An economy airline seat has topped this year’s Australian International Design Awards, taking out Australia’s top design and innovation prize at the gala event in Melbourne on Friday 29 May.
The Qantas A380 Economy Seat, designed by Qantas Airways and Marc Newson Ltd and built by Recaro Aircraft Seating has won the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year. Judges were impressed by the level of innovation and flawless attention to detail applied to all aspects of the design.
Stephanie Watson, Program Director of the Australian International Design Awards said the Qantas A380 Economy Seat exceeded all judging criteria to win the prestigious award.
“The Australian International Design Awards, a division of Standards Australia, recognises and rewards product design and innovation excellence. This year, the standard of entry was exceptionally high, with 30 Design Awards presented in recognition of design excellence and 43 Design Marks awarded for good design,” she said.
Of the 73 finalists, nominees for the Australian International Design Award were:
- Qantas A380 Economy Seat – designed by Qantas Airways, Marc Newson Ltd, Recaro Aircraft Seating
- BabyBjorn Baby Carrier Synergy – designed by BabyBjörn AB and Ergonomidesign
- Cochlear Hybrid System – designed by Cochlear
- Izona CookSurface – designed by Fisher & Paykel
- Oticon Dual hearing aid- designed by Oticon A/S
- RØDE Blimp microphone windshield – designed by RØDE Microphones
- Sports-haler asthma puffer designed by DelvTech International
The 2009 Australian International Design Award for Excellence in Sustainable Design was awarded to the Electrolux 2008 Refrigeration Collection – a range of 14 models, all of which use 49% less energy than other 10-year-old models of equivalent capacity.
