Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 11:57PM 
The 2010 IDSA IDEA awards were just announced yesterday. Congratulations to all my friends who worked on the Zune HD. The Microsoft Zune HD won a Bronze award in the Entertainment category for the hardware design and a Gold award (narrowly missing Best in Show) for the Zune HD software experience.
Awards Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 12:46AM 
Transport for London recently ran a competition to redesign their iconic London buses. The contest was open to anyone, which sparked a wide range of entries. The winners were divided into two groups: The Imagine Winners and The Design Winners. The Imagine winners were any inspirational idea entries. This category features some creative designs from children, teens and adults alike. The Design winners feature more technical entries of the bus itself, or elements therein. One of my favorites is the entry shown above by Hector Serrano Studio. I'm impressed by the range of entries and ideas all based around such a classic starting point.
Awards Wednesday, October 15, 2008 at 11:06PM 
For those who have little or no money in our society, homelessness is a big issue. Is there a place where design can help the homeless? Designboom hopes that there is. They sponsored this non-profit design competition called Shelter in a Cart. In all, 4247 designers from 95 countries contributed design ideas. Although the competition itself was judged as being a superficial approach to solving poverty and homelessness, I have a hard time considering that many people thinking deeply about homelessness a superficial activity. Judge the results for yourself.
One of my favorite contributions was this Tent Cart by Timo Niskanen of Finland. His design was also nominated for a 2007 Index Award. Hopefully you too will be inspired to work on non-profit designs.
Monday, September 29, 2008 at 11:41PM 
It's one of my favorite times of the year... time to vote for the Cooper-Hewitt People's Design Awards. The award features good everyday designs nominated and voted for by everyday people. The selection is always fascinating. It features the usual clean lined, modern plastic products, spattered with a combination of overlooked everyday designs. Some of my favorite nominees this year are; windshield wipers, the fedora, and the Barbapapas. Place your votes here.
Awards Monday, July 21, 2008 at 02:18AM 
This year's IDEA awards (International Design Excellence Awards) were announced on Friday. I'll try and cover a few of my favorites over the next few days. In the mean time check out the winner galleries on the IDSA or the Business Week websites.
Awards