2007 Australian Design Awards Yearbook

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2007 AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARDS YEARBOOK

SUSTAININGDESIGN DESIGNAWARDS.COM.AU


A BOLD MOVE

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The Australian Design Awards honours Australia’s best industrial designers and the products they create. This Yearbook is a tribute to these achievements and the vibrancy of the Australian design industry. This year’s Award winning products represent more than design excellence. They have done more than meet stringent criteria including innovation, functionality, quality, safety, ergonomics, environmental sustainability and presentation. They not only capture our imagination through innovation and creativity, or stretch our intellectual capacity as human beings to explore new technologies and new materials. Above all, they meet very exacting design standards by taking what is agreed to be the best in manufacturing and design practice, and building on them. The Australian Design Awards has matured into one of the foremost design assessment and promotion bodies in the world. In 1958, almost 50 years ago, the foundations of the Australian Design Awards were established by the Industrial Design Council of Australia. Since then many Australian Design Award winners have gone on to become household names. As a result of 50 years of design benchmarking, the Australian Design Awards has elevated Australian design to new levels. 2007 has been a significant year for the Australian Design Awards, being the final year in which the Awards will be reserved only for Australian designed products. In a bold and exciting move, the Australian Design Awards will evolve into an international design assessment and promotion body from 2008 and beyond. The new Australian Design Awards will open its doors to all professionally designed products on the Australian market, as well as those designed in Australia. This is a natural expansion that better reflects design as a truly global activity, and the realities of competing for Australian market share as a product manufacturer. This new approach will expose local design to an international client base and provide consumers with a clear, consistent design indicator across all products at point of sale, not only those designed in Australia. As a sign of the times, the inaugural Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design in partnership with Sustainability Victoria, Design Institute of Australia, Centre for Design at RMIT and Product Ecology has been presented. With the environment now high on the agenda of governments around the world, I am positive this Award will signal a new era for Australian designers and the role they can play in helping build a sustainable environment for our future generations to enjoy. I hope you all take pride in the celebration of Australian design before you.

Yearbook supporters:

John Tucker Chief Executive Officer Standards Australia

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

The Australian Design Awards recognises the outstanding achievements of Australia’s designers, scientists and engineers. These individuals not only ensure that Australia maintains a competitive edge in the global marketplace, they also help to inspire future generations of designers, scientists and engineers. Through continual innovation we can cement Australia’s position as a global leader in product design. Design and innovation are integral to our nation’s ongoing economic prosperity. For this reason, the Australian Government is committed to maintaining an environment that is conducive to turning these new ideas into new products that create jobs and raise our standard of living. In 2007-08, the Australian Government is providing a record $6.5 billion for science and innovation, up from $5.97 billion in 2006-07. This includes significant investment from the 10 year, $8.3 billion commitment the Australian Government made through the Backing Australia’s Ability and Backing Australia’s Ability – Building Our Future Through Science and Innovation packages. I commend the Australian Design Awards for showcasing many of Australia’s innovative products. This yearbook is a testament to the creativity and innovative capacity of our designers, scientists and engineers and plays an important role in promoting their abilities nationally and internationally.

The Honourable John Howard MP Prime Minister of Australia

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

6 2007 Judging Panel

14 International Perspectives

ACCOLADES

15 2007 Australian Design Award of the Year

22 2007 Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design

29 2007 Australian Design Awards

50 2007 Australian Design Marks

72 2007 Round One Shortlist

82 2007 Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award

98 A Year In Review

102 2007 Powerhouse Museum Design Award and Selection

104 Company Directory

106 Sign Off by the Australian Design Awards Team

108 Contact Details

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n g ig in ik e s er ng t D g ne o e ea gi H u c ri n i n e d ri n o r En at rod . Du er an g e n E nge n , K ng ig n P o n a n g n , h LE Ta sig su ea e s i n d t T si 9 8 e E nt - De Sam Kor ial D MD Lo d a n de 19 e d ic i TA de nd - n, ustr d an rt in erne ce on in e. imit s V s p l n i a e N si a e r io t e n i A i n i e at r i a d i t l o O re n s t c t nd iv f D o-P ctio Ma tru in I ece e o he per adu nge nto inte ibil eve he e s d , i x r r g , C e n s in r n g i r e s ed d lle A e g Ta d po n r C D e si C o t e p p o te i e g e t h h o or n o o n is h r a r m a e s et tr n g w D nd aj y a l C e R sr m sit ya th nd on ne fo as e r b un Ta nin re, a te ’s r o t a p ig ns w th to co of n hi a on e as a u g n D iv e R y d h t. U es ra on r M re t t s r ys n t a n e d n Ko en U th tud ine en a ne , D ov imi si en tly arb ig , fer at s s g a e m a s r i 0 3 k A e A s i d e n D , es on if n. D cti n d ig ons hi d ag ed ge 20 too n. th re urr tin an an hir Tan in d gio ng e P s c ar e. the tru g i des ati m as n ny an re o th d i M f fic as ns kin t lic s hi e w he a nt n am of n ith o d Co or en ub ed s a a p v i g er ct W m ide Asi lity ne 05 r w on inte nd , w ipm n p cei r h ic rin s w d u a ny u sig re fo he e nd o o 0 co e s e b i h m q d u a r ro a s i a . Pr f th mo ade r 2 et Lo app ring pa e de has rds of t no fic ts ye f p ch As o e m be tog he ly ee om t to us d wa ne co 7. ci t n en n o u t t c ri io n a e 0 o h t n as c t ss r N a P a u c t s t i n t te e n t l u x s E a s h e n gi ier spi var g a n s o est 20 g a w O e te ce n n i o n l a s m ro t h w i s r af re E em n to tin si ed arg ary n SO si d e s i c s o p g A h o t r s g l o s u u i bu k wa sun d p es ted dca al d duc he an IK r, Pr ve he lo ec o g s, n f x, o t J d bu a on ro R ecto me in fi x. T eve r El nd S rs a nce sig rolu and lo on m an o i n y i D Sa st om tr br at int a’ i arl SE ir Ho ed rolu he d s fo ia a yea plia t de lect use ll of rge s fr con nd ern en ore in e t d t R n D l ux t k e p c E r a ed la ea as s a int be K a, or lec ng rke In fiv il A ire he gho fo u s s r h , e s L A s i g ro i s in e w t a e d se oc n d n s t E r t m a n a l i a a d d g t ti n e sit u a s or D lec H eb ero e h oe K a n b a l y f r a ti o h a s a p o w h i tr a E m a n r i n e s E H er r in n w b a m a . rs ar up ne , C us ed p ea W ig s ain all ov nu ork re h pe La ye t s in ica o A uir elo b ef, n es a u pa w t D nt i s m fo r i n 1 9 e n e s f r t q ev e s h e A o x g ‘fu ws ac d ng , C s ct sp g d u h m n x l u o r m a n g i e ivi n ne ef g a ra o ut c a l ux g t t ra h l e ro y od h r in S r s t r o i n u c i s s . e c t n P i e s a te d a s . p r y c l lv i n La lec be od r, D nd El e’ i ivit str l as re le rit ria vo ing the a fi b st in t r o ra e l r k t E l n t n e t t o p s c e h b t a w in a n ‘ T e n a sig w u c p r e l d u e r su d o al e s n c n e e l v p s o u p n C i g d e c a ro d i g h t h h I n r m r r h e ur ct K m et tio es ng ifi p h wi is fo tte nc te n S i e s v a a l d p i a c l u x te d n s a n t h e l a l a u hi s i D H n o n l o P ro i a i o rc r t e g e h e ly d a e t A A ll In gio ev si ect ini rat an zon d t nt in n e Co t a n ce re d e A E l o b o a i l e U o n th a l l a l s l l a k u d e e s e re nc f F a in to as co a pp nc cu ie r o oy i n e h g n a W , J e l i a b e t . f S c s te e R H s i u y e r p p a r ke o a t h d e t s i g n g a t b a r te r a M m Te s in lis m as d fro . e D o k m a lia n a M a n g n lm co i n i r a s n g s i h o m u s t h a e ri l D e ck A ars ine ria to L g st n S En d u r t i In f A o

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t uc n o d a ’s ti o Pr l i va D ra M st n k r no ; u t ig In r C A s wo e n t u c N d fo f d e f d gn S O n a n e r e o v e e o e m ro si e r I D e r s i g n a g , o n e s s i co p n a g n d p de Th to . c a AV ag De Ma ion gr d s m a . the or ra n a t r o o a n io n t y d c t n t lia n 0 5 D an ct IL M u esig nov st p s br esig nct safe olve Tra law tra 20 s E n od s ’ n u N esig Pr he D d In mo eil of d n, f ser l inv aw the Au r the wa um e of f t e L in t a n d . N t s io u ei D MD an fo r. I s sid y o n t s n s u C a t li n ie ec a to N a d e d a it d ei ig i e r nc sp nov g h for km ive eiv te Ye e M Ou rs an N es c e c na e us . t ve ’ ta a n u D re m ul all , i ro ou Sto rec re mi th ho ion ni ing p ns rs tyle th nd x ell to no of er ct d U tur co ve s l e sta Co w on e rd ow ele an ac b a P S sl t s 5 co m y c r uf a n w d o 0 e f r f e c r e 2 0 w we a n A t h e 0 5 e e n a n 0 u l i ca e an d d gn y h n 2 n i r M ’. r ut so te . A f th k m a n wa e s d b i a l t Q fo g y So y er et o toc ket A n D ise fic s a gn olo ’s s D v rk i f e d n r o a S a g lia g n o r e s n on e ia m an m e s i tr a co it s c tu ‘ D e c h ys Jam ral rt nd ee N e f T D O u s re o l l i n f D nd ust po ala rs ss , A lso n e ei gy ing R r o a A ex Ze ove ine le N lo ur E or t s o o o a s n , t ct os s i firs ew m, bu is r in d M ct as M D no ac 2 e N a s h ire R e s A re h uf C c D ns. anc n’ he s te on’ o t 00 ist C Di o t t g li Te an hi ys n f 2 ass in tio p ys rt S S ing A , a ‘M p D ; ta ith f D tio t o e er O g E ag r R ana n S an ope on A g it to s r w t o ddi par st, h A. ag nt, son n n n a M e l S s e n r i e M ys o is sian Dy ak on eth me . In tte qu e U Ma m oh cia ic D t s p ia la re th e lop . J er ob t os A d , m n g o R st he o we to el As he es’ in lud ve .C m o ion g c t d Ea un s a en an dev ast of m on inc De - S om er R ut E h Ja ys ns ct nt C g trib ion la ar th s, e ye oss nes t th uth uc at f D tio du me son ana is ct R usi or So t m ere p o si ro op hn M d D du b pp ss en wh t u po t P el Jo ral an Pro su ro sp a, ar us en ev . ne g a C t ac oss ric e s vio pm s D S . Ge rin is u n e th re ui es er d R ct o m A ith s’ p Eq sin ag an fa er w os a l B u a n Z n u a m . R lob al l M AN M a s C ing G lo b e ra n - a n os a in G e n i o a l i . R tr G ivis str ny by D Au p a e r e om n C ngi E -

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is y it tr y un us e m d m i n th co th e i s e ce n gn t g an s i b u co r t d e l e , r e p o n .” t h e a b o im sig “ T a p s n gic d e n c o e te d o d ra o ik s s t f g o Er o ars L

y el r liv n ve a ig s s es t a cle ths h a d v a s m ou ro ia se a l r a s , f gm o tr ive y nt ro s t to ” u s d l i t ne s , f k a s l l . i “A nd ab nti ar ak jaw it a c y s, e a ap co to rs, ar av c r ou egs ato y b e h n p g ke , w v a to o n o s B e ol n jig l e n G m

g in a r th e ’s sh n ow i t o r r y io g r r y t f s t at st n du t m To u ta in an or al . ind por nd ge nf it “ I v gn im a ar i s e s i l l y e r s t .” S d it a g n n e c re e a v si n d e co e - M to nn A

n r a is k r d fo r g n e wo a n , in ig , lid th es his on so s t l d e e c ti r y e l l be ria s du ve , w ” o t h e u s s t ro s a e d c t . “ T nd ay o p t a er du i w t u e o al o in e o gin pr g m en ed on co ell gn iks w e si Er d ars L

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g in ng n n ll e lf i so t , ha se e r uc t c ur e p od os yo th pr m t h e e p u ot th th to f b g .” of i s s o n i n s e r n e g s o e sig u “O hin sh de e nd ng i t e ’s e th h o th n K w nd ldo a he S

t o u o u .” ab Y ld g r? r i n n e wo th i g e s t e s th be a d ge h e n g a n rris “ T i ch o be an M c lan A

a p ia n l ng u a p i n g s tr l o wi u ve ro . A to de t g tr y ed n.” nt r e u u s n e o w gea e’ , b d s r le in e r a “ W t y n ani ou e S s s a p in e ar a m st co ve e-M i n nn A

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INTERNATIONALPERSPECTIVES

For over fifty years iF Industrie Forum Design e.V. has had its roots at the Hannover exhibition center. Launched in 1953 as the “Special Show for Well Designed Industrial Goods”, this registered association - as indicated by the German abbreviation “e.V.” - was expanded in 2001 to include a new operating arm: iF International Forum Design GmbH. The new organisation is responsible for all iF business areas — above all for staging the renowned iF award competitions. As an independent institution iF exercises a decisive mediating role between design and industry, fulfilling this function for many years now in a reputable and objective capacity. The iF design awards have existed as an enduring, prestigious trademark for outstanding design. Companies and design studios deploy the iF seal of fine design quality in their communication campaigns as a visible symbol of product and service quality. And for buyers of design oriented products, the iF seal serves as a decision making tool in the marketplace. An iF award is a symbol of a company’s commitment to innovation and its willingness to go up against the competition. Six independent design competitions form the basis for the iF service spectrum. On behalf of iF, I congratulate the Australian Design Awards for its 50 years of design promotion and on this bold and exciting move to open up their awards to products designed in other parts of the world. This move will firmly position the Australian design industry on the world stage and reflect the various currents in which contemporary design takes place.

RALPHWIEGMANN Managing Director iF Industrie Forum Design e.V. and iF International Forum Design GmbH

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) congratulates the Australian Design Awards on achieving 50 years of excellence and impact. IDSA’s own International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) program has greatly benefited from expanding eligibility to international products that may never be available in US markets, because we realize that design offerings may vary for different cultures and markets. Through their submitted works, designers have largely taken an international view already – so it’s natural that these award programs embrace and reflect the big picture as well, for everyone’s benefit. In its 27 year history, IDEA has generated worldwide attention from designers, business leaders and consumers - a powerful endorsement of the aesthetics, engineering and usability of winning designs, regardless of their country of origin. As participation has grown, IDEA’s global reach has also expanded, with 595 entries in 2007 from 29 countries other than the US. We see this as a sign that excellent design truly knows no geographical bounds.

CHELSEASUTULA Director, Awards & Special Projects Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA)

Design is a really complex phenomenon. It is nowadays a major instrument for the promotion of trade and industry in a competitive market. This is why design competitions like the Australian Design Awards or our Red Dot Design Award are so important: They are about making the achievements of companies and designers communicable with the help of an award. The Australian Design Awards opening up for products from all origins could be a great opportunity especially to smaller companies who neither have the man power nor the money to invest in an international marketing strategy to have their design efforts compared with those of big international players. I wish the Australian Design Awards every success for the future. It is really good to have a reliable companion in the promotion of good design.

2007 AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARD OF THE YEAR

PROF. DR. PETERZEC

is to receive the highest national achievement of design

Initiator - Red Dot Design Award President - Icsid

excellence available to the Australian design industry. This accolade represents a unanimous decision made by

We are living in a world of design oriented innovation, and the 21st century will be led by high value-added industries such as the design and creative arts industry. Design has become about more than raising the quality of our lives, it has become a source of national competitiveness. Along with having rapid industrial development, the Asian region has experienced the highest growth for the design market. Most emerging economies in Asia are now focusing on expanding the capability of the design industry. Australian design has been successful in this highly competitive market and the Australian Design Awards has been a key player in advancing the Australian design industry. It is expected that mutual recognition of the design awards between Australia and Korea will contribute to the economic development of our two nations, and further, to the global economy. My congratulations to the Australian Design Awards team, as well as all the Australian designers for their successful work marking the 50th anniversary of the Australian Design Awards!

an independent panel of leading design experts and is awarded to one stand-out design per year. The winner is considered to be of a world class calibre, over and above all other Australian Design Award recipients competing in the same year. Illustrious past winners include the Nucleus 24 Contour Cochlear Implant, the Ford Territory, the FCS H-2 Surfboard Fin and the S8 Series Flow Generator & HumidAire 3i Humidifier System.

LEE, IL-KYOO President / CEO Korea Institute Of Design Promotion

2007 NOMINEES The following entries are official nominees of the 2007 Australian Design Award of the Year: The basic purpose of an award is to recognise and differentiate exceptional achievement. But why can’t we leave everything to “market forces” to make their own mark? Why must we subject especially a groundbreaking creative work to the scrutiny of others, who, by definition, are less qualified to judge? Why should creatives agree? There are deeper issues of awards. Firstly, creativity is not determined by individuals. Even creatives are often guilty of propagating the myth that they should not be accountable to anyone, but best left alone with as much “space” as possible. However, the sobering fact is that creative achievements are peer-reviewed, and formal awards are the symbol and celebration of their recognition. Secondly, with globalisation, the circle of peer review grows wider to encompass a larger international community with vested interest in the work, and a global network of awards. These are key reasons why we must uphold and celebrate the Australian Design Awards, and why it should be international. Congratulations for keeping it going 50 years!

DR. MILTONTAN Executive Director Designsingapore Council

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To win the Australian Design Award of the Year

GATOR Catalyst Design Group Knog

SERIES 55 BB+RT ORBIT BLOCKS Ronstan International Bayly Design + Industry

VE COMMODORE GM Holden

THE EDGE Abuzz Technologies

SYKES YAKKA 150 Sykes Group Design + Industry

CAROMA H2ZERO CUBE URINAL Caroma Dorf

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2007 AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARD OF THE YEAR GATOR Catalyst Design Group Knog A high powered LED bicycle headlamp that is visually simple, compact and obnoxiously bright. It burns at full brightness for four hours and attaches to any diameter handlebar or frame with no tools required.

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The judges commented: “This is design born from passion, excellence and immense commitment to detail. It is emotive, versatile, functional and well finished with quality materials. It doesn’t follow trends or existing forms – it stands up on its own merits with purposeful visual branding. The Gator proves that innovation and good design are key to successful product development in this country”.

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THEGATOR

Left: Hugo Davidson, Director Right: Malcolm McKechnie, Director Catalyst Design Group

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With 15 years industrial design work behind them, a proven passion for product design and a long international client stable, the Catalyst Design Group Directors took on the often spoken of but rarely realised in design challenge – to design and manufacture their own product line – and KNOG was born. In Taipei, March 2003, Hugo and Mal launched KNOG with a unique bar end light and a handful of quirky bags. KNOG’s range of urban cycling and accessory products quickly established a niche with a unique emphasis on spunk and aesthetic style in a market dominated by functional design. Growth has been steady and currently KNOG’s 80 strong product collection sells in over 30 countries. In-depth strategic planning and feasibility studies balanced with ongoing milestone reviews and market assessments have been key success factors for KNOG. This self-managed approach to research and proactive market response has resulted in hero products like the Frog™ single LED micro-light (an international hit) and now the Gator hi-powered LED bike headlight. The Gator’s technical challenge was to harness the power of new hi-powered LED technology in a small, aesthetically inspiring and simple package. Significant design and technical issues involving light, size, power, heat and mass manufacture were addressed in the 12 month development process. From the first hand-made foam and clay models, to the first working prototype and finally the off-tool pre-production samples, it has been one hell of a ride. The outcome is a hi-powered LED bike headlight. Two hi-powered 3 watt LED lamps (wide and spot beams) sit beside a 5mm beacon LED. These lamps are mounted inside a cast aluminium chassis encased with compression-molded silicon. Powered by a smart charge lithium-ion battery, the Gator burns at full brightness for four hours and will run the beacon LED for a further 2000. The unit is controlled from a slim handlebar mounted 3 button intuitive keypad allowing the rider to individually control each lamp’s brightness and function. Attachment to any diameter bike bar or frame (no tools required) completed the compact Gator. The Gator fulfils two simple requirements; to outperform competitive hi-powered bike lights – and do so with beauty and simplicity. This simple object of desire has been backed up with strong branding, subtle marketing, PR and a direct channel from manufacture to the international market. The Gator is a carefully executed project representing good design with purpose and intelligence.

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Winner of two Australian Design Awards.

And a win for the environment.

Caroma H2ZeroTM Cube Urinal has

AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

just received two prestigious Australian Design Awards – for Excellence in Australian Design and Excellence in Sustainable Design. Superior in operation, maintenance and hygiene to other waterless urinals, the H2ZeroTM Cube is the first truly viable and sustainable high performance option, with the potential to save billions of litres of fresh water annually. H2ZeroTM Cube is the ideal specification for environmentally responsible developments. To specify the Caroma H2Zero™ Cube urinal call 1300 CAROMA (1300 227 662). www.caroma.com.au

Product designers and manufacturers have the power to make a real difference, and when it comes to sustainability, this is even more apparent. According to recent studies, it is estimated that up to 70% of a product’s environmental impact is ‘locked in’ at the design stage, when important decisions are made regarding materials, energy and water use, reducing or eliminating toxins and using less packaging. The Australian Design Awards has set a new benchmark for environmental sustainability in product design by introducing more stringent assessment criteria gauging Reduction of Hazardous Substances [RoHS] compliance, sustainable design strategy and environmental impact. By placing emphasis on these areas, Australia’s industrial designers are now rewarded for making an environmental difference. To encourage designers to think even more about sustainability, Standards Australia and Sustainability Victoria, in consultation with the Design for Sustainability Partnership (Design Institute of Australia, Centre for Design at RMIT and Product Ecology), have developed a special Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design as part of the Australian Design Awards.

2007 WINNER The winner of the inaugural Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design is:

Replaceable Bio Fresh block

Replaceable Bio SealTM

CAROMA H2ZERO CUBE URINAL Caroma Dorf

The judging process considers three aspects of product design: 1. Is the product water, material and energy efficient? 2. Is there evidence that the product addresses these at all stages of design? 3. Are there any special features (eg: communicating sustainable performance to consumers)?

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Vandal Resistant Metal Grate

The judges commented: “The Caroma H2Zero Cube Urinal illustrates that integrating sustainable design from the outset creates a winning product for the user and the environment. Its major water saving potential also translates into a considerable reduction in green house gas emissions. This is truly a standout example of responsible design without compromise.”


Reduction in maximum WC flush volumes (for new installations) and corresponding average daily per capita WC water usage in Australia with particular reference to the period since 1982

SUSTAINABLEDESIGN

Water conservation has become a global concern. In a world of inconvenient truths, protecting our natural resources is fundamental. Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent, where only 12% of rainfall results in river flow. Combine the worsening drought with current climate patterns and a dramatic drop in dam capacities and we face an uncertain future… one that cannot sustain the current rate of population growth and carries severe implications for our agricultural industry and eco systems. Community awareness of the problem has changed consumer attitudes, with support for tighter water restrictions and legislation mandating water conservation schemes. Of course, to best protect our finite supply of fresh water, we need sustainability to ensure our usage does not exceed the rate of natural replacement. Nevertheless, for an immediate impact on water consumption, the obvious solution remains the effective management of our available water resources. Hence, the critical need and challenge to develop products that will minimise water consumption by innovative design. Caroma Dorf has been committed to sustainable design for the past 25 years, and continues to develop a wide range of innovative water-efficient products and technologies for Australian conditions. Sustainability is a primary consideration in the earliest part of the concept design phase of the company’s R&D projects, resulting in design innovations that have provided Australia and other countries with significant reductions in domestic/commercial water usage and waste water. Since Caroma produced the world’s first two button dual flush cistern in 1982, the company has progressively refined the technology, leading to the 1993 development of the first 6/3L dual-flush now adopted internationally. In response to the current urgent need to conserve water in Australia, Caroma Dorf has developed advanced toilet, urinal, and tapware technologies to minimise water consumption while providing effective performance. Toilet water consumption, a major source of water usage in the home, has been further reduced from the 6/3L system via an iterative design and development process. The outcome was the 2004 introduction of the award-winning Caroma Smartflush® – Australia’s first 4.5/3L dual flush toilet – was the result of an intensive research and development program. Conducted over 5 years and with a $10 million investment into engineering the cistern, pan, and trap to work together as a uniquely optimised unit, the Caroma Dorf R&D team re-engineered standard toilet suite technology to make less water work more efficiently in all critical functional areas, creating the most efficient mains supplied toilet system on the Australian market. The water-saving benefits of advanced Smartflush® technology are clear. Simply by converting a traditional 11L single flush toilet to a 4.5/3L Caroma Smartflush toilet suite can save up to 35,000 litres of water per household per annum. Caroma dual flush technology has also been incorporated into toilet designs developed specifically for the North American market where they are known as High Efficiency Toilets (HETs). The North Amercian EPA confirmed the company’s role at the forefront in water conservation by certifying twenty of Caroma’s dual flush toilets as meeting the EPA’s new WaterSense label out of 32 toilets in total listed. WaterSense is sponsored by the US EPA and is designed to promote water-efficient products and services. In 2007, Caroma unveiled Australia’s first 5 Star WELS toilet suite. The Profile™ Suite with Integrated Hand Basin was designed to lower total bathroom water usage by providing a simple, effective way to

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13 litre flush (65 l/p/d) 11 litre flush (55 l/p/d)

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11/5.5 litre flush (33 l/p/d) 40

9/4.5 litre flush (27 l/p/d) 6/3 litre flush (18 l/p/d)

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4.5/3 litre flush (14 l/p/d) PROFILE 4.5/3 litre flush (12.5 l/p/d)

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re-use water. Profile™ achieves this rating through a combination of the Smartflush® ultra low 4.5/3L flushing technology and a unique cistern design. In essence, one volume of water is used to perform two tasks – firstly for hand washing and then for toilet flushing. It is the first design to feature a dual-flush push button and spout arrangement to save water normally used when hands are washed in a separate basin. The flush cycle activates the flow of fresh water through the basin spout, allowing time for thorough hand washing water and is then captured in the cistern ready to clear the pan during the next flush. Profile™ was progressively refined through intense research and development that included a joint collaboration with Brisbane City Council, which installed prototype integral hand basin toilets in multiple trial sites. The cumulative result of the extensive feedback from these trials found The Profile™ concept was a viable water-saving solution and logical choice when sustainability was the top priority. “Caroma is committed to developing and using technology to optimise the water efficiency of our bathroom products and the Profile™ system is an example of this commitment,” commented Peter Crowley, Managing Director of Brisbane-based GWA International Limited, parent company to Caroma Dorf. “We’ve improved on our water-saving best, delivering 10% greater savings in total bathroom water usage than Caroma Smartflush® alone.” The same challenge and commitment to leading edge water-efficient toilet design was employed in the design of the new Caroma urinals. 2006 saw the release of Australia’s first WELS 6 Star urinal, the Cube 0.8L Smartflush®. This innovative design uses 60% less water compared to standard 2L single stall urinals, and even greater savings when compared to a 2 stall urinal using more than 4L per flush. Importantly, the high efficiency urinal program reached its ultimate solution last year with the release of the Caroma H2Zero™ Cube Urinal, which employs revolutionary new technology to use zero water. The result of an intensive three-year research, design and development program by the Caroma Dorf R&D team, the H2Zero™ Cube Urinal has been designed specifically for environmentally responsible developments, satisfying all targets for sustainability, water conservation, and environmental impact. Conservatively, when compared to standard 2L flushing urinals in a typical CBD office tower, H2Zero™ can save 2.301 million litres of water per annum. Its watersaving impact received the ultimate recognition by the Australian design industry when the H2Zero™ Cube won the inaugural Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design and an Award at the 2007 Australian Design Awards. The urinal has also been selected as one of the top nominated designs for the INDEX: AWARD 2007, the biggest design award in the world focusing on design to improve life. Sustainability is all about meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. Through design innovation and a commitment to sustainable design, Caroma Dorf is now positioned at the vanguard of water efficient bathroom products on both the Australian and international markets. By continually raising the standard for water efficiency and resource conscious innovative design, the Caroma Dorf legacy of reduced water usage and associated waste water will be passed on for generations to come.

Dr Steve Cummings Research and Development Manager Caroma Dorf

CAROMA DORF RAISES STANDARDS FOR WATER EFFICIENCY AND RESOURCE CONSCIOUS INNOVATIVE DESIGN

Average daily water consumption (litres/person/day)

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Robert Tiller Director Tiller + Tiller

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SUSTAINABLEDESIGN IS ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY ENOUGH?

Many years ago, I made a conscious decision to turn my professional skills to work that could make a sustainable difference. I have designed and worked with many clever people to create a number of products that have significantly contributed to the reduction of negative impacts on the environment. These products include energy saving devices to substantially reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions, fine tune water use in irrigation equipment, monitor water irrigation from rivers and recycle grey-water which realise savings of over 40% for household water use. Many of these products have become global market leaders and are used worldwide. These technological based product solutions and others like them we in the design profession create are vital to making the planet a better place to live in. As designers we are also making more careful choices when it comes to the design and production process - better material use, more sensitive supplier selection and implementation of regulated global initiatives to reduce waste and hazardous materials. Australian designers have become more aware of our role in environmental sustainability. Most of us are on the environmental sustainability wagon and we are feeling good about it. But are we doing enough? Should we be viewing the notion of sustainability more holistically than the environment or a good product or service and how we produce them? Our influence and impact is far reaching. Designers need to take a broader view of their role in developing a sustainable future and use our unique position in the development of products to promote far reaching and sustainable goals. As our lives become increasingly depersonalised and time pressured, it has become increasingly important to me to view sustainability more holistically. This view sees sustainability as not only framed within a technological and commercial context, but also a social one in which I connect to others and contribute in a personal way to the community in which I live. It follows that a foundation step to becoming truly sustainable in the way we live is to become more inclusive and people focused. We have to embrace the social impact and the social development of people using our products and become aware and proactive in sustainable practices. Eventually sustainability will rely on people behaving differently, not just buying something to make them feel like they are doing the right thing. We all want the communities in which our children and families grow up to be as good as we can make them, so it is up to each of us to help create these places. Ideally they are places that support and sustain. For this to occur we must expand our perspectives on the way we view sustainability. Designers of all bents, particularly product design professionals are well placed to act as catalysts to meaningful change. We make possible solutions visible and workable to those seeking guidance on responsible sustainability in their daily lives and local communities. This action needs to be nurtured so small local initiatives which drive significant change can link one day to global initiatives we often feel powerless to deal with. Designers are people who hold a unique way of looking at the world. Our creativity should be leveraged into this holistic notion of sustainability. This means engaging at a professional level in a far broader capacity than usual product centric focus we employ in our day to day work. We are problem solvers who are capable of connecting social ideas with

solutions and help people through confronting change. We do this every day in our project work. Why not leverage it out into the community? An inspiring example of a professional initiative can be seen in the work done by CRASH, the Construction and Property Industry Charity for the Homeless, a global industry organisation made up of construction and property professionals. CRASH uses the professional skills in its network to negotiate temporary squatters’ rights in properties awaiting redevelopment. They help to establish suitable living conditions and the homeless are given caretaker roles. At times this may be for a few months, and others considerably longer. Visit www.crash.org.uk/homelessness/ links.lml for further information. I see sustainability as including and creating a sense of community and caring amongst those we see everyday. To be active in this sense means establishing connections to ensure we not only have meaning in our communities but that we contribute meaning to them. If for example we have a neighbourhood that lacks a good park and we would like to have one, we should explore the options of how to create one. A beautiful local park and community garden with a playground, where people can come to relax, play, work (if they like gardening) and talk is a great place to start building connections - a place to nurture communication amongst the community to begin applying creative thinking to new issues that may emerge. Options for designers to contribute in this way might be to volunteer or offer our services at cost to help design better public facilities such as toilets, public showers, drinking fountains, park benches and disabled railings. We can volunteer to work on programs to set up local networks that might help children, old people, schools, local business or help develop strategies for communities to solve problems like saving water or energy. Once started, the momentum of the creative process can carry people to new and exciting outcomes. Australian organisations offering networking and sustainable design resources include the O2 Global Network (www.o2.org), the Society for Responsible Design (www.srd.org.au), The Royal Australian Institute of Architects (www.architecture.com.au), Changex (www.changex.org) and Green Drinks (www.greendrinks.org). Alternative strategies to empower our communities and make them more caring could well draw from Nelson Mandela’s initiative to appoint a Community of Elders for Peace – an initiative that utilises well-connected motivated past world leaders to address global issues from war to global warming. Perhaps we should consider a model such as this for our communities. We could set up and empower groups of highly respected individuals whose wisdom, creativity, integrity and humanity can be called on to help identify where collective creative thinking can be applied. This would go some way to connecting the individual and their ideas or problems to people who can apply professional creative thinking and offer solutions. This helps bridge the gap between local, state and federal initiatives, connecting local with global communities. Industrial design professionals have a great opportunity now to take active roles in sustainable thinking, to engage with existing networks and to sow the seeds of new ideas. Moral inspiration and leadership are certainly needed today and are vital in helping to make our communities and our lives more sustainable. In achieving this goal, we all have a vital part to play.

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2007 AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARDS

Products that receive an Australian Design Award are products that represent design excellence. Australian Design Award recipients have, in the opinion of the judges, both met and exceeded all applicable judging criteria including innovation, intelligence, visual impact, functionality, originality, need, longevity, quality, ergonomics, safety, presentation and environmental sustainability. They have also proven to add significant value to Australia’s cultural and design identity. Illustrious past winners include the Holden V2 Monaro Coupe, the VentrAssist artificial heart, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Torch, the Victa Razor Lawnmower and the QANTAS Skybed.

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BREVILLE BES400 IKON® ESPRESSO MACHINE HWI Electrical – Breville Design Cube Industrial Design An understated and intelligent domestic espresso machine with world-first features including easy-to-clean filter eject system, extra mug height clearance, commercial steam pressure, easy-to-read water level and built-in storage tray.

The judges commented: “A statement in refined design and simplistic detailing. A surprising product full of hidden features.”

THE RODE PODCASTER RODE Microphones

The world’s first broadcast quality USB output microphone with zero latency headphone monitoring. A product designed to address the world’s fastest growing new media experience, audio podcasting

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The judges commented: “Excellent finish and elegant design. This is a potentially revolutionary product for a booming market.”

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PHILIPS DIGITAL PHOTOFRAME™ Philips

An LCD display that shows high quality, print-like pictures in your living room or outdoors on a built-in, rechargeable battery. It can store up to 150 photos from memory cards or connect directly to your digital camera without going through a PC.

The judges commented: “360 degrees of design excellence. Utterly appropriate for a modern open plan home.”

SUNBEAM CERAMIC SERIES KETTLE Sunbeam Corporation

The world’s first mass produced kettle combining traditional ceramic with modern kettle technology. Features include a polished stainless steel 2400W underfloor heating element and three-point safety controller.

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The judges commented: “An ingenious blend of old and new. Finally a kettle stylish enough to take to the dining room table.”

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THE EDGE Abuzz Technologies

A slim, stylish kiosk suitable for a large range of self-service solutions. An ultra-high resolution 37” LCD monitor and the latest projected capacitive touch screen technology create a state of the art user experience.

The judges commented: “Visually and aesthetically, this is a contemporary product that functions beautifully.”

SOLARSCAN Polartechnics 4design A new system providing doctors with clinically proven technology to assist with the early detection of melanoma. This sleek, modern design employs the latest camera and computer technology to produce a robust and portable device.

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The judges commented: “The SolarScan possesses a stunningly beautiful style. The quality of the unit goes right down to the smallest detail.”

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WM STATESMAN AND CAPRICE GM Holden

The most uniquely designed Holden with every panel and interior feature different from the Commodore. With greater differentiation from the short wheelbase, the result is two stand alone vehicles with distinct identities.

The judges commented: “An elegant design with fascinating details. This car looks great on the road and will have lasting appeal.”

VE COMMODORE GM Holden

The most technologically advanced Commodore born from six years of development in Australia’s first $1 billion car program. The VE offers increased performance, safety, features and value than ever before.

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The judges commented: “An exciting and sophisticated design that is well resolved inside and out.”

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CAROMA H2ZERO CUBE URINAL Caroma Dorf

SERIES 55 BB+RT ORBIT BLOCKS Ronstan International Bayly Design + Industry A super lightweight racing block for the world yachting market. The unique design delivers an uncompromising level of performance and reliability representing a paradigm shift in racing block technology.

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The judges commented: “The engineering and styling of this product are impressive. This is an outstanding example of design excellence.”

The first fully viable waterless urinal designed in response to the critical need to conserve water in Australia. Incorporating leading patented cartridge technology that combines optimum performance and hygiene, this product has the potential to save billions of litres of fresh water. The judges commented: “A standout example of sustainability going hand in hand with contemporary styling.”

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SYKES YAKKA 150 Sykes Group Design + Industry A compact trailer-mounted auto pump designed for the mining, rental and construction industries. The design features a rotationally moulded acoustic barrier that doubles as a shield from vandalism and environmental extremes.

The judges commented: “A product that shows excellence in all criteria. An extremely well executed piece of industrial design.”

CANDELABRA Charles Wilson MENU A candelabra consisting of two main components, cast in zinc and silver-plated, that when assembled form a large cross on four legs. The structure is held together by interlocking geometry and retained by rare-earth magnets.

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The judges commented: “A visually striking design with immaculate attention to detail.”

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ECHO PANEL Woven Image

A 100% recyclable PET panel to replace textile-covered tiles in commercial workstations. This light, flexible and recyclable wall panel is an acoustic system and a sustainable substitute for ceiling tiles and soft floor applications.

The judges commented: “This is what happens when a clever idea is refined through good design”.

SMOOTH TUB CHAIR Schamburg + Alvisse Design

A 21st century chair expressing comfort, craftsmanship and dynamism. Designed for informal occasional seating, the steel sub-structure and moulded polyurethane body achieve long-lasting seating with reduced environmental impact.

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The judges commented: “This is a design with real longevity. Its colour and upholstery are fresh, coupled with a pleasing line and direction.”

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Tony Stolfo Design Director GM Holden

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HOLDEN COMMODORE, STATESMAN AND CAPRICE — THE STORY BEHIND VE AND WM

How do you design Australia’s No.1 selling vehicle? This is the question that confronted GM Holden’s design team ten years ago as they embarked on the creation of a fourth generation Commodore. The design team was presented with numerous challenges – not least, the significance of the Commodore nameplate. GM Holden Design Director, Tony Stolfo, described it as a bit like presenting a new baby to 20 million parents, each of whom will have their own opinion. “We were well aware of the responsibilities involved in creating a new version of the Commodore,” he said. “This is the biggest job in Australian automotive design and we are incredibly proud of everything we have achieved.” GM Holden had been set the target to deliver a new Commodore which offered performance, style and features at a value price. The design brief needed to accommodate those requirements while creating something truly special for knowledgeable and appreciative Australian buyers, as well as other markets around the world. The resulting VE Commodore offers modularity and flexibility, reflecting the design team’s ability to answer GM Holden’s business needs. Stolfo says the new VE Commodore is a reflection of the pride, passion, personal sacrifice and commitment of an amazing design team. “VE Commodore is a free expression of emotion and feeling that has been creatively transformed from sketch to clay to math to metal.” GM Holden’s Chairman and Managing Director, Denny Mooney defines truly great design as needing no explanation. “Perfect automotive design hits your eyes, your head and your heart all at the same time. It needs no ‘wait and see’. It’s right here, right now, demanding attention and stirring emotions. VE is one of those designs.” The VE Commodore was designed alongside the all-new WM series Statesman and Caprice at GM’s third-largest design facility in Port Melbourne, Both VE and WM have won accolades since their launch in late 2006, including Australian Design Awards, Automotive & Transport category (VE Commodore, WM Statesman and Caprice), Wheels Car of the Year (VE Commodore), MOTOR Bang For Your Bucks (VE Commodore SS), News Ltd Car of the Year (VE Calais V) and Drive.com People’s Choice Award (VE Commodore SS V). If awards are any reflection, Australia’s love affair with Commodore, Statesman and Caprice is set to continue for some time yet.

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46 Left: Robbie Wells, Director/Designer Right: Lee Liston, Director/Designer 4design

JUDGING4DESIGN

4design has put its design work to the ultimate test and pitched against the world’s best in several prestigious design awards over the past 12 months. With success in the iF, INDEX:AWARD, Best Awards and the prestigious Red Dot, it has proved to be a worthwhile venture. Entering such awards is a challenge in anyone’s terms. It takes an enormous amount of time and energy to follow through with the process. The commitment must be there from both designer and client to ensure all criteria are met. 4design’s principals Robbie Wells and Lee Liston learnt a lot during the process. “It takes time, money and damn good work to compete in the international environment, which is appropriate when you are competing against the world’s best,” Liston explains. Similar to the Australian Design Awards, most international awards have a preselection process and if successful at this level, entrants are invited to make a full submission for final judging. Wells acknowledges the effort is worth it but you must be committed to the process and have good reason for entering. “Our clients see the benefit of international recognition as they are developing their brands internationally. Awards of this nature put them in the company of the world’s best”. Wells continues, “4design’s work is quite precise and minimal in its style so it sits well in the European awards environment, which is extremely relevant to our clients’ market intentions”. Both iF and Red Dot have excellent follow-through on their awards programs with exhibitions, internet coverage and quality printed publications with up to 10,000 copies distributed worldwide. These factors alone mean the effort translates into good publicity if you are successful in winning an award. So how good are the chances of success? From the outset the challenge is there. Awards of international reknown have a high number of entries, further compounded by high quality design from globally recognised companies. Both iF and Red Dot entertain only the best and a glance through past awards shows regular entrants such as Apple, Sony,

BMW, Siemens and other prestigious brands have a strong presence. The counter balance is a very close focus on design. The judging always produces interesting results as it often recognises clever design from smaller organisations. “The gene pool is deep in these awards so you have to do some serious self assessment of your work before you enter,” warns Wells. “The products 4design enter have already achieved market success and in some cases won awards. An international award was an obvious next step for 4design.” As 4design gathers momentum in the competitive Australian market place, it is looking ahead. As Liston explains, “we have international clients and the majority of our clients sell their products globally. 4design must participate globally if it wants to stay relevant”. Stepping up is not simply a matter of making the decision, it must be backed with vision and the work to support it. 4design has been selective with the work chosen for awards and all entries have been sanctioned by their clients. “We work closely with our clients to make sure the work is good enough, there is benefit in entering and the entry is presented appropriately,” says Wells. “It would surprise most people if they knew the cost of achieving success in any design award let alone international awards being the most expensive, so you need to be strategic.” However much time, money or effort is involved, it is still the thrill of the chase that inspires 4design to succeed. Wells concludes, “we enjoy what we do at 4design and we want that fun component to be experienced by our clients as well. We see the awards as a chance to challenge ourselves in an exciting way that can also provide some very tangible results for all involved”. With over a dozen entries in design awards in the past year, of which half are yet to be decided, it will be interesting to see how well this small and inspired consultancy measures up against the best.

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SUNBEAM CONICAL BURR COFFEE GRINDER EM0450 Sunbeam Corporation

2007 AUSTRALIAN DESIGN MARKS

A domestic bench top coffee grinder with a clean contemporary finish. Twenty five variable grind settings coupled with a powerful gear driven Italian burr system allows precise grind quality for all coffee styles.

Products that receive an Australian Design Mark are products that represent good design. Australian Design Mark recipients have, in the opinion of the judges, satisfactorily met all applicable judging criteria including innovation, intelligence, visual impact, functionality, originality, need, longevity, quality, ergonomics, safety, presentation and environmental sustainability. The Australian Design Mark is a good indicator of quality, value and reliability in the marketplace.

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DEMAIN DT SERIES CORDLESS DRILL Demain International Jiangsu Jinding Electric Power Tool Company Arguably the safest and easiest-to-operate cordless drill on the market. Features include an internally spinning Power-Tite chuck to eliminate moving parts and damage to surfaces.

BREVILLE BJE510 IKONŽ JUICER HWI Electrical – Breville Design Cube Industrial Design A centrifugal juicer with the largest feed chute available on the market. It combines variable electronic speed with an LCD display for optimising fruit types and juice yield.

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QUICKSMART EASY FOLD STROLLER Funtastic Ideation Design A lightweight, full size, four wheeled stroller that is able to be unfolded and ready for use in a matter of seconds. When folded down it is transformed quickly and easily into a compact, manageable size.

BREVILLE BBL600 IKON® BLENDER HWI Electrical – Breville Design Cube Industrial Design A super smooth, easy-to-clean blender with a world first blade bowl blending system to eliminate dead zones. Features include the ability to blend at slow speeds and quite operation.

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SUNBEAM ACCURA DIGITAL RESILIUM IRON SR6900 Sunbeam Corporation A digital steam iron incorporating patented technology to produce steam at low temperatures. It combines dual digital thermostats and a large LCD display for more accurate temperature control.

CLEVER PEG RIMM Industries Form Designs Endeavour Engineering The world’s first double ended clothes peg. With identical left and right components and a non-rust acetyl nylon compression spring, this truly is a clever peg.

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OPTALERT Sleep Diagnostics Outerspace Design The world’s first validated system for providing early warning of drowsiness. Complex micro-electronics housed in ergonomically designed eyewear monitor driver alertness continuously.

BLUEPOINT TERMINAL Express RX Outerspace Design A medicine dispensing unit for remote and rural communities. Advanced technology is combined with pharmacist supervision to provide a potentially life saving service around the clock.

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STARTING PLATFORM Industrious Design Australian Institute of Sport A fully sensing, non-abrasive diving platform set at an aggressive angle for maximum force. Its spacious design gives elite swimmers an unsurpassed feeling of movement.

NEUVO Compumedics Outerspace Design An elegantly designed medical system to diagnose neurological disorders. Its innovative design delivers state-of-theart capabilities to high end neurological facilities.

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QD POWER AND DATA SERIES Elsafe Australia Design Edge Duet and quartet power units providing reusable service access in work environments. The fully snap-fit installation provides a visually cohesive front access solution.

UNIDRILL 18V Concept to Reality Blue Sky Design The world’s first cordless hand-held power drill with a multi-angle head. Designed specifically to improve access for jobs too awkward for conventional drills to reach.

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FROGMOUTH FILTER Silvan H20 Trymak

TS1 (TRANSPORTABLE/ TRANSFORMATION SPACE 1) pluscreate

A self cleaning, low maintenance rainwater filter. The unique visual styling offers an alternative to existing ‘rural’ themed stormwater filters.

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A portable kit room for the commercial and residential sector. Assembly only takes one day and requires no heavy lifting equipment.

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SC CHLORINATOR SERIES Compu Pool Products CMD Product Design and Innovation A self-cleaning chlorinator series that breaks away from its purely functional market competitors. Electrolytic titanium cell technology is integrated with cutting edge aesthetics and improved reliability.

SILENSOR POOL PUMP Davey Water Products

A water-cooled pool pump, ideal for high density housing applications and off-peak operation. Features include super quiet operation, low power consumption and automatic protection against low water levels.

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO DESIGNS

CREATIVITY IS LIKE A FINGERPRINT, UNIQUE TO YOU To be registered, a design must be new and distinctive. To be new, an identical design cannot have been publicly used in Australia or published in a document inside or outside Australia. A design is distinctive if it is not substantially similar in overall impression to other designs already in the public domain. Deputy Registrar for Trade Marks and Designs Gavin Lovie says designers need to understand the marketplace to know whether or not their product is suitable for design protection. “If a designer is developing a product for a market need or niche, they already know they have something of value and should consider seeking protection as part of their commercial strategy,” he says. A REGISTERED DESIGN IS A VALUABLE COMMERCIAL ASSET If you own a registered design you can take steps to enforce your design rights. This means that once your design is examined and certified, you can take action if someone uses your registered design without your permission. It is a more clear cut process and is normally less expensive than defending your intellectual property rights under common law. With a registered design you are protecting your investment in the appearance of your product, which is something the leading Australian designer and manufacturer of portable appliances and current Australian Design Award winner Breville takes very seriously. “The return on investment comes through market share. If we didn’t protect our unique designs then quite quickly someone would copy that product and undermine our investment,” Breville’s Design and Innovation Director Richard Hoare says. And not only is that investment protected, but it can grow in value and be sold or leased through licensing arrangements. Design registration can also extend the lifespan of a commercial product. This is because it is often easier and faster to change the design than to improve functionality. That means registration is an important tool for businesses to be able to maintain an image of constant innovation. Design registration was also important for start-up company Ventracor, which developed the cardiac assist system VentrAssist. The second phase of product development was about making VentrAssist comfortable for users and Ventracor’s Anthony Alder says the best way to protect a product in this phase is through design protection. “A lot of the changes we’re making are not really patentable. But there are design elements to them that are quite nifty and will differentiate us in the marketplace compared to our competitors,” he says. When used in conjunction with other intellectual property rights, design registration can provide formidable security against intellectual property theft. 68

Gavin Lovie Deputy Registrar of Designs IP Australia

On 10 January 1907, a combination over-all garment by Albert Holdsworth became the first design to be registered in Australia. Since then, more than 150,000 designs have been registered. Notable registrations include Primal Prawnstar, a fishing lure that mimics nature with flicking tails and lifelike swimming movements, the Albion Cricket Helmet, which is a fixture within the Australian cricket team, and the Speedo Fastskin suit, the streamlined full-body swimsuit that took the world by storm at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Other notable registrations such as these have gone on to win Australian Design Awards. Whilst patents and trade marks are well known terms, the registered design doesn’t have the same profile. For designers though it is the main game. A registered design protects the visual appearance of the product but not how the product works.

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TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS If you are going to file a design application with IP Australia, you should first search existing design records. This can save you a great deal of time and money, because if your design is not new and distinctive, any registration you receive could be revoked as a result of examination and your registration could be worthless. You may also face legal action if you infringe the design rights of the owners of other similar designs. Gavin Lovie recommends seeking professional advice when it comes to searching design records and drafting your own application, but adds, “You may be able to do it yourself, depending on your skills or knowledge but often the expertise of a specialist adviser will help you interpret any results and advise you on the best way to protect your design and avoid infringement of the rights of others. Similar to doing your tax yourself, you might be able to do it, but you might not be able to do it as well as a professional.” Each design included in an application for protection costs $200, but if examination is sought there is an additional fee of $360. The protection is granted for five years from the filing date, but this can be extended to a total of ten years for another $275. All design registration in Australia is performed through IP Australia. If you plan to seek registration for your design it is important not to disclose it beforehand, as this could make it ineligible for protection. As Gavin Lovie warns, “publish and perish.” “Designers should consider the commercial ramifications of not protecting their designs. If it’s important to their business, protection should be one of the first considerations before the design is released to the market. Designers need to seek registration beforehand. Otherwise it is no longer new,” he says. Alternatively, if you do not plan to register your design, publishing will prevent others from doing so. However, this will not give you legal rights to the design. NEED MORE INFORMATION? IP Australia’s website contains a range of general information, including how to claim and maintain your rights, fees, examples, forms and publications, databases, and information about the Designs Act. Advice and assistance when making a design application are available from patent attorneys and search firms, a list of which can be found at IP Australia’s website at: www.ipaustralia.gov.au Being 100 years since the first design was registered, this year will host some important events to mark the occasion. If you would like to learn more about designs protection and attend a centenary event visit www.ipaustralia.gov.au/designscentenary WHY SHOULD I REGISTER MY DESIGN? • Your design becomes an asset that can grow in value and be leased or sold. • Your protection is included on the Designs Register, which alerts others to your rights. • You are in control of your creative output in that you have the exclusive right to use and allow others to use your design. • Once examined and certified, you can sue for infringement if your design is copied. • It puts competitors on notice that you are serious about your creativity and recognise the value of your intellectual property.

DID YOU KNOW? The top three industries that file for design protection in Australia are tools and hardware, household goods and transport. During 2006-07 the top three filers of design were Resmed Ltd, Spencer & Rutherford Pty Ltd and Review Australia Pty Ltd. The majority of designs are filed from international based business at around 53 percent.


LASERVISION LIGHTS THE WORLD

Paul McCloskey Managing Director Laservision

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Entertaining tens of thousands of people around the world with spectacular light, laser, water feature and pyrotechnic displays is all in a night’s work for Laservision. The company’s Managing Director and founder, Paul McCloskey, began to explore the possibilities for lasers in the late 1970s and by 1984, he had invented and patented a unique, innovative method to harness laser energy and create stunning visual displays. Today Laservision specialises in creating world-class permanent attractions and ‘one-off’ special events. Seventy per cent of its turnover has been derived from exporting products and services, with installations in more than 20 countries. The company received a $1.3 million AusIndustry innovation grant in 1998 and a Commercial Ready grant for almost $1.9 million in 2006. The first grant was used to develop a show control system that can store and simultaneously replay large scale multi-mediums for special events and permanent attractions. The system is called the Digital Data - Pump, which the company invented and developed in house. It can combine high-powered lasers, lighting, surround sound, fountains, water screens, digital image projection, pyrotechnics and special effects. The Digital Data - Pump runs and stores encoded data created on Media - Manager software. The software creates, sequences, replays and triggers large-scale multimedia displays. Laservision created the Opera House’s laser display during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, produced night-time tourist attractions in Korea, India and Singapore, and lit an Australian skyscraper for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. WORLD-RECORD PERFORMANCE In 2006, the company created the world’s largest permanent light and sound show in Hong Kong. The display was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records. Marketing Manager Miles Pepperall said the massive nightly spectacle was coordinated using Laservision’s proprietary technologies. “Every night, A Symphony of Lights transforms Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, one of the busiest tourist and business destinations in Asia,” Mr Pepperall said. “A show of this magnitude has never been achieved and it has gone on to secure a Guinness World Record. “The first AusIndustry innovation grant certainly helped achieve this world record. Being able to conceptualise A Symphony of Lights was made possible with our sophisticated technologies and the professionalism of the Laservision team.” Mr Pepperall said the 2006 grant is being used to develop an architectural lighting system for the exterior of buildings such as skyscrapers. “Our new project, partly funded by a $1.9 million Commercial Ready grant, will enable lighting to be controlled on a larger scale than ever before,” Mr Pepperall said. “Along with a client-friendly interface, the new system will allow largescale lighting plans to be linked and controlled remotely via the Internet.” Mr Pepperall said the innovative nature of the company’s work made ongoing research and development necessary, and AusIndustry’s

assistance made all the difference. “AusIndustry provides phenomenal assistance for a small company like ours that has to place such a huge emphasis on research and development,” Mr Pepperall said. Laservision has 15 employees, with project teams supplemented by contractors. It has an office in Hong Kong, and has exported to more than 20 countries and 90 per cent of its turnover comes from exports. The company’s accolades include New South Wales and Australian Exporter of the Year, Best Use of Australian Technology in Asia, and the Australian Institute of Engineers award for Team Entrepreneur of the Year. AUSINDUSTRY AusIndustry is the Australian Government’s business program delivery division in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources. It provides a range of incentives to support business innovation. AusIndustry delivers a range of more than 35 business programs including innovation grants, tax and duty concessions, small business skills development, industry support and venture capital - worth about $2 billion to more than 10,000 businesses, and 40,000 individuals every year. Developing a cutting-edge product, process or service? AusIndustry’s innovation grants program Commercial Ready offers project funding of $50,000 to $5 million for research, development and precommercialisation. It is internationally recognised by the OECD that countries investing in their research and development are much more likely to secure a strong economic future. That’s why the Australian Government is committed to supporting the innovations of Australian businesses to encourage more business investment and improve our international competitiveness. To help customers with product and eligibility information, AusIndustry has customers service managers located in 27 offices across Australia, a national hotline and website, plus more than 65 Small Business Field Officers in regional areas. AusIndustry offers both entitlement and concession products. For a grants-based product, customers compete for limited funds, based on the merit of their application. For concessions, such as R&D Tax Concessions, a customer makes a claim, based on its self-assessed eligibility. Commercial Ready is an innovation grant program that provides up to $200 million to Australian businesses each year. The program provides grants ranging from $50,000 to $5 million to small and medium-sized businesses planning to do research and development, proof-of-concept and early-stage commercialisation activities. Companies can apply for up to 50 per cent of project costs to develop their new product, process or service. Funds are limited, and successful projects are selected on their overall merit. To be eligible an applicant must be an incorporated, non-tax exempt company with a group turnover of less than $50 million per annum in each of the three financial years prior to applying. For more information on the Commercial Ready program or other AusIndustry products visit the website at: www.ausindustry.gov.au or call the AusIndustry hotline on 13 28 46 or email: hotline@ausindustry.gov.au

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2007 ROUND ONE SHORTLIST

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11. 10. Cassette 3-in-1 PROdesign Australia Qlicksmart 11. Victa Vac and Blow Electric Victa Lawncare Blue Sky Design 12. Pelaj Speargun ZoNeXt Aquastralis

1. Holden Captiva GM Holden

13. Ocean Vault Pod Ocean Vault MPV Design

2. Perfect Italiano Table Grater Fonterra Brands Australia Outerspace Design

14. Sunbeam Avalanche Ice Shaver IS6800 Sunbeam Corporation Blue Sky Design

3. Wombat Shallow Sand Ground Anchor Rapid Anchor Progressive Production Services 3.

4. Blinq Knife Set with Block Housewares International

4.

12.

13.

5. Intevia Evaluation Kit TZ Limited CMD Product Design and Innovation

15. Nexus Exit Lighting System Thomas & Betts Australasia CMD Product Design and Innovation Sage Consultants 16. Castle 50&65 Dienamics Action Products

6. CPOD Dynamik Office Chair CPOD Ergonomics

17. Shu Roo Slimline Shu Roo Australia R.F. Technologies Australia CMD Product Design and Innovation

7. Sunbeam MultiBlender Electronic PB7950 Sunbeam Corporation

18. Y Table Ross Didier Corporate Culture

8. EM3 - Aortic Blood Pressure Analysis System Atcor Medical 4design 9. Blinq Cook’s Tools Housewares International 5.

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8.

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9.

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2007 ROUND ONE SHORTLIST

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19. Silenceair Brick Vent Silenceair International Lu Papi and Associates

AusIndustry delivers a range of more than 35 business products, including innovation grants, tax and duty concessions, small business services and support for industry competitiveness worth about $2 billion to more than 10,000 small and large businesses and 40,000 individuals every year.

20. Technegas Plus Generator (TPG) Vita Medical Bayly 21. Ultra Rinse Pre Rinse Spray Gun Enware Australia 21.

22. Furi Ozitech Diamond Fingers Sharpener Furitechnics

22.

23. Second Generation Wholeblood and AVF Needle Guards ITL Corporation 24. BOA V8 Bottle Carrier Bottles of Australia Chiptooth Design 25. Obelisk Ross Didier Corporate Culture 26. Alcolizer Easy Check Alcolizer Technology Cube Industrial Design 27. MonkeyBar Monkey Steel Sugar Steel Engineering Sugar Management Group 23.

Can AusIndustry help your business?

24.

Developing a cutting-edge product, process or service? AusIndustry’s innovation grants program Commercial Ready offers project funding of $50,000 to $5 million for research, development and pre-commercialisation. Another AusIndustry program, COMET, has a strong focus on mentoring, business management, advice and support and offers grants in the range of $5,000 to $120,000. To help customers with product and eligibility information, AusIndustry has customer service managers located in 26 offices across Australia, a national hotline and website, plus more than 65 Small Business Field Officers in regional areas. To find out more about AusIndustry’s products, phone the hotline 13 28 46, visit the AusIndustry website www.ausindustry.gov.au or email hotline@industry.gov.au.

hmaC068204

innovation grants | tax concessions | industry support venture capital | small business skills development 25.

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AusIndustry is the Australian Government’s business program delivery division in the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources.


2007 ROUND ONE SHORTLIST

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28. Ensuites On Tow Reality Concepts 29. Jigolo Jigolo Inline Building and Construction and Management Service 30. AquaBlu Agrilink Holdings 30.

31. Mercury AV Series Cellnet Group Limited CMD Product Design and Innovation Bang Design

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32. Vertibral ESO Group 33. Z-LOKK D&D Technologies 34. Jaws Crimper CobaltNiche Auspex 35. Incognito Thinking Ergonomix 36. VHF-90M Q-Mac Electronics

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W E A R E P R O U D O F W H AT W E D O . T O D I S C U S S Y O U R N E X T P R O J E C T C A L L U S O N ( 0 2 ) 9 8 1 8 5 2 5 1 O R E M A I L p h i l @ t i l l e rd e s i g n . c o m CONSUMER | MEDICAL DEVICES | BUSINESS EQUIPMENT | AUDIO | SCIENTIFIC + MONITORING 34.

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Murray Hunter Managing Director Design + Industry

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D+I CELEBRATES 20 YEARS IN BUSINESS

This year Design + Industry (D+I) celebrates its 20th Birthday! After twenty years in operation, D+I has earned its place as the largest Industrial Design consultancy in Australia with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, and partnerships in China and North America. From the beginning the D+I objective has been to deliver design excellence. Yet it has achieved much more, transforming companies into global leaders with the success of its designs. Since its humble beginnings D+I has worked with industry leaders across Australia, USA, Europe, and Asia, covering product development in commercial sectors including banking, medical, business and consumer products. 20 years ago D+I began trading on the top floor of a rustic boatshed in East Balmain. After six years of working with no air-conditioning, no parking and the salt spray eating away the computers, management decided it was time to move further up the hill to Mullens Street. The Mullens Street studio lavished with air conditioning and the lap swimming pool has now been home to D+I for 14 years, housing a team of 25 designers and engineers. The D+I Melbourne office, located in Black Rock, a waterfront reserve in Port Phillip Bay, has been in operation for 5 years. The Melbourne office is self sufficient, developing its own work and perpetuating its own client relationships. It is already considered one of Melbourne’s leading design studios with a team of 10 designers and growing rapidly. Despite D+I’s ongoing success and expansion it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. The company has survived 3 major market downturns. The 1987 market crash sent its top client under. D+I nearly suffered the same fate but was able to hang on in its critical early days. Then came the economic down turn of 1996, and the change of Federal Government to the Liberal Party which brought changes to R+D funding resulting in major ramifications throughout industry sectors, including Industrial Design. Five years later, just as the market started to come good and D+I was cracking into the US market, the devastating attacks of 9/11 struck. The door to the US market nearly closed as all new product development came to a stand still. It took dedication and determination to come through these times

and go on to achieve growth. One of the major reasons which can be attributed to its growth is client relationships. D+I builds excellent relationships with its clients, which is the primary reason for its success. “A series of long standing relationships has provided a basis for growth and is the reason for the size we are today” says Murray Hunter, Managing Director of Design + Industry. He adds “Our very first client is still with us.” Of their top 10 clients 9 are international, accounting for over half of D+I’s turnover. Part of the reason D+I has been able to develop these international relationships is its links and extensive network of quality manufacturers and toolmakers in Asia. It is through these contacts that it has been able to grow the business and that of its clients by supporting their specific needs and providing a globally competitive solution in new product development. D+I came across its international client base by working with the local office in Australia. One successful product development would lead to an introduction to the parent company and from there the team never looked back. They began to develop relationships with companies who were world leaders in their respective markets and the mandate was simple, to develop the world’s best products in short lead times. Hunter adds “There is a different emphasis on working with world leaders, the perspective is larger and the commitment to achieve or maintain their global status is absolute. “The design of a product became the competitive edge and the cost of the service is seen as a good investment. The look of a product has become a point of differentiation in marketing products globally.” D+I is now recognised worldwide for the excellence it has achieved in the design and development of physiotherapy equipment, point of sale banking products, racecourse wagering terminals and parking meters for clients who are world leaders in these areas. D+I has developed relationships all around the world, regardless of what product it is designing or for whom. There is a common ingredient for product acceptance and commercial success which is excellence. Hunter concludes “It is rewarding to think about the hundreds of products the D+I team has created over the past 20 years. Now we are looking at what we can accomplish over the next 20 years.” 79


For some time now Australia’s design industry has been trumpeting a narrative that the effects of the well documented trend of manufacturing leaving our shores can be neutralised by keeping the design portion of the product development phase here. Much has been written of our skill of design, our creativity and flair for problem solving, however these skills alone are only part of the whole. Australian designers must passionately ferret out new technologies and new applications of existing technology to complement skills of design. Many offshore low-value-add manufacturers have been wooed by the potential of increased profits through increasing the value of their offerings. They are actively pursuing design as a means to add value. Australian designers must find ways to add even more value to stay ahead of this next wave of competition. 3D CAD software is no longer considered new to the industry, Intercad alone has supplied thousands of Australian companies with 3D CAD, and there are even the early indications that those picking up 3D CAD now are actually the technical laggards of the design industry – anyone can do it. The true innovators in design are looking for more and better ways to integrate knowledge and technology. Imagine a scenario whereby your customers can: • click onto your website • configure a product to their unique requirements, based on your in-house design knowledge • order and pay for their customised product • the sales documentation is created • the manufacturing documentation is created … and all this at 10 PM when your office is empty! Imagine how much more time your designers and engineers will have to refine designs and provide truly innovative solutions to your customer’s needs! Well imagine no longer. Design automation technology is giving manufacturers more options for streamlining their business. Design automation software dramatically reduces the time required to produce customised products, saves on design time, reduces margins of error and simplifies information sharing between different software applications. All this translates into one key benefit – being able to do more with less. For a country which must increase the value of its design capacity this equates to more time spent improving designs and less time spent on repetitive tasks. TIME SAVINGS In many instances customised products are essentially variations on a theme. Design automation takes your pre-defined design and engineering rules and automatically alters your products within the frameworks of these rules for each customer’s requirements. No longer do you have to spend time re-creating CAD drawings and manufacturing data including bills of material, or different order forms for each new job saving time for your designers to work on what you hired them to do – bring new products to market, faster. Many of Intercad’s customers are saying they are investing a disproportionate amount of taken in estimating and quoting new design

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81 Scott Frayne General Manager Intercad

WHY AUSTRALIAN DESIGNERS NEED TO ADD VALUE

variations. Why not capture design rules which will immediately let a customer know if their order will need special attention, and if this will cause a delay in delivery time. If need be, the customer can then change their order to meet their deadline. Some customers who have invested in this innovative automating technology are reporting a staggering 75 per cent improvement in their productivity. In one instance a sophisticated project which previously took four to five weeks to generate all the models and drawings required for manufacturing is now completed in five to seven days. REDUCED ERROR The race to “design better products faster” has the potential to increase the risk of errors. Again design automation can help by creating all the dynamic documents required for manufacturing, such as bills of material, technical specifications and data sheets, which in turn can be re-used as purchase orders. These documents can range in complexity from simple selection records to documents that start with selections and then apply complex calculations and rules to determine the most appropriate parts to use during manufacturing. Such automation significantly reduces the risk of error from manual intervention. INTEGRATION CAPABILITIES Best in class designers have long recognised the business benefits of integrating their technology. Design verification technology (also know as FEA) has effectively become a mandatory part of a designer’s toolkit. The integration between the design and the analysis environments enables designers to “spell check” their designs for fitness of function. No longer can tight product development cycles afford the time for unnecessary prototypes. Integrated CAM software is a well documented characteristic of a high performing product development organisation. The speed of data changes means there is no time for rework of manufacturing data or even time for finding out which version of the files are the current ones. Integrated CAD/CAM speeds information flow through an organisation. Design automation software can facilitate integration with business systems including existing MRP technology to easily share data with different parts of your business allowing you improved access to information stored electronically. THE FUTURE OF DESIGN Looking to the future it is clear Australia needs to design better products faster. Our design prowess, creativity and flair for problem solving when combined with innovative application of technology adds up to a significant value add proposition for anyone involved in product development. Design automation is relatively new in Australia, with early adopters testing the water to confirm the benefits of the technology in their own environments. Intercad’s customers say “using design automation technology ‘is like cloning your best engineer’”, so the potential is clear. What remains to be seen is how quickly Australian designers can adapt the technology to their own processes. My view is that there’s no better time than now.


AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARD DYSON STUDENT AWARD

The Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award highlights projects from Australia’s tertiary students of design most closely aligned with Dyson’s philosophy of ‘complete design’ – meaning that a product should not only look good but also use innovation and technology to provide significant advantages over the product it replaces. As James Dyson once said: “Design is not just about how something looks, but how it works. I don’t see a difference between a designer and an engineer, and I don’t want to see a difference. A designer should be both.”

DESIGNING THE FUTURE

The really exciting thing about design is it never ends; the fact that each year we see design students challenging what has gone before is testimony to this. The Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award acknowledges the impact young designers in Australia will have within our community. It is a chance for the design industry to celebrate and embrace this talent and to recognise the educational institutions, in particular individual lecturers, who help guide this talent to its fullest potential. Dyson has always believed that good design needs to be bold, it needs to question, and then provide a solution that is significantly better. It is inspiring to see this philosophy, which remains at the heart of Dyson’s design process, evident in the products students submit for this award. There really are no simply stylized or ‘blue sky’ submissions. Each product design has been well thought out, is supported with solid research and presented with detailed drawings and prototypes. Design is often inherently personal, driven by an individual motivation and a personal dissatisfaction with either how something works or the lack of an adequate product on the market. The Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award enables students to draw on this, and results in a diverse range of designs, all supported by a passion and belief in what has been created; another critical success factor in the design process. It is this same passion and belief that propelled James Dyson through his early career and continues to drive Dyson’s direction. Today, James is still enamoured with the world of design and engineering. Alongside his obvious dedication to developing new Dyson products, he continues his commitment to education, through awards and education programs run in Dyson markets globally. In his aim to inspire young people and show them that design engineering is challenging, exciting and has a real future, James has initiated his biggest commitment to date with the Dyson School of Design Innovation, scheduled to open in late 2009. According to James, design changed his life and it can change the life of others too, and if we can make it easier for students, then so much the better. Winners of the Australian Design Award- Student Dyson Award go on to represent Australian design in the James Dyson Award, an international student design initiative to promote and encourage young designers to think outside the box, challenge themselves and in the end produce products that could possibly change the world.

Ross Cameron Managing Director Dyson SEA

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GOLD AWARD Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award

POWERCLEAT Paul Owen University of New South Wales A compact, streamlined device aimed at keeping yachts neat and tidy by providing a general cleating solution for very fine lines where tails are long and have the potential to tangle.

The judges commented: “The Powercleat excels in all areas of design and functionality. Truly an example of the potential within young Australian design.”

SILVER AWARD Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award

VISO – BICYCLE LIGHTING SYSTEM Ringo Fan University of New South Wales A set of handlebar grips and gloves innovatively designed for cyclists to promote safer cycling trips in dark environments.

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The judges commented: “An ingenious blend of technology and style. Its ambitious scope was supported by excellent documentation and a professional finish.”

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HIGHLY COMMENDED Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award

UAV FOR THE RURAL FIRE SERVICE Owen Bawden University of Technology Sydney A quickly deployable fire monitoring unit designed for the rural fire service. The concept includes a flight sensor, interchangeable payloads and functional aerodynamics.

The judges commented: “A unique solution to a noble cause. This is the work of a passionate designer.”

BRONZE AWARD Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award

SENTINEL Wilson Du University of New South Wales A hose clamp device that may remain un-manned, providing a fixed suppression point at a fire scene and allowing fire fighters to focus on more important tasks like rescuing people.

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The judges commented: “Well executed in form and function. A fully resolved concept that represents excellence in all areas of assessment.”

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AUSTRALIAN DESIGN AWARD DYSON STUDENT AWARD FINALISTS

PRINTER ADVERT 1.

1. Adrenalina - Anaphylactic Auto Injector Wee Leng Ansley Jones Goh University of Canberra An automatic injector for sufferers of severe food allergy that dispenses adrenaline for ten seconds and automatically retracts its needle, eliminating the guesswork and preventing needlestick injury. 2. AssureFlow Angelene Ozolins University of Technology Sydney A system designed to act on behalf of the natural function of the bladder to promote patient dignity, comfort and independence for incontinence sufferers. 28. 2.

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3. Puggle Emma Patterson Queensland University of Technology A toy that employs many proven methods in teaching children skills in delay of gratification, increasing their chances of leading healthier and more successful lifestyles when they become adults. 4. Ersa Scott Norrie University of New South Wales A transportable, renewable source of power for the remote 4WD user, also able to generate water from air for survival purposes. 5. Entile Rowen Wagner University of Technology Sydney

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An interactive educational and developmental toy primarily aimed for use by young children in childcare services. 6. Pulse Bicycle Safety Helmet Julie-Ann Davies Monash University A helmet that acts as an interactive accident preventative and also allows cyclists to listen to their favourite music, answer their mobile phone and record cycling data without compromising their safety on the road. 7. Everglide Frag Woodall University of Technology Sydney An integrated solution for short distance travel and personal effects management that operates as an infill mode of transport and promotes sustainable mobility habits


IT’S MORE THAN BEING TNEREFFID THE BACHELOR OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

When it comes to industrial design, there is definitely an attraction in being different, although the irony today is that “different” is often interpreted as “fashionable”. But is this enough? In a world where industrial design is intrinsically linked to its potential to do well in the market place, the Bachelor of Industrial Design Program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) takes on a human-centred and holistic approach to distilling the essence of successful product design which, importantly, includes the role of both the industrial designer and the end user. Industrial design can demand an unflinching acceptance to find “true purpose” and uncover how the product and its design sit in the scheme of things. It can insist on a responsibility to the past, to the present and of course, to the future. At its heart, there is often a devotion to discipline that is far removed from mere flights of fancy. On the other hand, its spirit must be free to pluck ideas from the very ether around us, drawing inspiration from the well of imagination and embracing fun. It almost sounds like the quest for the Holy Grail rather than a better toaster. Yet, doesn’t industrial design by its very nature build a bridge connecting human beings to objects? (And doesn’t good design make it easier for the marketeers to instil personality in the product to allow us to bond more easily?) Indeed, while form and functionality are essential ingredients in industrial design, the way “humanness” is integrated into the product has become a cornerstone in the challenge the industrial designer faces in creating a fresh approach. Taking into account that an important part of the success of a product design may be measured by the strength of its connection to the end user, the Industrial Design Program places a strong emphasis on developing product knowledge in relation to human needs together with a thorough understanding of the processes involved in research, development and evaluation. In combination with this approach, UNSW Industrial Design Program Staff members take pride in providing a nurturing environment to bring out the unique talents in each student by encouraging originality and the ability to see things from outside the square. In preparing students for rewarding careers, the Industrial Design Program utilises a number of resources to equip students with as complete a picture as possible together with real world applications in the field of industrial design. For example, working in collaboration with the Faculties of Business and Engineering, the Industrial Design Program is able to successfully marry both technical and commercial considerations to the human elements in design for a range of consumer and capital products used in domestic, commercial and industrial environments. To obtain that important global perspective and participation, a number of international design activities and collaborative projects are continually being forged with institutions in Europe, America and Japan. Recently, a team of our industrial design and interior architecture students were invited to the Milan Furniture Fair as part of the Dining Design exhibition of 10 restaurants of the future designed by students

Pictured (L-R): Oya Demirbilek, Head, Industrial Design, Jonathan Talbot, Senior Lecturer, Mariano Ramirez, Lecturer, Steve Ward, Lecturer and Lance Green, Head of Postgraduate Studies, Industrial Design, Faculty of the Built Environment, University of New South Wales

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from 10 selected international universities. Working with leading furniture company Molteni & C to build a section of a working restaurant called “Carnivora”, our students blitzed the show with their “furniture kitchen” concept in dining. These real life experiences not only hone design skills, they also provide students with an opportunity to learn a number of invaluable lessons such as the role of leadership and teamwork together with importance of planning and organisation in a real setting. Many of our students continue their experience overseas. Dyson, Nokia, Motorola, Nakamichi and Lego are just some of the overseas companies that have employed our graduates. Locally, you can find our graduates flexing their creativity in companies such as Blue Sky Design, Resmed, Box&Dice, Neoz Lighting, Street Furniture Australia, Mambo, Rode Microphones, and Design + Industry. To encourage the highest levels of excellence, students are encouraged to create new or challenge existing processes and product designs by entering national and international design competitions and awards. Many innovative student designs have garnered both local and international praise and recognition such as the Rockpool waterless dishwasher (design team: Ross Nichols, Doug Nash, Oysten Lie) that took first place honours in New York in 2004 as part of the International Electrolux Global Design Lab (among 10 selected design schools). When it comes to significant recognition for student achievements, the Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award stands as a beacon in the field of product design. Last year Industrial Design Program students were honoured by receiving two prizes in this prestigious Award. Despite even stiffer competition this year, UNSW industrial design graduates again impressed the judges who awarded a total of three prizes. These award-winning designs were a result of thorough research, problem solving, attention to detail and creative thinking - traits that help open doors into the competitive industrial design industry. Naturally, the success of these projects was helped by the strong partnership that exists between students and the team of dedicated teaching staff in the Industrial Design Program. It has been said that “inspiration breeds inspiration” and this cannot be truer than in the field of industrial design. The Industrial Design Program is passion heavy with a pool of highly skilled lecturers such as Jonathan Talbot. Hailing from a successful industrial design background, Jonathan directs industrial design studio courses, teaches ergonomics and computer modelling while actively researching the application of “user-centred design” to enhance the usability outcomes of industrial design activity. In fact, the Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award has awarded the Industrial Design Program a trophy two years running (2006 and 2007) in recognition of the quality teaching that nurtured award winning students. Summing up, the UNSW Industrial Design Program is based on a multidisciplinary approach to user-centred design that encompasses real world applications, encouraging individual creative development with a deep understanding of such elements as form, function and commerciality for designing products that can claim to be more that just tnereffid. 91


4

Design

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better

products

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SolidWorks® 3D CAD software enables your product design team to create better products for your customers.

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a track record of award winning Industrial Design at UNSW... in 2004... in 2005... in 2006...

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www.intercad.com.au Sydney (61 2) 9454 4444 • Melbourne (61 3) 9899 5155 • Brisbane (61 7) 3277 6166 • Adelaide (61 8) 8362 2583 Perth (61 8) 9472 4522 • Auckland (64 9) 525 9870 • Christchurch (64 3) 977 8340

in 2007...

Electrolux Global Design Laboratory Winner “ROCKPOOL, Waterless Dishwasher” Ross Nicholls, Douglas Nash, Oystein Lie [ 6 ] Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award - Highly Commended “YOLK” Gregory Scott [ 7 ] Sydney Morning Herald Young Designer of the Year “Watering Bottle” Isobel Scanlon [ 8 ] Sydney Morning Herald Young Designer of the Year “Spare Room design” Angeline Meloche [ 9 ] Gold Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award “EV Ergonomic Violin” Tricia Ho [ 3 ] Bronze Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award “MVURA Water Purifier” Julie Frost [ 1 ] International iF concept award New material category “EV Ergonomic Violin” Tricia Ho [ 3 ] Gold Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award “POWERCLEAT Sailing Sports hardware” Paul Owen [ 2 ] Silver Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award “VISO Cycling Accessory” Ringo Fan [ 4 ] Bronze Australian Design Award - Dyson Student Award “SENTINEL Rescue Equipment” Wilson Du [ 6 ] Red Dot Design Concept Award “EC(H)O-envirotorch” Rosalin Chanyasak Design Institute of Australia Student Design Awards 2007 - First Prize “Lotus Watering Pod” Dat Huynh

more information: Faculty of the Built Environment The University of New South Wales, UNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia t. 02 9385 6225 e. info@fbe.unsw.edu.au | architecture | industrial design | science (architecture) | interior architecture | | planning | landscape architecture | construction management and property |

www.fbe.unsw.edu.au CRICOS Provider Code: 00098G


Richard Hoare Design and Innovation Director Housewares International - Brevillle

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YOUNG CAREERS BY DESIGN

Leading Australian appliance brand, Breville, is in the midst of its second annual Young Designer Award - an initiative developed to launch and nurture the careers of Australia’s most talented industrial design students. Introduced in 2006, the Young Designer Award is quickly gaining academic and industry recognition as a platform to break into the competitive world of Industrial Design. The unique award program provides its entrants with tangible and commercial design experience before they graduate. The first challenge for students is to respond to a design brief that could feasibly land on the desk of one of Breville’s award-winning designers. At this initial stage, judges are expecting the proposed external form and finishes of the submission to be resolved, while taking into consideration a feasible layout of internal functional components as well as manufacturing issues. Reflecting real design challenges, this year the brief calls on students to develop an accessory for one of a number of existing Breville products. One option is to design a way of cutting oranges in half that is safe for a child to use, to complement Breville’s award-winning Citrus Press, which is often used by children. This brief requires that the fruit should be cut cleanly across its centre and at right angles to its stem axis. It also calls for an emphasis on simplicity and compactness with consideration for safety, reduction of mess, ease of use, cleaning, manufacturing issues and materials choice and cost. A good idea and beautiful design is simply not enough to take out the coveted Breville Young Designer Award. The viability of the design is assessed by a panel comprising Breville designers and marketers – reflecting that the competition is not judged on design alone, but considers commercial relevance as well. According to Breville’s Design and Innovation Director, Mr Richard Hoare the judging will be based on parameters similar to those considered before a design goes into production. For Breville that includes design, innovation, commercial viability, consumer demand and marketability. “Designing high performance, easy to use, stylish appliances which meet the everyday needs of our customers is a constant focus for the Breville Design Centre of industrial designers and engineers. “We will be looking for the same design qualities from the three finalist submissions and ultimately the winning concept,” said Mr Hoare. Breville introduced the Young Designer Award in recognition of the design inspiration of its longstanding chairman and the competition’s pinnacle prize, the John O’Brien Scholarship, is named in his honour. Each year, one talented, final-year industrial design student is given the chance to spend 12 months working alongside a number of Australia’s leading innovators – the award-winning Breville design team. In its inaugural year, competition for the John O’Brien Scholarship was fierce with designs submitted by students hailing from top industrial design universities around the country including Monash and Canberra University. “We were very impressed by the calibre of design entries in 2006 and we continue to work closely with the universities to ensure this competition is not only successful but relevant and appealing to the

designers of tomorrow,” said Mr Hoare. Tantamount to the success of this initiative, entries for the Breville Young Designer Award have tripled in 2007 and Australia’s leading industrial design educators are on board for the competition. “Demonstrating the importance of the program, the Young Designer Award is already part of the final year curriculum at three of Australia’s most reputable universities. “The design schools have shown enormous support in the early stages of the Young Designer Awards and we are expecting another three universities to include the award in their curriculum next year,” added Mr Hoare. Breville gives aspiring young designers an in-depth briefing to give them the best possible chance of securing the work placement prize. “Our design team guest lectures at each design university as part of a national roadshow to launch the competition. Students have the opportunity to learn about the awards program, gain a deeper understanding of the brief and ask as many questions as they like. We find they are hungry to learn all they can about what it’s like designing in the real world. It provides them with a great head-start for the competition.” Adding a touch of nostalgia, the Breville designers return to their own universities to lecture in the same theatres that they themselves were once taught in. Breville’s judging panel now has the difficult task of selecting three finalists from the design submissions received for the 2007 competition. Three talented finalists will have the opportunity of flying to Sydney to present their concepts to the panel. Following a critique from the judges, the finalists will take part in a brainstorming session with senior designers to get a taste of how the Breville team approaches the assessment of a concept. “Each of the finalists will present their concepts and exchange ideas with the Breville Design team. It will certainly be a fantastic experience for them, and for the two runners-up we hope they still leave the competition with a head-start in their future careers,” said Mr Hoare. Last year’s competition was responsible for kicking-off the design career of Kellie Jobling from Canberra University. Responding to a brief to develop an appliance for ‘healthy food preparation’, Kellie was awarded the John O’Brien Scholarship for her innovative Hydroponic Herb Grower concept. “Kellie’s concept not only showed originality in design, but also demonstrated commercial savvy and flair,” said Mr Hoare. “It is this commitment to design and innovation and solving everyday consumer needs, which has seen Breville recognised both nationally and internationally. “As a brand renowned for innovation, we strongly believe in creating opportunity for the next generation of industrial designers. We were all new graduates once. The Breville Young designer Awards are a way for us to give something back. It’s an opportunity to share our teams experience and passion with new talent. “We look forward to fostering one of Australia’s most talented young designers to help fast-track their career,” concluded Mr Hoare. The 2007 Breville Young Designer Award winner of the John O’Brien Scholarship is declared at an intimate, celebratory dinner at a Sydney dining hotspot in September 2007. 95


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similar nt design followed a “All mechanical equipme of was made in the image cycle. First the invention in – thus the first gas stoves the thing it was replacing fire stoves, on the model of the black cast-iron were model the on were cookers and later the first electric d itself smartene witch.” device new of the gas. Then each ty. The black gas personali own its d and develope castn ted parts, then some stove acquired nickel-pla entirely By 1939 the stove was n, industrial design ings were enamelled. colours, in a wide choice of ce to the pioneerenamelled and available At the than cream and green. ucted by none more popular meat of shipping same time, expensive perfected, and a few the mechanics were control, d with thermostatic orian Atmospheric models were elaborate and other c pilot-light starting, model refrigerator clock control, automati ily in to be lost again temporar ion which, the features which were .” primitive essentials d “impressed visitors the post-war return to the local company and Australian industrial design of areas mmercial and many As with cture attempts to manufa . Despite this early manufacturing, Australian tured Wood stoves were manufac acturing soon domistoves began early. gave a as the 1870s. Gas power goods as it had the in Adelaide as early widethe did as manufacturing oves were imp-orted new impetus to stove to capital cities in 1920. 907 while the first spread delivery of electricity in produce stoves in Australia America five years Email began to mass es stoves, many other applianc es Emmco (1927), 1934. In addition to

ers in to

Big ideas sta rt

seem production their materials’ and to have been ‘true to and the 54design’. Curve issue turing under license six things denoted ‘good The practice of manufac turprocess when such of the appear nal companies manufac taken its place as one to make these objects domination of internatio “In Victoria, radio had There was no attempt characand were – simple, ted in the 1950s and they industries, both in value accelera what than Australia in other ing State’s first half dozen to be anything subse. The production in that and of people engaged fittings. light ter-ised much local metal l output and in number functiona types of electronic in 1953 there were thirty-five ture of radio and all quent decades. While manu-fac a s Forties Australia, Housing in the manufacturers in important part in Australia’ different white goods In his book entitled Australian equipment played an he Several e. what industry listed The has twenty-on were only Peter Cuffley 1939 and 1945...” decade later there and Fifties, historian war effort be-tween (For in Austwith the acquired by larger ones. best known light fittings opportunity to get on small companies were considered were the anxiously awaits the acquired 1950s, although how for entertainment and and 1950s Craig & Seeley both , the 1940s the in during television of example, ralian houses production and en in this removal of import quotas design was undertak .” Chef.) In 1973, with the much local industrial for industrial purposes again. number was reduced included Kempthorne, reduction of tariffs, this area is uncertain. These this periand noted in Design in Australia local market date from Lite, General Electric Historian Michael Bogle Many mergers in the Crown, Aladdin, Rite a Email ated Wireless Australasi Craig & Seeley while 1788-1970, the Amalgam od: Vulcan absorbed Duperite. the turers did not manufac in 1916, dominated local formed company (AWA), absorbed Metters. Other several Australian employed and market Radios Australian survive Don forced into R. Haughton James, and Wilkins Servis were arena of Australian including major designers another – in 1973 New World Furey. Email Radios have been simJohn Holt and Charles the strong local company Goodwin, Carl Nielsen, turing activity. The relatively liquidation. By 1979, opporgiant design and manufac small and manufacturing American automotive 1920s and 1930s allowed Bogle noted other design acquired the rights from G. ple technologies in the ture under license their in the companies A. s tunities existed locally produce the electronic General Motors to manufac and local companies to In this year also, the , Kreisler Radio, HMV cabinets to house them. Healing, Pye Industries Frigidaire range of products. and to hand-craft wooden local production of most 1940s. began fact and the Philips 1930s in the Philips, despite Dutch company in Bakelite examples followed in this nal companies. Edward of ‘protection’ resulted radio cabinets designed of these were internatio stoves. Further reduction popular after 1975. It is interesting to note mantel radio was a nce of turers in the decade Healey’s Golden Voice mimicked the appeara fewer local manufac styled new medium initially ut the 1950s. A simply medium consumer item througho construction until the example traditional wooden was displayed as an organic forms. Historian Light fittings plastic unit, this model allowed to suggest more was e at The Melbourne Arts n and exhibition held in Melbourn of good Australian design in Making It: Innovatio An important design Robert Renew noted notable local Other tured . middle manufac Olympiad the and XVI in designed The 1950s Festival of the Materialica Design Awards, are s Industries that in 1956 featured locally an important showSuccess in Australia’ XVI were Mickey of the early e Arts Festival of the case of designs included Astor’s s (not designers or artists) Europe’s top design using new 1957. light fittings. The Melbourn of the 1930s, engineer material appliby which appeared in later cast cations. The awards are considered wall lamp brackets designed and the HMV Little Nipper of radios which were Olympiad featured a platform for employed as ‘stylists’ torches by Edward Worsley product engineering and product design turing Selwyn and Joyce Coffey, in thermosetting plastics. in Europe and Australian manufac manuAustralian designers Meadmore. All were and provide an important stimulus draw. for and lighting by Clement to industry. which to from late that Australia was have a long history g to (the late) designer Despite Boyd’s lament factured locally, accordin in within essay t claimed (he Design gy teams from around the world wrote an importan recently submitshare in the new technolo Ron Rosenfeldt, who ph- Simon Jackson Design.’ ted entries in three categories; in radio and phonogra e entitled ‘Industrial Best of Product, Best of Australia’s Home: “Progress the Olympiad catalogu 51 twelve Curve issue Material with the benefit of and Best of Idea. Independent design Coffeys’ judges from Reviewing the Germany and Switzerland judged over three hundred entries accross the three categories.

opposite articulated monito r Charlwood Design arm and the view from ’s studio

issue ten Curve 25

below the Ellipta Power Tool Bar system

Process and Pandolfo

small

The client mig ht not understa nd the end user and as designers it is industrial our role to be Hoare their advoca te

Australia only after several ic reproduc-tion reached were ) in the 1950s many years of trial overseas” The of the local industry. boasting of the dynamism Buildings, Exhibition (Exhibition Australia in Made 1952 to the success of the Melbourne) paid homage Australian radio industry:

Richard

Technology fir st

for Games ba ton

connects with consumers Simply – a natural looking bag made of leather, it has been dyed without sacrificing the material’s structure or ‘naturalness’

Creating The Brief

issue six

freedom at work

models demandf the cook for

ort g Transp ar p ge

see why of hindsight one can some five decades exhibition. as examples for the they were selected nce they and sleek in appeara Austere but balanced

Ecodesign ex cellence

challenges ah ead

business

leads with vision

tury, about ten shers, garbage

issue eleven | 2005

NOW

opposite Rockpool concept renderings showing stone controls and interior

Voice mantel radio Edward Healey’s Golden

es and New System Telephon and Kelvinator (1932) s, ors and washing machine manu-factured refrigerat the Email with the formation of it was not until 1934 n volume Australian productio company that large

re virtually cept for isolated e tumbler-type

above from left, Ross Nicholls, Douglas Nash and Oystein Lie with their award

computer aided design

hind America in

and a Wood eon, Dr Fion of lopment Plastic surg the deve lies Stoner for that app Ms Marie sol system , an aero wounds CellSpray ensions to susp cell culture skin s. burn as such received also er and Ms Ston ralian Dr Wood gural Aust rd, the inau rd. Their a new awa ment Awa gy Achieve ble for its Technolo most nota deemed work was th. and dep breadth Lifetime rded the r was awa ion Dr Joe Bake his contribut t Award for gy Achievemen technolo 24 Curve issue ten science and ce. to applied marine scien notably in applications,

form product package

sumer

“You’ve really got to be lookin g at the user, times the client somemight not under “The use of laptop stand this and industrial design s has made as ers it is our role office worke mobile – most rs more to be their advoc of them have Charlwood ate. mobile devic Design is an as phones, PDAs, es such “For the Ellipta industrial design digital came shares the top projec group t ras and so on. we observed that project these floor of an inner people, and For our and watched devices neede city office buildin looked at what called Melbo d to be easily g– ted urne Design they and reconnecte did at their desks, disconnecrather than Park – with archit d... especially simply asking designers in ects and them what they when people landscape, movin g aroun what multimedia are A waterless dishwashe d an office space they needed. did and and graphics. r that looks like a rock We also video or building.” pool taped them desk environmen The second was individual has won first prize in “This is a true in their a global design competiti t. This inform ‘conceptual exploratio The Ellipta Powe collaborativ ation then helpe on from e environmen ton’find out what r Tool Bar featur of the chosen Electrolux. Students allows crossd product us t, which from leading schools the genre. es a system user really neede Thirdly, there was the disciplinary outco with a ‘rail’ that of design that starts product.” d in such a can be as long ‘synthesis’ where in nine countries compete wemes,” directas camesays as any desk. or a together d to create the most Charlwood. Paul can be positio team to sort The rail outned in the middl through our ideas and standing new appliance e of a desk create a cohesive solution. concept. on either side) (for Workp a user or table or along lace showrooms “We are fortun that always its back edge ate to have look beautiful neat may not access to . The consume The Electrolux brief for environmen and be the best the competition, now usefulbusine ts. It means r research wasother Modules can ss in discoverin guide to follow gtothe in its secwe can easily be added as Charlwood, attitudes of people ond year, was to “design , according required – powe who says when to their find out where products for a daring the best office fitouts data conne rs, and useability r outlets, are happening dishwashe you consider but not ctions, USB modu the real world issues associate too distant future of a desk in and who has in Melbourne d with the current it is usually a le, a communica 2015”. The designs were module with designed them. format. mess. to “make tions speakers, trays ” life easier and more for papers, rests enjoyable”. or mobile phone for “Every PDAs This provided us with desk in the corpo s. Other additi One of Charlw ons are translu ood’s most intriguseveral core issues that informed rate fitouts we screen panel required to have cent looked at was much of our s for along the The Rockpool was designed ing recent projec has been the design process. at least three top or on the These were, by three University of ts the guilty Ellipta Powe ing and an articu data outlets back, lightNew r Tool Bar – a the future, one feeling associate South Wales students – one for lated flat screen started project that d with for the phone about eighte and was based on consume monitor arm. by frivolous en months agowasting water and one for rs’ washing; the concern for water use your data. for Hafele Austra unsavoury task and lifestyle convenie and grew far beyond of loading and “All loose wiring lia unloading “We had to the original nce. is stored in attac the dishwashe brief. work within this r; the premium hed dump bins of kitchen space knowl easy constr acces aint (esp- edge that even with the s when taking for According to the local in apartment living) data will, in mobile items judging panel of Lars Charlwoodecially explains: and the The arm floats the near future “Our on the road. Erikson, less or VOIP was looking desire to integrate Sydney based Electrolux to any positio , be wirefor a betterthe dishwasher client (voice over for ideas n and can be design director, architect looking versio into the overall internet protoc to accommoda adjusted n of the humb kitchen design. Ian ol).” Moore, designer Mark te different LCD le five point Armstrong, and deputy power board, primarily screen sizes. arm’s simple People now director use in office The mechanism Initially in ourfor of the Powerhouse Museum, work in much individua enviro is fully expos l concept nmen smaller space Jennifer Sanders, the work ts.tended keeping with we ed, this is in sit at tobig desks toget s and often “After speak focus on the pragmati the philosophy Rockpool dishwashe her, and with ing with repres c issues of space efficiency r was chosen because that techn our the ology is part screen entatives from working enviro theAustra advent of flat , ands there is con- lia better ways cept had strong ergonom of nment and Hafele more desk space we went and of loading and shouldn’t be ic benefits, and was reviewed differeunloading the dishwasher, under the desk,” . in lineenviro using fairly pushed work with Electrolux’s pro-enviro said Charlwood. office based conservative nments near and nt contemp nmental policy. Charlwood orary technolog us in the centra y. says this remov We spoke to l business area. es the need a number of “The result is and encourages for partitions the big corpo an ordered Some of the Douglas Nash, who designers doing people to comm concepts ratestage working enviro interiowere worked with two other from this r multiple desk does not preten unicate with nment that fellow worke modular third-year systems that outs. industrial design students, their d to be perfec rs more readil couldfitbe configured in various y. tly Oystein Lie and Ross neat. how This recognises sizes to people work Nicholls, “With explains the process different kitchens; fold today and the these suit huge behind the concept: down dishwashers that corporate projec flexibility that “After ed in a dynam researching took is needts, cost issue and you very little space and ic work enviro how people big dishwasheisrsthe have multip nment.” would use a that board utilised the le customers power sinkin an office we From the outset we including faciliti cavity as well as to think about realised very chose to address the es managers,many other iterations. The rail system quickly that humble powe area of dishinterior design is fabricated washing, as we thought a r board produ archit ers and from alumin it had been a very stagnantects.” ct could easily the connection ed to offer much ium extrusion, be extendWe felt we had to do product category for panels are powd more to the something outside the years and the basic er user. coate mould format box and d injection ings. Some of of ood decided to Charlw the drawer and cupboard the rests are away from the simple analogy is still the dominant says a commmove formed using “So step ium on innovativ sheet mistak by e and the articu step we introd aluminleave out input approach to a more e in design is to typology. We were driven lated monitor uced modu ‘blue sky’ position. from the end by the notion that there Australia. We diecast. les to Hafele arm is prima user. held many brains rily had to be a better solution, torm sessions or at least some room the client, to involving “They alway We left what we really expan for reinterpretation. thought s seem to be d the conce The system is left out of theother international entrants desk system pt to a total ing process would be good to be marke with multiple decision makat and no one ted by Hafele modules. as industrial, European and bothers (such in their to find out what minimalist, space really need. efficient design) internationa The university project due to their In this case, l catalogues was conducted in three style of they “Rath units in Austra living, they er and and certai than started rounds. the first placing all of than just a powe lia will be releas to think in terms of a nly needed more First there was ‘consume the wiring and very Australian scenario.under ed early next r board! r insight’, which was outlets the desk, we year. aimed at getting everyone designed for to go out and engage mobile worke positioned the with the rs and outlets in a rail problems, issues and above the desk.” attitudes of the target market through primary research. According to Charlwood’s own research, now more mobil worke rs are e than in the past.

Subscribe

industry.

form product package

ralians have anding Aust Clunies tigious ATSE ed the pres 2005. ward for y of n Academ SE, Australia neering, and Engi Science the ological ments in s achieve gy d recognise technolo science and cation of ralia. Aust of he benefit

form product package

ground king new been

Panoramic views of the Melbo urne skyline, fitouts in town the best and leading designers from disciplines close a range of by ensure Charlw ood Design the optimum enjoys work environmen t.

global view

ISSN 1446-4829

Verrano – a door station made from illuminated glass

Showcase for materials

left double walled glassware by Bodum

2004 ven | issue se

A shortlist of twenty-three entrants featured innovations in computer technology, lighting, seating and cycling. carbon fibre bicycle components

above Sensitile – an architectural feature product based on irregularly connected, passive light guides made of plastic

The Best of Product was awarded to ‘Simply’, a bag from the Bree Collection KG. Designed by Christian Reichert and Ivona Pop, Simply is a leather bag, constructed in a minimalist design where the leather is dyed, while keeping the bag’s natural look.

The Sensitile from the USA won the Best of Materials award. A technological breakthrough , the Sensitile ISSN 1446-4829 is an interlocking series of plastic light conductors. The conductors react to lights and shadows, and transfer them to other parts of the Sensitile. Designed for use in architectural

design, the Sensitile is an innovative and completely original material.

Conti Vitroflex – a resilient, translucent material compound made of lightfast synthetic rubber and fiberglass tissue used for temporary buildings and concertina bus walls

The judging panel decided to give the Best of Idea award to the “wood.e” created by Transalpin, Mindelheim. It is a carefully designed piece of moulded wood, which, when connected to a 12V power source allows the user to insert sockets from other products anywhere on its surface. Following on from the success of the 2004 awards, International Forum Design (iF) is already preparing for the 2005 program. Organisers believe that these awards will become the benchmark for product and material design all over the world. A selection of winning products can be seen here.

44 Curve issue ten

issue ten Curve 45

ius g Gen Judgin ds tren award

More ideas than Einstein

profile

Richard Hoare

Winning hea rts worldwide

play ? Child’s arn to le lessons

Richard Hoare is one of Australia’s leading industrial designers with an imp-ressive track record that includes putting Sunbeam design on the map and now taking the Breville design centre toward a global vision. He talks to Curve editor Belinda Stening about his early years as well as plans for the future. What was your backgrou nd before joining Housewares International?

effort and creativity on reducing assem-bly time. I worked on a range of toasters, irons and kettles that fully snapped together with one screw – each part locking in the last like a puzzle. I contin-ually had new opportunities and increasing responsib ility. Along with Keith Hensel I was subcontra cted to a US company to design a steam iron range with fully automate d assembly. It was a ten million dollar project and involved running a team of designers and engineers in Mississipp i. I gained extensive knowledge in terms of big projects, management and cultural differences. As design director I was lucky to play a key role in taking the business from manufacturing-driven to market-driven and, working with a talented team, achieved a high level of design output and speed to market. Why did you want to become a designer?

I studied industrial design in Adelaide at the University of South Australia. This As a kid I was always course had a good building and fixmix of a theoretical ing things. I was fascinate and practical hands-on d with the approach to mystery of how things design. We had passionat worked. I would e lecturers draw plans and build and an excellent model gliders, boats, shop. I did rockets projects with local industry and other contraptions. My including a family was very creative light, bath seat, chair and a source and toilet brush of inspiration. holder for Sabco (whom Housewares I remember being asked International recently to pick acquired). I did oranges from our tree, work experience with and building a Sunbeam and complex device to convey was offered a position the with them after oranges via chutes from graduating. the top of a ladder gently into a container to save I worked for Sunbeam going up and down for fifteen years. the ladder with a It was a fantastic educatio bucket. I think I spent half a day buildn. I worked under Ian Wilson who ing it to save about half was very encouran hour of aging and gave me picking! I had fun with a lot of freedom. this type of thing At that time they were – I think I had a sense manufacturing that there was in Australia, so I would always a better way get involved in to do things. every aspect of a product, from I lost track of my love research and conceptu of creating things al design during my final years through to of schooling and ended up doing a year detail component design, of medicine. production This wasn’t for me so techniques, assembly I then had various efficiencies and jobs such as working warranty issues. Because for a mechanic the labour and building models costs in Australia were for the South high I focused Australian Film Corporat much ion. My sister suggested I find out

It does not rep lace the heart it provides pe but is connec rmanent sup ted to a we ak heart wh port ere

www.curve.com.au

Can you tell us about your role at Sunbeam?

My role at Sunbeam was director of design and new product development. This entailed overseein g the design, technology and project management departme nts. A key function of the role was to establish and communicate an internal direction for design and then steer all projects toward that direction. It was also to build a talented creative VentrAssist ‘artific ial heart’ rende team and culture ing pump ring showwhere magn ets designers could excel without fear of failure. What is your role now at Housewares International?

At Housewares Internatio nal I am responsible for design. I have been building a world class design team to design and develop products for our brands – from Breville and Kambrook on the electrical side to the housewares brands of Alex Liddy, Forum and Baccarat on the non-elect ric side. We have built on the existing Breville development team and a strong tradition of innovation by significan tly expanding our design capacity . We are designing for a world market. We export to twenty-five countries worldwid e, to major internatio-nal brands. In January 2003 we launched an exclusive range of Breville products in high-end departme nt stores across the US and Canada. I am responsible for our design philosoph y and direction, and to ensure we use our design resources in the most effective way.

A life-saving heart pump ing device called has received VentrAssist TM the prestigious Engineers Austra for engineering lia Award design excell ence. Know ficial heart’, n as the ‘artithe device is currently on Melbourne’s trial at Alfred Hospit al. Ventracor Limite d received the award at this design award year’s s. The comp any is comm eloping and itted to devmarketing the product to comp a number of ete with early first and second gener Ventricular Assist ation Left Systems or LVAS, available in United States the and Europe. The VentrAssist is a fully impla nted ‘third gener device that ation’ features only one moving the heart in part. It assists pumping blood in the body suffering from of patients ‘end-stage’ congestive heart Congestive failure. heart failure is when the to pump blood heart is unabl e efficiently throug hout the body. The VentrAssist offers a poten tial long-term to heart transp alternative lant. It does not replace is connected the heart but to a weak heart where it provid anent suppo es permrt. It has poten tial to allow rest and possib the heart to ly allow it to recover.

Curve is a media sponsor of Connecting 07, ICSID/IDSA World Design Congress, October 17–20, 2007 San Francisco. 24 Curve issue eight

above controller backp ack with recha batteries and rgeable controller unit

Ventracor’s Chief Execu tive Officer, says the comp Dr Colin Sutton any is proud , Ventraco of the recog Engineers Austra nition from lia. He said the device at award criteria nised the produ recogct’s potential patients h contribution national econo to the my, its impac selected p t on quality of significance life and its as a benchmark for heart tr of engineering ence and an excellexample of world’s best practice. Professor D The total world prevalence and lung tra of heart diseas ed at ten to e is estimattwenty-three charge of t million peop VentrAssist offers le. The an alternative performed to heart transp with only 2100 lant transplants perfor has been co med in the US year. The two each main types of the device i artificial hearts hearts and LVAS, are total of which there approval ma have been three generations .

VentrAssist is one of three third-genera currently in clinica tion devices l trials and is the most advan these. It is made ced of from titanium, silicon and rubbe has a diamo nd-like carbo r and n coating design it ‘biocompat ed to make ible’. Patients do not need rejection medic to take antiation. It is six centimetres and weighs in diameter just under 300 grams. Its small it can also be size means used in childr en. The VentrAssist pumps blood using a rotatin floating impel g and ler. The hydro -dynamically impeller is the suspended only moving part in the devic externally worn e. An battery and controller provid and cont e

Ventracor rec a new clean headquarter s to be manu fa Ventracor. Fift trial will be ma Construction o additional $7 m Ventracor is pre VentrAssist devic

DesignAwards_Advert_FA.indd 1

10/8/07 2:53:34 PM


FINALISTSEXHIBITION

LAUNCHEVENT

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4.

5.

1. Chris Travis 2. Erica Galea, Michael Locke and Karen Gentles 3. Brian Parkes 4. Adam Fransen, Garth Ryan, Robert Tiller, and Nick Robinson 5 & 6. “Droog Design - A Human Touch� 7. Anton Beardmore 8. VIP guests: Norman Gillespie (Sydney Opera House), Brian Parkes (Object) and Dr Alan Morrison (Standards Australia) 3.

9. Sydney Opera House

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3.

1. Consumer products in all shapes and sizes 2. Cutting edge digital devices impress 3. Guests marvel at the Clever Peg 4. Student prototypes shine 5. Neil Davidson, Kate Evans and David Davenport 6. Ken and Jane Quek 7. Guests put the Orbit Blocks through their paces 5.

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8 & 9. Sunbeam and Breville products attract attention

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PRESENTATIONNIGHT

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10. Peter Freedman receives an Australian Design Award from John Castles 11. Guest of Honour Ken Cato 12. National Gallery of Victoria 13. Opera singer 14. Schamburg + Alvisse Design 15. Dr Steve Cummings, Caroma Dorf, receives the Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design 16. Breville design team 17. Table centrepieces 18. John Tucker 3.

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19. Polartechnics and 4design receive the Powerhouse Museum Design Award from Jennifer Sanders

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1. MCs ‘Hamish and Andy’ 2. Abuzz Technologies design team 3. Ross Cameron and Paul Owen 4. Catalyst Design Group receives the 2007 Australian Design Award of the Year from Ken Cato 5. Sunbeam design team 6. VIP guests: John Tucker (Standards Australia), Tina Jowett, Ross Cameron (Dyson SEA), Jennifer Sanders (Powerhouse Museum), Ken Cato (Cato Purnell Partners) and John Castles AM (Standards Australia) 7. GM Holden design team

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8. Student prize winners: Paul Owen, Ringo Fan, Wilson Du and Owen Bawden 9. The Great Hall

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2007 POWERHOUSE MUSEUM DESIGN AWARD

From a simple peg to an entire automobile this year’s Powerhouse Museum Selection shows how design impacts on every part of life. Many of the selected products have potential to create real benefits in our lives. The ability for design to improve health, safety or the environment was the focus of the new Powerhouse Museum Design Award introduced this year. Since 1992 the Powerhouse Museum has recognised excellence in Australian product design with its own award as part of the annual Australian Design Awards program. The Museum displays the winning products in the Success and Innovation gallery for one year. Some of these products and relevant design models and documents are added to the Museum’s permanent collection of Australian industrial design. The Museum’s selection is made from the Australian Design Awards finalists and the selection criteria include good design, innovation, and the significance of a product to Australia’s material culture. Products must demonstrate innovation in design, technology or materials that are of real benefit to users. They must also show potential to become important in the lives of Australians, be significant to Australian industry or provide an opportunity for Australian design to be recognised in the global marketplace. In 2007 the Museum introduced a new award to give special recognition to one of the Powerhouse Museum Selection products. The Powerhouse Museum Design Award is given to a product that has potential to make a significant improvement to the quality of health, wellbeing or the environment. This could be by creating an opportunity to sustain or enhance quality of life through improved safety, diagnosis, treatment, reduced injuries or trauma. Or it could contribute to a significant reduction in water, energy or materials use or create an opportunity for improved management of environments or ecosystems. The Powerhouse Museum Design Award recognises the important role for design in harnessing the challenges of science and technology to make a positive impact on our lives. The recipient of the inaugural Powerhouse Museum Design Award was the SolarScan by Polartechnics and 4design. Developed over more than ten years by Polartechnics in collaboration with Sydney Melanoma Centre, CSIRO and a number of design firms, the SolarScan demonstrates excellence in product design, software and electronics design based on innovative original scientific research. It has potential to reduce unnecessary surgery on suspicious but benign moles, improve diagnosis of melanoma and is used by more than 100 clinics in Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. The Powerhouse Museum develops collections and presents exhibitions and programs that explore science, design and history for the people of New South Wales and beyond. It is the only Australian museum that actively collects and exhibits Australian product design – from drawings, models and prototypes to the final product. This record of Australian creativity and innovation is seen around the world through the Museum’s online collection database. The 2007 Powerhouse Museum Selection products are displayed in the Australian Design Awards exhibition in the Success and Innovation gallery at the Powerhouse Museum until June 2008. The exhibition also features a selection of finalists from the Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award. 102

2007 WINNER SOLARSCAN Polartechnics 4design

2007 POWERHOUSE MUSEUM SELECTION QuickSmart Easy Fold Stroller Funtastic Ideation Design Sunbeam Ceramic Series Kettle Sunbeam Corporation Breville ikon® Blender HWI Electrical – Breville Design Cube Industrial Design Clever Peg Rimm Industries Form Designs Endeavour Engineering SolarScan Polartechnics 4design VE Commodore GM Holden Optalert Sleep Diagnostics Outerspace Design Series 55 BB+RT Orbit Blocks Ronstan International Bayly Design + Industry Gator Catalyst Design Group Knog Caroma H2Zero Cube Urinal Caroma Dorf Frogmouth Filter Silvan H2O Trymak Candelabra Charles Wilson Design MENU


COMPANYDIRECTORY AN A-Z DIRECTORY OF ALL COMPANIES LISTED IN THE YEARBOOK

104

4DESIGN 02 9280 4454 www.4design.com.au

Bayly 03 9894 2622 www.bayly.com.au

Corporate Culture 02 9690 0077 www.corporateculture.com.au

Enware Australia 02 9525 9511 www.enware.com.au

Industrious Design 02 6251 5277 www.industriousdesign.com.au

MPV Design 02 9527 7755 www.mpvdesign.com.au

Rapid Anchor 08 9272 6779 www.rapidanchor.com

Sykes Group 02 4954 3333 www.sykesgroup.com

ABUZZ TECHNOLOGIES 02 8323 5100 www.abuzz.com.au

Blue Sky Design 02 9669 4644 www.blueskycreative.com.au

CPOD Ergonomics 03 9015 7234 www.cpodchair.com

ESO Group 03 9534 5593 www.esogroup.com.au

Outerspace Design 03 9427 0355 www.outerspacedesign.com

Reality Concepts 03 9338 5588 www.ensuitesontow.com.au

Thinking Ergonomix 02 9726 7177 www.thinkingergonomix.com

ACTION PRODUCTS 07 3713 7444 E: alex@actionproduct.com.au

Caroma Dorf 02 9202 7101 www.caromadorf.com

Cube Industrial Design 02 9337 6233 www.cube.net.au

Funtastic 03 9535 5814 www.quicksmartideas.com.au

Inline Building and Contruction and Management Service 02 4885 1847 E: jim@inlinebuilding.com.au

Ozi Surf Safe International 02 9360 5800 www.oceanvault.com.au

Rimm Industries 08 9385 6264 E: ian.rankin@bigpong.com

Thomas & Betts Australasia 02 9749 8444 www.tnb.com

Agrilink Holdings 08 8416 9900 www.agrilink.net

Catalyst Design Group 03 9428 6352 www.catalyst.net.au

D&D Technologies 02 9975 4100 www.ddtechglobal.com

Furitechnics 07 3255 2939 www.furitechnics.com.au

Alcolizer Technology 08 9286 1955 www.alcolizer.com

Charles Wilson Design 0417 357 452 E: c.s.w@bigpond.com

Davey Water Products 03 9730 9173 www.davey.com.au

Fuse Design 02 9726 7177 www.thinkingergonomix.com

Jiangsu Jinding Electric Power Tool Co +86 21 3304 1112 www.jinding.com

Aquastralis 03 9357 6199 www.aquastralis.com

Chiptooth Design 0401 872 549 E: danarm@gmail.com

Demain International 03 9586 9222 www.demain.com.au

GM Holden 03 9647 2293 www.holden.com.au

Jigolo 0421 08 78 99 www.thejigolo.com.au

Auspex 03 9770 3600 www.auspex.com.au

CMD Product Design AND Innovation 07 3371 9189 www.cmd.net.au

Design + Industry 02 9555 1166 www.design-industry.com.au

Housewares International 02 9316 3622 www.housewares.com.au

Knog 03 9428 6352 www.knog.com.au

Australian Institute of Sport 02 6214 1111 www.ausport.gov.au

CobaltNiche 03 9320 2200 www.cobaltniche.com

Bang Design 02 9818 5509 www.bangdesign.com.au

Concept to Reality E: info@concepttoreality.com.au www.concepttoreality.com.au

Design Edge 02 9879 6344 www.designedge.com.au Dienamics 07 3256 9222 www.dienamic.com.au

HWI Electrical Breville Design 02 9384 9620 www.breville.com.au Ideation Design 03 9533 6211 www.ideationdesign.com.au

ITL Design and Manufacturing 02 9209 4343 www.itlcorporation.com

Lu Papi and Associates 02 4651 2380 E: lupapi@westnet.com.au Monkey Steel 02 9566 4533 www.monkeysteel.com

Philips Design +65 6882 3217 E: kevin.yj.chou@philips.com pluscreate 03 9417 7409 www.pluscreate.net

Rode Microphones 02 9648 5855 www.rodemic.com Sage Consultants 07 3356 5551 www.sageconsultants.com.au

Trymak 03 9532 2372 www.trymak.com TZ Limited 02 8233 9229 www.tzlimited.com

PROdesign Australia 07 3252 3757 www.prodesign.com.au

Schamburg + Alvisse Design 02 9212 7644 www.schamburgalvisse.com.au

Woven Image 03 9913 8668 www.wovenimage.com.au

Qlicksmart 07 3844 1182 www.qlicksmart.com

Silenceair International 02 9555 7215 www.silenceair.com

ZoNeXt 0421 872 699 www.zonext.com

Q-MAC Electronics 08 6363 8423 www.qmac.com

Silvan H2O 03 9799 7055 www.silvanh2o.com.au

R.F. Technologies Aust 02 9476 5929 www.rftechnology.com.au

Sunbeam Corporation 02 9695 9972 www.sunbeam.com.au

105


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CONTACT

2007YEARBOOK

SUSTAININGDESIGN For more information, please contact us at: Standards Australia Exchange Centre Lvl 10, 20 Bridge Street GPO Box 476 Sydney NSW 2001

This is an official publication of Standards Australia Limited. While the information has been prepared with all due care, Standards Australia Limited does not guarantee the information is complete, accurate or up to date. Views expressed in articles by contributors do not necessarily represent those of Standards Australia Limited.

Phone: +61 2 9237 6090 Copyright© 2007 Standards Australia Limited. Fax: +61 2 9237 6091 All rights reserved. No part of this publication Email: mail@designawards.com.au may be reproduced or copied in any form or by Web: any means without the written permission of www.designawards.com.au Standards Australia Limited, except as otherwise www.australiandesign.org.au under the Copyright Act 1968. From a simple peg to an entire automobilepermitted this year’s www.standards.org.au Powerhouse Museum Selection shows how design impacts on every part of life. Many of the selected products have potential to create real Australian Design Awards Team benefits in our lives. The ability for design to improve health, safety GeneralMuseum Manager, Design and or the environment was the focus of the new Powerhouse Communications, Standards Australia Design Award introduced this year. Australian Design Awards Since 1992 the Powerhouse Museum has recognisedDirector, excellence in Brandon Gien Australian product design with its own award as part of the annual Australian Design Awards program. The Museum displays the winning Manager, Australian Design Awards products in the Success and Innovation gallery for oneStephanie year. Some of Watson these products and relevant design models and documents are added to Program Coordinator the Museum’s permanent collection of Australian industrial design. New Media Producer The Museum’s selection is made from the Australian Design Awards Australian Design Awards finalists and the selection criteria include good design, innovation, and Mitchell Wade the significance of a product to Australia’s material culture. Products Support Staff must demonstrate innovation in design, technology or materials that are of real benefit to users. They must also show potential become Public to Affairs Manager important in the lives of Australians, be significant toStandards AustralianAustralia industry or provide an opportunity for Australian design to be Kate Evans recognised in the global marketplace. Events and Communications In 2007 the Museum introduced a new award to give special Coordinator, Standards Australia recognition to one of the Powerhouse Museum Selection products. The Powerhouse Museum Design Award is given to aRebecca product Ball that has Art Director, 2007 Australian Design potential to make a significant improvement to the quality of health, Awards Yearbook wellbeing or the environment. This could be by creating an opportunity Steve Hanzic to sustain or enhance quality of life through improved safety, diagnosis, treatment, reduced injuries or trauma. Or it could contribute to a Yearbook Contributors significant reduction in water, energy or materials use or create an Editorial Photographer opportunity for improved management of environments or ecosystems. Bryan Smeath role The Powerhouse Museum Design Award recognises the important for design in harnessing the challenges of science and technology to Printer make a positive impact on our lives. Print National The recipient of the inaugural Powerhouse Museum Design Award was the SolarScan by Polartechnics and 4design. Developed over more than ten years by Polartechnics in collaboration with Sydney Melanoma Centre, CSIRO and a number of design firms, the SolarScan demonstrates excellence in product design, software and electronics design based on innovative original scientific research. It has potential to reduce unnecessary surgery on suspicious but benign moles, improve diagnosis of melanoma and is used by more than 100 clinics in Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. The Powerhouse Museum develops collections and presents exhibitions and programs that explore science, design and history for the people of New South Wales and beyond. It is the only Australian museum that actively collects and exhibits Australian product design – from drawings, models and prototypes to the final product. This record of Australian creativity and innovation is seen around the world through the Museum’s online collection database. The 2007 Powerhouse Museum Selection products are displayed in the Australian Design Awards exhibition in the Success and Innovation gallery at the Powerhouse Museum until June 2008. The exhibition also features a selection of finalists from the Australian Design Award – Dyson Student Award. 108

CALL FOR ENTRIES 2008 Australian International Design Awards Applications Open Wednesday 5th September 2007 Applications Close Friday 14th December 2007 Entry is open to all professionally designed products available for sale in Australia and products professionally designed by Australians for overseas markets. Enter Online DESIGNAWARDS.COM.AU


THE RØDE PODCASTER

Peter Freedman Managing Director Rode Microphones

110

RØDE Microphones is now one of the world’s most successful microphone brands, and a great example of an Australian success story. Sold in over fifty countries, and stocked by major music and sound retail outlets worldwide, RØDE has become a leading brand in the music, broadcast and professional audio industry in a relatively short time. This success can be attributed to RØDE’s commitment to excellence in both manufacturing and design. Investment in tooling with a focus on efficient processes has allowed RØDE to continue its proud Australian designed and manufactured mantle. The RØDE Podcaster was born from the realisation that while many users were aware of the technology known as ‘podcasting’ — downloadable broadcasts, usually syndicated as a series — there did not exist a simple to use, yet professional quality solution for recording audio to a home computer. With the boom of user-content driven communities such as YouTube and MySpace, participation culture appears to be here to stay, so the market potential of such a product was identified as significant and the creation process began. When embarking on the Podcaster design project, RØDE had a very clear concept of what it wanted to achieve — to deliver to the world a product which was unmistakably the best in its class. The Podcaster’s target demographic has a high demand for up-tothe-minute technology without compromise, so rather than purchase a cheap and less-effective alternative, we produced a ‘prosumer’ product that provides a professional look, feel and performance, but at an accessible price point. Thus RØDE’s primary focus was to deliver the excitement and benefits of complex technology in an approachable and non-demanding end-user interface. Heavy duty die-cast metals were chosen for the construction to give the Podcaster a quality feel as well as protect it from the rigors of regular use. RØDE also designed the product with the aim of very low assembly costs to allow manufacture in Australia. Being a digital and analogue audio device that required studio quality specifications and the ability to be used with all current software, extra care was also taken in the selection of the electronics topology to ensure that the user interface was simple and logical. The RØDE Podcaster complies with all current national and international regulations for materials use such as RoHS, which governs the inclusion of lead in electronics, and of course the CE regulation for electrical safety, RF immunity and radiation. RØDE’s engineers spent a great deal of time producing a contemporary design which has seen the Podcaster being adopted by thousands of people worldwide and even by Apple HQ for their education and training seminars. The recognition of an Australian Design Award marks a great milestone for RØDE Microphones, proudly exporting home-grown design and innovation to the world. 110

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The Podcaster by RĂ˜DE Microphones. Australian designed and manufactured. Winner of a 2007 Australian Design Award.


The Podcaster by RĂ˜DE Microphones. Australian designed and manufactured. Winner of a 2007 Australian Design Award.


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