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These are questions that can be addressed as oneevaluates the results of the 2006 IDEA winners. IDEA standsas one of the world’s most competitive product design con-tests. This is due in good part to IDSA’s long stewardship ofthe program and in more recent years by BusinessWeek’shigh-profile sponsorship and annual coverage of the awardsin their namesake weekly.

I had the honor this year of chairing the jury that delib-erated on design excellence. Being the chair offers theopportunity to shape the jury by inviting the usual suspects,good friends, future clients or those with a strong point ofview and record of producing great design. With this year’sjury I may have covered most of those bases. But moreimportantly, I tried to assemble a jury that represented thebroadening influence and responsibility that the designprofession enjoys today. My goal was to establish coverageacross the numerous dimensions that the IDEA evaluates,including (but not limited to) aesthetics, ergonomics, strate-gy, business results and environmental responsiveness.

Furthermore, I wanted to break out of the tacit assump-tion that the jury be composed of a majority of formallytrained industrial designers. As anyone who has broughtdesign excellence to market knows, many more disciplinesand forms of expertise are necessary to make it happen.Excellence in design includes not only the conception andfinal shaping of the product’s form, but also insightful recog-

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What stands as excellent industrial design today? What issues do the best designs of today

address? What benefits are delivered to companies that masterfully employ design in the

creation of new products for their marketplace?

nition of the market need, orchestration of difficult technicaltradeoffs, and the creation of communications that helpposition and launch the product. Many disciplines actuallyhelp shape the product and its success in the market. Whynot have that diverse range of disciplines represented so thatentries would be evaluated in a more holistic manner? Wecouldn’t see any compelling reason not to, and so we did.You can find the jury composition on the pages that follow.

If you are not familiar with the jurying process, it consistsof several iterations that reduce the initial 1,400 or so entriesdown to less than one tenth of that, or 108 award winners.While that may seem like a high standard, we must keep inmind these are awards for “Excellence” and not just gooddesign. The IDSA process allows the jury to conduct the ini-tial round of evaluations online—with access to all the entrymaterials, including the entry answers, photographs andvideos. This online evaluation occurs prior to the jurors arriv-ing on site in Washington, DC, for two to three days of addi-tional rounds of evaluation. In person, two judges are pairedfor the next round to evaluate five or so of the more than 50subcategories. All in all, it is one of the most thorough juryingprocesses in which I have been involved.

I am sure you’re reading this after having browsed, if notdevoured, the winners in this issue of Innovation. What doyou think? Did you sense any topic or pattern worth dis-cussing? Because of the sheer number of entries that are

evaluated and the intensity of the jurying process, it is impos-sible for the jury to have a sense of the whole by the end. Infact, the fatigue factor puts most of the jurors in a mild stateof product shock. This involves thinking that the worlddoesn’t need any more things while simultaneouslylamenting for the good old days when we could evaluateproducts on their visceral qualities alone. This issue ofInnovation is really the first time we get a sense of the whole.Yes, you may have browsed and printed all the winners fromIDSA’s web site, put them on a wall and done this analysis,but the less motivated of us simply wait for Innovation tocome out. And while BusinessWeek publishes an amazingissue covering the awards each year, it makes its own selec-tions to highlight from the competition.

Overall, I am very happy with the results. While thereare some of the usual suspects, we were also treated tosurprising entries like a wonderful reusable constructionfencing system from Taiwan and the beautiful, utilitarian andhuman-centered LP gas tank. And the tent fromDECATHLON impressed all who saw the video of a camperflinging a saucer into the air and having a fully assembledtent fall to the ground ready for securing to the earth. Bravo!

Consumer electronics is the largest category each yearand many entries did not make it to the finals. So manyelectronic products seem to be just next year’s models andhave little new to offer. Excellence in design can no longer

be defined by having additional technological capability anda new look characterized by new colors, materials or finish-es. There were notable exceptions. A wall-mounted digitalLCD projector by LG Electronics broke out of the bulky andgray plastic housing aesthetic that seems to plague this cat-egory. Panasonic made an impressive showing by usingdesign to resolve a broad spectrum of well-identified issuesinto elegant, seemingly easy-to-use electronics.

The jury enjoyed evaluating a collection of deservingenvironmental designs. Prefabricated housing is now catch-ing on fire (categorically, not literally), and the unquestion-ably beautiful, but modular and relatively affordable, MarmolRadziner housing was outdone only by the Ashes & SnowNomadic Museum. The Bloomberg Headquarters demon-strates the value of bringing multiple design disciplinestogether to create a branded information space unlike any-thing we have ever seen.

Please enjoy—with a critical eye—the review of this year’sIDEA winners. They are the result of a unique jury and a thor-ough evaluation process. On behalf of IDSA, I would like tothank all who entered and made the jury’s job so challenging.I look forward to seeing you at the national conference anddiscussing your impressions. I also look forward to presentingthe trophies to the Gold winners with Bruce Nussbaum,H/IDSA, at the annual IDEA ceremony in Austin, TX. It was apleasure and honor to serve IDSA in this capacity. ■

By Chris Conley, IDSA, IDEA 2006 Jury Chair

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Left-right (seated): JohnPaul Kusz, IDSA; Betty Baugh, FIDSA; Robyn Waters; (standing): Carl G. Magnusson, IDSA; Tor Alden, IDSA; Denis Weil, IDSA;Aura Oslapas, IDSA; Richard Eisermann; David Kusuma, FIDSA; Jeremy Myerson; Donald Norman, IDSA; Hosain Rahman; Rinat Aruh; Alistair Hamilton,IDSA; John Thackara; John R. Hoke III, IDSA; Marcia Lausen, IDSA; and Chris Conley, IDSA.

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the graduate product design program to prepare profes-sionals to use design in the front-end planning stages ofnew product and service development.

Conley writes, speaks and conducts workshops on thecore competencies of design and their value to the practiceof innovation. He has received design awards from Sony,GE, Black & Decker and Nesté of Finland. Gravity Tankclients include numerous Fortune 500 companies in con-sumer, commercial, industrial and retail markets.

Chris Conley, IDSA, 2006 IDEA Jury ChairChris Conley is co-founder and director of Gravity Tank andassociate professor and track lead of product design at theInstitute of Design in Chicago. In the early ’90s he pioneeredthe application of user research to inspire design and man-agement teams. At Gravity Tank he leads the developmentof Integrated Definition™, a way of working that leveragesthe core competencies of design to enable cross-function-al client teams to define new product and service innova-tions. At the Institute of Design, he has further developed

Tor Alden, IDSATor Alden is a principal at HS Design, a full-service productdesign firm headquartered in Gladstone, NJ. HS Design isknown for its user research, design strategy and productdesign solutions in a wide range of markets, includingindustrial, commercial, medical, electronics and consumerproducts. HS Design is a recognized leader in the field, pro-ducing more than 400 successful products since its incep-tion some 35 years ago.

Alden’s experience includes more than 18 years inproduct development, design management and strategy,during which he has received more than 30 patents andnumerous design awards. His design specialization centerson high-technology consumer and medical product design,entrepreneurships and new venture initiatives. Alden is anactive participant and speaker in industry and educationalassociations. He currently serves as co-chair of the IDSA’smedical section and also serves on the advisory board ofthe Department of Design at Kean University. Aldenreceived his bachelor’s in industrial design from SyracuseUniversity and a master of science in technology manage-ment from Stevens Institute of Technology.

Rinat AruhPrior to founding aruliden, Rinat Aruh was vice president ofmarketing for Forth & Towne, the latest addition to the GapInc.’s portfolio of brands. In this role, Aruh oversaw all aspectsof marketing for Forth & Towne, including store experience,brand development and CRM.

Prior to the Gap Inc., Aruh held the position of globalstrategy manager for MINI Lifestyle at BMW Group AG,where she was responsible for brand extensions and col-laborations as well as new business strategies. Aruh alsoworked on the MINI brand during its US launch at BMW ofNorth America, spearheading a number of brand initiatives.Before that, she held various positions at MaxMara USA.Aruh holds a BSBA in marketing from Boston University.

Betty Baugh, FIDSABetty Baugh is a past president of IDSA and was elected toserve in each of the officer positions on the IDSA Board ofDirectors over a 10-year period. During her term as presi-dent, she forged an alliance with the International Council ofSocieties of Industrial Design (Icsid) for IDSA to host theIcsid Congress in San Francisco in 2007. She is the founder

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icant accomplishments from prestigious institutions, includ-ing IDSA’s IDEA. He holds a bachelor of industrial designand an MA in environmental studies.

John R. Hoke III, IDSAJohn Hoke came to Nike in 1992 after graduating at the topof his master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania.Hoke’s interest in Nike began during his childhood, when in1976 he submitted sketch ideas to Phil Knight regardingathletic shoes with “air” in the mid-sole. Twenty-three yearslater, John designed the SHOX XTR, an innovative trainingshoe with the revolutionary NIKE-SHOX cushioning system.Prior to graduate school, he worked at the multidisciplinaryfirm of Michael Graves.

Hoke’s work has been highlighted in numerous globaldesign periodicals and media events. In August 2003, he wasappointed vice president, global footwear design at Nike.

David Kusuma, FIDSA David Kusuma is vice president of product development,leading development teams in Orlando and Belgium forTupperware Worldwide. Previously, he was global managerof design and vehicle engineering at Exatec, an automotivejoint venture of GE Plastics and Bayer Material Science.Kusuma has made numerous presentations on the applica-tion of new materials technologies and has appeared in anumber of national and international publications, including apast guest editor for Innovation. He has been interviewed onthe Discovery, Food and History channels on the subject ofinnovative new product development at Tupperware. He hasserved on the executive board of Icsid and as a juror on the10th International Design Award, Osaka competition.

JohnPaul Kusz, IDSAJohnPaul Kusz is currently affiliated with the Illinois Instituteof Technology’s Stuart Graduate School of Business and itsInstitute of Design, where he teaches courses related to theenvironmental aspects of business and product develop-ment. He is a founder and associate director of Stuart’sCenter for Sustainable Enterprise. He also leads JPKusz,

of the consulting office of Betty Baugh Design, developingproducts for the tabletop, foodservice, consumer electron-ics and housewares industries.

Baugh holds patents for housewares products, andmany of her products have received design awards. Baughserved on the board of advisors of ID magazine, and is anadjunct professor at the California College of the Arts andthe Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Richard EisermannRichard Eisermann is an internationally acclaimed designerand strategist who recently launched Prospect, a newstrategic design practice based in London. For the pastthree years Eisermann was the director of design and inno-vation with Design Council, where he was responsible fordesign campaigns in manufacturing, technology, learningenvironments and design skills.

Eisermann came to London from Italy, where he hadbeen responsible for design at Whirlpool Europe for fouryears. Prior to joining Whirlpool, he worked as a design con-sultant, leading multidisciplinary teams at IDEO in Bostonfrom 1995 to 1999 and working as a senior designer asSottass Associati in Milan from 1988 to 1994. He and histeams have been recipients of numerous design awards,including The Smithsonian National Design Award, the IDEAand other design distinctions from iF Hannover, ID maga-zine and the Austrian Design Council.

Alistair Hamilton, IDSAAlistair Hamilton is vice president of innovation and designat Symbol Technologies, where he develops hand-heldcomputers, and data capture and RFID solutions targetedat making companies more mobile. His team focuses oncustomer-driven innovation by tightly integrating designresearch, user-experience design, human factors, industrialdesign and advanced product engineering throughoutproduct development.

At Symbol and in previous positions at NCR and AT&T,Hamilton has been fortunate to work with many greatdesigners and leaders and shares the recognition for signif-

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Ltd., developing strategies aimed at mitigating the negativeenvironmental effects of commerce. His past experienceincludes directing product design, development and envi-ronmental business management groups within corpora-tions in industries ranging from plastics to medical equip-ment and resource recovery systems.

Kusz has authored more than 45 papers and has pre-sented and taught nationally and internationally, speakingon subjects that range from education to environmentalproblem solving through the design process and organiza-tional change.

Marcia Lausen, IDSAMarcia Lausen is the founding principal of the Chicagooffice of Studio/lab and director of the School of Art andDesign at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Studio/lab isa multidisciplinary design studio providing brand consultingand information design services for leading design-drivenorganizations. Its clients include Mattel, Morningstar,Motorola, Rand McNally, Target and Whirlpool.

Lausen is an outspoken advocate for the value ofdesign in corporate, consumer and government communi-cations. She serves on the national board of AIGA andleads the election design initiative of Design for Democracy,

a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve the qualityand clarity of government communications. Lausenreceived her BFA in graphic design from Indiana Universityand her MFA in graphic design from Yale University. Shewas named a 2004 Fast Company Master of Design.

Carl Magnusson, IDSAAlthough born in Sweden, Carl Magnusson grew up inToronto and Vancouver, Canada. He studied architectureand design at the University of Idaho and at the ChalmersInstitute of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden. In 1966, hemoved to Los Angeles and joined the office of Charles andRay Eames. He later worked as a designer for an architec-tural office, eventually opening his own studio there. In 1976Magnusson joined Knoll as director of graphics and show-room design and was promoted to director of design forEurope shortly thereafter. He directly designed Knoll show-rooms in London, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Zurich, Florence,Rome, Amsterdam and Turin. Magnusson’s responsibilitygrew in 1993 when he was named senior vice president,director of design worldwide, then executive vice president,director of design in 2003. After 30 years of service, herecently retired from Knoll and founded a design consultingfirm, Carl Gustav Magnusson Design.

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Donald A. Norman, IDSADr. Donald Norman is co-founder of the Nielsen NormanGroup, professor of computer science and psychology atNorthwestern University and professor emeritus of bothcognitive science and psychology at the University ofCalifornia, San Diego. He has been vice president of AppleComputer and an executive at Hewlett-Packard. He waspresident of the Learning Systems division of UNext, anearly, online education company.

Norman serves on many advisory boards, such asChicago’s Institute of Design and Encyclopedia Britannica.He is a fellow of many organizations, including ACM, AAASand the Cognitive Science Society. Norman is the author of14 books, available in 16 languages. Recent books includeThe Design of Everyday Things, Things That Make Us Smartand The Invisible Computer. Norman’s newest book,Emotional Design, emphasizes that products must pleaseand delight, not just perform.

Jeremy MyersonJeremy Myerson is a leading design writer, critic and edu-cator based in London. He is professor of design studies atthe Royal College of Art, where he heads theInnovationRCA network for business and is co-director ofthe Helen Hamlyn Research Centre for inclusive design.

Myerson holds a master’s degree from the RCA. From1986 to 89, he was founding editor of Design Week,the world’s first weekly news magazine for designers andtheir clients.

He is the author of a number of books on design, busi-ness and society, including The 21st Century Office andNew Public Architecture. He has curated many exhibitionsin Britain. He has consulted internationally with a number ofbusiness and government organizations and is a frequentbroadcaster on the BBC.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGN EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2006

Aura Oslapas, IDSAAura Oslapas is a partner of A+O Design Methods in PaloAlto, CA. A+O uses design methods to help companiesreframe and rethink how people engage with their offeringsin the broad landscape of customer experience. Previously,Oslapas was a principal of Stone Yamashita Partners, astrategic vision consultancy and director of the SanFrancisco office of IDEO, where she developed and led apractice building innovative customer experiences for manyFortune 500 companies.

Previous experiences include both consulting and cor-porate leadership roles. Additionally, Oslapas founded andchaired the industrial design program at the CaliforniaCollege of the Arts in San Francisco. She holds an MFA indesign from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BFAdegree in industrial design from the Cleveland Institute ofArt. She has lectured widely, chaired conferences andserved on the boards of several design organizations. Herwork has received numerous awards and has appeared inmany books and publications.

Hosain RahmanHosain Rahman is president and co-founder of Aliph wherehe is responsible for defining strategic business and productdirection of the company while also managing the organiza-tion. Rahman completed the relationship with LawrenceLivermore National Laboratory, which led to the develop-ment of Aliph’s key technology and has built strategic rela-tionships with leading companies in the wireless industry. In2004, he worked with the Aliph team to introduce theground-breaking and award-winning Jawbone headset formobile phones.

Prior to co-founding Aliph, Rahman worked for AppliedMaterials and for SoundView Financial Group. He complet-ed a BSc in mechanical engineering at Stanford University.

John ThackaraJohn Thackara is a symposiarch who designs events, pro-jects and organizations. He is also the director of Doors ofPerception (Doors), a design futures network with offices inAmsterdam and Bangalore. Founded as a conference in1993, Doors now connects a worldwide network of vision-ary designers, thinkers and grassroots innovators.

Among his 12 books are Design After Modernism:Beyond the Object, Lost in Space: A Traveller’s tale and Inthe Bubble: Designing In A Complex World. He has lecturedin more than 40 countries.

Robyn WatersKnown as the trendmaster, Robyn Waters is a nationalspeaker, author and hired-gun visionary for corporateAmerica. She is founder and president of RW Trend, a trendconsulting company based in Minneapolis. Waters chal-lenges her audiences to look at trend “from the inside out”by focusing their attention on what’s important instead ofjust what’s next.

Waters is the author of The Trendmaster’s Guide: GetA Jump on What Your Customer Wants Next, a guide totracking and translating trends into sales and profit. Mostrecently, she was vice president of trend, design and prod-uct development for Target. One of Waters’ core values isthe belief that good taste and good design don’t have to beexpensive.

Denis Weil, IDSASenior director, innovation planning, at McDonald’s Corp.,Denis Weil is responsible for orchestrating McDonald’sglobal innovation pipeline and for leading the discovery ofnew high-opportunity areas through the development ofcustomer insights and advanced concepts. Previously, hehoned his customer experience design skills in productdevelopment and brand management positions at Procter& Gamble and in an e-commerce business.

Weil likes to push the boundaries of linking design withbusiness. He is an adjunct professor at the Institute ofDesign in Chicago, teaching classes in service design. Hisviewpoints about the value of design for strategy develop-ment for big companies like McDonald’s have been pub-lished in ID magazine. ■

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