Companies, design studios, research institutions and designers from 48 countries submitted 4,218 design concepts, design research projects and prototypes to the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2019. Comprising of 20 design experts worldwide, the international panel of distinguished jurors convened and assessed each individual idea in an adjudication process lasting several days, selected 265 concepts to be recognised this year. Only concepts with the highest design merit which won over the jury were awarded the sought-after Red Dot.

Only the best honoured for their exceptional design excellence

212 concepts were awarded the Red Dot, 35 concepts consisting 0.8% out of the entire submissions were being honoured the Red Dot: Best of the Best for their exceptional design excellence, and 18 concepts were credited with Honourable Mentions. Winning design teams and designers celebrated their achievements on the runway stage, receiving their award from Initiator and CEO of Red Dot, Prof. Dr Peter Zec and Mr Ken Koo, President of Red Dot, Asia.

"The sooner design is involved in a development process, the better technical excellence and emotional appeal are interlinked.” explains Prof. Dr Peter Zec “The excellent ideas, visions and prototypes in the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2019 stand for that successful approach."

The highest level of recognition accorded at the design competition, the Red Dot: Luminary, was selected among five nominees from this year’s 35 Red Dot: Best of the Best laureates. The nominees include Lilium Jet by German company Lilium GmbH; RÉSEAU by University of Montreal, GRAD Research Lab – School of Design from Canada; Hidden Senses by Japanese company Sony Corporation; Qoobi ONE by Qoobi B.V. from the Netherlands; and Gift Look by Japanese company Panasonic Corporation.

High point at the Singapore Awarding Ceremony: honouring the best

This year’s Red Dot: Luminary brought attention to a new mobility service for the modern, urbanised age. The Lilium Jet is an all-electric, 5-seater aircraft that can take off and land vertically. Capable of travelling 300km in just one hour on a single charge and eventually, it will be capable of flying autonomously. The Red Dot: Luminary trophy was then presented to the Lilium design team on stage, marking a high note of the Awarding Ceremony.

Red Dot juror Professor Lutz Fugner commented “One of the best solutions ever seen is the project’s use of energy, what they brought together is the usability of the helicopter and the flying behaviour of an airplane. This concept managed to achieve much further and longer range with the amount of electric energy on the aircraft. As a concept, as a product of the future, this brings confidence into a really new market of transportation design.” 

Designers’ Night at the Red Dot Design Museum

The celebration continued with the unveiling of the new Red Dot Award: Design Concept winners’ exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum which overlooks the waterfront promenade of Singapore’s Marina Bay. Red Dot Award for Design Concept 2019 winning concepts are also presented at the online exhibition at the Red Dot Award: Design Concept website as well as on Red Dot Design Yearbook for Design Concept 2019/2020. The yearbook and exhibition are traditions of the Red Dot Design Award, providing designers with a reference to the best in design. The jubilant mood of the winning designers, honoured guests and members of the press carried on to the wee hours of the morning.

About Red Dot Award: Design Concept 

In 2005, the Red Dot Design Award recognised the need to identify and celebrate new design concept and innovation, the precursor of tomorrow’s great product. Believing a design concept must be evaluated based on its design merit without prejudice, the award created an unprecedented platform that accepts entries from companies to design students.  Today, the Red Dot Award for design concept has grown to be the largest and most recognised professional design competition for design concept and prototypes worldwide.

Facts and figures of the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2019

Entries: 4,218

Nations: 48

Red Dot: 212

Red Dot: Best of the Best: 35

Honourable Mention 18

Special exhibition: From 26 September to 28 October 2019 at the Red Dot Design Museum Singapore

Online exhibition: From 26 September 2019 at www.red-dot.org/online-exhibition