The award winners of the Red Dot: Best of the Best were honoured on July 4 at the Red Dot Gala, hosted by Professor Dr. Peter Zec, in the Aalto-Theater in Essen, Germany.
The founder and CEO of Red Dot welcomed guests on stage, among them Red Dot jury member Kristiina Lassus, automotive design legend Ken Okuyama and Transrapid designer Alexander Neumeister. The Red Dot president also welcomed on stage the Lord Mayor of Essen, Thomas Kufen, who invited the award-winners – all international top designers and high-ranking company representatives – to the Essen town hall the next day.
Guests from 39 countries followed the proceedings as the laureates received their trophies. Seventy-nine products were awarded the Red Dot: Best of the Best distinction, while the highlight of the ceremony was the tribute to the Red Dot: Design Team of the Year. Every year since 1988, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen has selected a design team whose excellent product design has stood out over the years. In 2016, the title went to the Blackmagic Industrial Design Team from Melbourne. Under the leadership of Simon Kidd, the team develops hard and software products that are used all around the world for film, television and advertising. The team’s cameras, editing tools and software have been used for the production of some of the biggest and most visually stunning blockbusters of recent years, such as “The Martian”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Furious 7”, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Avatar”.
Robert Sachon, Global Design Director at Bosch and 2015 award-winner, presented the Blackmagic Industrial Design Team designers with the traditional “Radius” challenge cup and, jointly with Professor Dr. Peter Zec, officially named them Red Dot: Design Team of the Year 2016.
After the award ceremony, the Designers’ Night began in the Red Dot Design Museum. Around 1,800 designers, decision-makers and design fans met at the after-show party. At the same time, the special exhibition “Design on Stage” of current award-winning products opened in the Red Dot Design Museum. Red Dot and Honourable Mention winners also received their certificates in the museum.
The Red Dot: Design Team of the Year further presented itself with a self-designed and self-created exhibition. “Creative Video Revolution by Blackmagic Design” displays the products that Blackmagic Industrial Design Team has developed for the film industry.
