Mvusi boldly exclaims that: “Hope is not a plan!” and explains: “The problem is not design, education or the ‘much-ness’ of our material resources. The global economic downturn is fortuitous for a country with our socio-political-economic demographics. It reveals structural failure in our national mind-set. By and large, in the past, we rewarded respectful conformism and benchmarked minimal standards. We ostracised freethinkers, creative intellectuals, dissidents and criminalised the notion of having the courage to fail.”

The Snuza Baby Monitor, designed by ...XYZ, Savant and ID&B.

She continues: “The time to change track is now” and claims that the SABS Design Excellence Awards 2009 is a good news story: “positive proof that a country’s wealth is not in material resources, but in people’s intellectual creativity. Design is scaled at life itself, not the design object or complex system. In an ideas-driven, creative global economy, design and design-thinking is pivotal.”

In October, 18 South African designed products received SABS Design Excellence Awards, representing what Mvusi terms ‘pivotal design-thinking’.

Although the products were not in competition with each other, The Snuza Baby Monitor received the Chairperson’s Award for the product that most inspired the adjudication panel. Snuza, designed by …XYZ, Savant and ID&B, is a new generation baby monitor that allows mobile monitoring of a baby’s breathing.

The Moonflower Range, designed by Willowlamp.

…XYZ also received awards for its design of the Touchmart TAP, a solution to enable the general public to access a broad range of products and services using

Most of the other awards went to the home and office ware category. These included the Kubic Innovator LED system; the Willow Lamp Moonflower Range of

payment methods that are accessible to them, and for the Stopak Jumbo Inflator that is used in the transport of produce in road freight vehicles.

SECTION > Chandeliers which also received a host of other awards in recent times; the Vector gate-opening system; the Cobra range of taps and accessories and the SKALA business furniture system. The latter two recipients were both designed by one of Africa’s most prolific industrial designers, Brian Steinhobel.

The Cobra range is also one of the rare high-end signature sanitary product ranges designed by African designers in recent years.

In the medical and healthcare category, the Stimpod, a nerve-locating device also received and award, while in the leisure and sport goods category, the new age scuba diving flippers, Seawing Nova and the nifty Ybike, a huge improvement on children’s plastic scooters, received awards. and This year again saw a pool cleaner, the Superbug, being recognised awarded, highlighting South Africa’s exemplary track record in the swimming pool equipment market.

In line with products solving real African problems, the Lifewise Eco-Loo was honoured awarded. This cistern doubles up as a washbasin and clears the toilet bowl of urine, if the person using it washes his or her hands for 20 seconds. This innovative product solves two problems in one go – not only does it save water, but it also enforces hygiene through hand washing.

As is the case of the past 40 years, engineering products again stood out this year. These include the GALT Road/ Rail Vehicle, the Kaoko™ Throttle Control for motorcycles, and the Puzey on-road, off-road motorcycle. And on the electronics front, the Command and Control Backpack, aimed at the military market, and the Sola-lite™ also received awards. Sola-Lite™ is modular and upgradeable a solar-powered LED Lighting System that comes in a DIY kit form with detailed instructions and is specifically designed for homes or buildings that require lighting but may not be connected to the national electricity grid.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN > In her reflection of this year’s award winners, Mvusi comments that: “A significant proportion of entrants were small-medium and family enterprises – wives and husbands, siblings, parents and their children offspring – the sector most resilient with ways and means in a turbulent economy.” She notes that: “The overall standard was higher than previous years, reflecting deepening design consciousness, and surpassing ‘problem solving’ and competence per se: > The

designs articulated new ways of thinking, embracing responsibility for real issues. Primarily tools for perception, not just ‘objects in space’, they clarified purpose, meaning and use through legible metaphors, articulating rich relationships between people and objects.

> They

evolved through collaboration between users and designers, for in reality no one knows the aspirations and actual activities of users affected by design than users themselves.

> The designers tailored technology and materials to

users’ cultural and psychological needs, anticipating and accommodating future change. > Outstanding

products were strategically designed beyond clients’ protocols, re-organising corporations for to accommodate user-responsiveness, not just user-friendliness.

> ‘Fail-Safe’ Design – designing products and systems

to fail without disaster – is exciting. It acknowledges

The Vector, designed by Centurion Systems.

as an appreciation that old and new technologies can, do and should co-exist and be integrated and complementary side by side.”

Mvusi concludes that: “This is people-centred design at its best! The SABS Design Excellence 2009 Awards embody critical values for a new, design-thinking South Africa.” In line with this statement, DESIGN> reviewed the successes of five of this year’s winners.

CENTURION SYSTEMS Centurion Systems is a manufacturer of security and access control products. Their product categories include gate automation, proximity access control systems, remote controls and receivers, high volume and manual traffic barriers (boom poles), intercom systems and related accessories.

Established in 1986, Centurion Systems has always had a culture of innovation. , and tasks itself Its mission is to become a worldclass leader in the access automation industry. Centurion started off Starting in a temporary hut in managing director, Pat Dickens’ (MD) garden, the firm . It soon had to find much larger premises and has been moving every four to five years since. Today it boasts a purpose-built factory of 15 000 m2 incorporating robotics and state-of-the-art manufacturing processes.

Since its inception, Centurion Systems has pioneered many world-firsts such as battery backed-up gate motors

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN > and the use of high torque DC motors. Their manufacturing processes are is being continually upgraded and its factory is fully compliant with the requirements of ISO 9001:2000 to ensure the highest quality. The company invests considerable amounts in its R&D programme and has , with 15 qualified engineers to research new and innovate products to add to the its range.

According to Marketing Manager, Adam Butchart: “Without continuous investment in R&D, our company would find itself joining the ranks of its competitors – following the trends rather than creating them. Clever design, together with an intimate understanding of the manufacturing process, helps to drive down unit costs, a factor critical to remaining competitive. In certain cases, the introduction of innovative features justifies higher selling prices, thereby maintaining our competitive edge as well as our profitability.”

Over the past 23 years, the company has brought more than 50 products to the market, of which more than 40 are currently available. Even more encouraging is that all products are manufactured at the company’s factory in North Riding, South Africa, and their exports currently span five continents.

When asked what makes the Vector a worthy winner of the 2009 SABS Design Excellence Award, Butchart remarks: “The use of a novel centrifugal braking system

allowed the designers to focus on developing a highly efficient epicyclic gear train. This allows a smaller motor to be used, while still delivering class-leading performance. The choice of stainless steel, aluminium and plastic materials ensures a lifetime of corrosion free operation. Quadrature position sensing and a closed loop speed control system ensure that the operator stops smoothly and accurately at the ends of travel.

A fully featured electronic controller, with LCD user interface, ensures ease of use and enough flexibility to overcome the majority of installation challenges.”

CHROME CHERRY DESIGN STUDIO Established in 2004, Chrome Cherry Design Studio (CCDS) was founded as an outlet for the creativity of its shareholders, five lifelong friends. Their skills and experience stretch over span various design fields including industrial design, automotive, exhibition design, aerospace, furniture design and even film.

Launched two years ago, YBIKE is the first product conceptualised, owned, manufactured and marketed

by CCDS and is currently available in nine countries with others following soon. Since then it has won awards at the SA Toy of the Year 2007 and SABS Design Excellence Awards 2009. Surprisingly, for the adjudication of SA Toy of the Year 2007, the judges only had a prototype

to judge and YBIKE competed against world brands such as Fisher Price, Mattel, Barbie and Lego.

Jean van der Merwe says: “We at CCDS are firm believers in that not only good functional design, but more importantly also the aesthetics of design are important integral to our company’s development, sustainability and competitiveness. We understand the changes in a increasingly design conscious society and strive to develop products out that meet this need. Why can products not also be objects of beauty?”

When asked what makes the YBIKE a worthy winner of the 2009 SABS Design Excellence Award, van der Merwe responds that: “The YBIKE may seem to be just another plastic ride-on, but every single aspect in its design, both functional and aesthetically, was researched and addressed. It passes complies with all applicable international toy safety laws and was tested by the Sport Science Institute and found to be very beneficial to the development of gross motor skills in young children. There are no short-cuts, from the choice of injection moulding – which is expensive – through material choices and place of manufacture, everything was done with reason.”

Van der Merwe adds : “Being recognised by the SABS Design Institute has capped off an incredible two years since the launch of YBIKE. The award recognises the

work and effort that has gone into such a visually simple product. We are determined to be at the awards again in 2010.”

IDESO Founded in 1998, Ideso is a specialist industrial design consultancy based in Cape Town. Its essential concern is to take a potential product or ideas through the entire product development cycle until an actual manufactured product is on the shelves. This includes concept design, material and process research, visualisation, photographically realistic rendering, design for manufacture prototyping, tooling, packaging project management and manufacture.

“Design is our life. It is in everything we do. Our aim is to design products that significantly improve our customer’s competitiveness. Only by designing great products can we expect to remain sustainable,” says Marc Ruwiel.

He explains: “We have designed over 350 products in the last 11 years. Of these, more than 300 have gone into production and at least 200 of these are still in production.”

Ideso-designed products are available all over the world. “The USA and the UK are popular export destinations, particularly for plastics and homewares.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN > Several of our medical products are sold in Germany and in the Netherlands. The planters we designed for Styler are available in the Middle East. We have also designed collapsible horse stalls for a company based in the USA, two-way radio chargers for a company based in Hong Kong and a modem and tracking device for the UAE coast guard.” And he adds that: “It is always fun to see products one has designed in a completely unexpected and foreign setting.”

The Command & Control backpack, designed by Ideso.

The sturdy Command & Control backpack that won a SABS Design Excellence Award was a surprise entry in the ICT category because it is a housing system for such products rather than an actual ICT product. Ruwiel explains: “We believe that it is the combination of ergonomics, strength and fit suitability for purpose” that secured this award. This range product is more than a mere backpack because they are it is intended to house sophisticated and fragile communication devices which need to ‘survive when being parachute dropped

from a plane or dropped onto a concrete floor from a truck. While it must , yet still protect its contents, it must also and be comfortable to carry for a wide variety of people. It needs to do all this while weighing a fraction of the equipment that it supports. It may not be the prettiest product we have ever designed, but it is certainly practical.”

KAOKO™ THROTTLE CONTROL The Kaoko™ Throttle Control was formulated in 2002 by a South African adventure rider, Roy Mentis, while on a long distance trip through the Kaokoveld in Namibia, one of the last true wildernesses in the world. Mentis explains that today, the company’s core business entails the manufacture and marketing of one of the simplest and most effective friction type throttle controls available worldwide.

In 2002 the first Kaoko™ Throttle Controls were designed for BMW motorcycles. Through their huge popularity, and by demand for other makes of motorcycles, R&D became an on going process, as the controls are bikespecific and purpose designed. Currently over 100 models are available and since 2005, the Kaoko™ Control has enjoyed exponential sales growth.

“Design plays a major role. The Kaoko™ Throttle Controls has earned the reputation as a market leader.

Kaoko™ vigorously keeps abreast of new motorcycle models and designs and markets new kits accordingly”, says Mentis. Unique features of the Kaoko™ Throttle Controls include: 5-year functional guarantees; the products are fully CNC machined; they are simple to install and takes less than 10 minutes to fit; they are simple to operate, even with heavy winter gloves; they are safe as they cannot lock and can be overridden in an instant; and the products are readily available internationally.

In addition to the Throttle Controls, Kaoko™ has also developed a high-tech long-range fuel tank for BMW

The Kaoko™ Throttle Controls, designed by Kaoko™.

bikes and numerous designs of soft luggage for motorcycles. Mainly manufactured in South Africa, the company exports its products to the USA, Canada, all over Europe and Australia.

…XYZ Formed in 1999, …XYZ has grown into one of South Africa’s largest industrial design consultancies, providing companies locally and internationally with award winning and market capturing solutions. The Cape Town-based consultancy has experience in developing products for a range of applications, from complex socio-technical environments, to ergonomic intensive tools, to rugged industrial goods. Their diverse knowledge of 12 professionals encourages cross-pollination between technologies and provides clients with a fresh access approach to new markets. They describe their core business as “linking society and technology through product innovation and incubation.”

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN > When asked about the role that design plays in the company’s development, sustainability and competitiveness, Design Director Byron Qually responds: “Design thinking is used throughout our business, from extrapolating a client’s true requirements or to planning a the products for mass production. The real essence of good design practice is to manage issues of sustainability, consumerism, innovation and recycling, amongst others.” …XYZ has developed more than 100 products that embody multiple components and diverse technologies, of which 71 products have reached the marketplace in the past ten years. Depending on the client’s existing network, quality expectations, production volume and design for assembly considerations, the company manufactures in South Africa, China, India, Singapore and Portugal.

Describing the three products that won SABS Design Excellence Awards in 2009, Qually says: “The Snuza Baby Monitor and Stopak Jumbo Inflator, respectively assist in managing the safety of individuals and cargo.

The Touchmart TAP, being a mobile and standalone solution, has empowered users with access to a broad range of products and services that were previously inaccessible. All three products have constructively contributed to the well-being and development of the market society.”

Commenting on their winning streak at various awards schemes over the past few years, Qually says ”The SABS Awards bring international recognition and credibility to the South African product development community. The scheme, in part, provides an audit of product quality for export potential and an indication of skills sets that can compete globally. …XYZ has won 20 awards, been featured on five international exhibitions, and has its products as part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.”

Stopak Jumbo Inflator (top) and the Touchmart TAP, designed by ...XYZ.

These five companies exemplify what Mvusi describes as “people-centred design at its best!” >