The winners of the first edition of the German Innovation Awards were honoured in a festive gala held at the Technology Museum in Berlin on 6 June 2018.
AXENT Smart Bathroom Cabinet was awarded winner in the category of Excellence in Business to Consumer.
The German Innovation Awards were created by the German Design Council to fill a gap in the award scene. The competition’s aim was to identify significant and powerful product innovation. Six hundred and fifty participants competed for the award, including industrial giants, hidden champions and start-ups. They all have one thing in common: a solution, an innovative detail or a service that generates real added value.
“We are very impressed with the quality of the submissions we have received”, said Andrej Kupetz, CEO of the German Design Council, which considers innovation a decisive factor to be promoted in the global marketplace. He is convinced that companies will truly benefit from this competition, because the awards represent valuable communication tools. The goal of these awards is to bring to light the great effort that companies put into improving their products for users and to advertise their innovative strengths across the industry, in professional circles and in the media.
Prizes are awarded to those innovations that have a lasting impact. The German Innovation Awards are not based on novelty alone; they identify and honour those innovations which can demonstrably add value for the user. Even when dealing with the details of a comprehensive solution, a radical focus on user-centred features and the human individual must be at the heart of the endeavour. As Kupetz explains: “This approach is particularly successful when the future users are involved in product and design development. Many companies have realised this and are now employing special methods to integrate the user in the development process in order to create an optimal product capable of asserting itself in the marketplace and of distinguishing itself from the competition.”
