The Delta Award Prize 2018 Results
The ADI-FAD Awards have been awarded by the Industrial Design Association of the Promotion of Arts and Design since 1961 to recognise the work of national and international designers and companies, celebrate excellent industrial design and acknowledge its importance as an expression of economic, social and cultural values.
There have been 38 editions of the Delta Awards during the last 57 years, with alternating periods of annual and biannual competitions, always with the aim of recognising and promoting products with an innovative character, formal validity, functional and aesthetic relevance, environmentally suitability, with social impact, quality manufacturing processes and appropriate use of technologies and materials.
In 2018, the 38th edition, designs and products by national and international designers and companies can be entered in the different categories:
– Products for people: utensils, small machines, prostheses, well-being and personal hygiene, jewellery, fashion accessories, clothing and shoes, sports products, etc.
– Products for inside the habitat: furniture, lighting, electrical appliances, household, health, automatic control systems etc.
– Products for outside the habitat: street furniture, public lighting, garden accessories, etc.
– Products for mobility: group and individual means of transport, two, three and four wheels, nautical and aerial mobility, shopping carts, strollers, skates, mobility accessories, etc.
– International design: products made by foreign companies and marketed in Spain.
In 2018, a Committee of Experts had selected 85 products from 190 registered products and the Final Jury had selected 16 winners and 1 mention.
The Committee of Experts was formed by Gemma Bernal, Joan Rieradevall Esther Torelló, Rossend Casanova, Maria Baxauli, Borja Lossius, Rafael Gallego and Saúl Baeza. Rafaella Perrone was the chairman of the Committee of Experts and was assisted by Neus Escoda and Laia Aliaga though the process.
As a vocal of Education at ADIFAD, I was requested to be the chairman of the final Jury. I’m not a professional designer actually so I am not involved in any of the companies and projects presented, so my paper as a chairman it was to lead the process of selection of the different products presented. Miriam Giordano, Neus Escoda, Laia Aliaga followed the session.
The Delta awards final Jury was formed by Luca Nichetto, Isabel López, Anna Cybulska, Pepe García and Joan Forrellad.
It was an awesome experience to follow the Final Jury in all the process to make the difficult selection. The jury received a document one month before the meeting, the meeting was the 13th of June, the day before the Awards ceremony.
We signed a contract of confidentiality to not tell anyone the results and conversations developed inside a Room inside the Museum Of Design Barcelona DHub. We started at 10.00 am in the morning and finished at 18 pm in the evening, it was more than 8 hours discussing with arguments, reasons and rereading the different projects descriptions and using them also in the exhibition.
It was very interesting to listen to all kind of arguments, the process followed a rubric with assessment heading with all the criteria that were in the rules of the competition.
The rules appreciate the rules follows the criteria:
— The innovative nature of the proposal from a conceptual, formal, functional, productive, strategic, social and semantic standpoint.
— Communication capacity of the product and its cultural and aesthetic values.
— Integration between technology and design.
— Usability of the product.
— Aspects of sustainability and environmental suitability.
The Delta awards final Jury was formed by five people, it was important to select an odd number of participants to act as a tug on a ballot.
The Process follows a first individual selection through the rubric. Each of the participants makes their own selection and my paper as chairman was to follow all the different categories and make the revision on each product presented in the competition.
My mission was also to give voice to all the members of the jury and don’t allow that some people take protagonism on the others or some products doesn’t have their appreciation, we followed all the 180 products presented and we talked one by one and check the personal decisions, We started selecting products with several votes and start a discussion through the different products.
The Jury was really open, listening to all the reasons but also keeping their own visions with their own different criteria. It was interesting the visions that were more democratic into impulse “not known” designs that can be used by hundreds of people and the visions of traditional and quality into the established design.
The Jury gave 5 Gold Delta Awards and 10 Silver Delta Awards.
The Gold Awards in the different categories were:
- Product for people: Melic Kangaroo Method. The jury’s appraisal for its simplicity, natural use, multifunctionality for mother and child. The product works not just as a mere accessory but also as an extension of the body itself.
- Indoor products: Tekiò/ The jury’s appraisal for having created a lighting system that uses traditional material, paper, and applies artisan techniques in a timeless product.
- Outdoor products: Trébol/ The jury’s appraisal for the Mediterranean and organic design identified as a neo-modernism inherent to Barcelona. An example of the relevance of using decorative paving in urban furniture
- Products for mobility: OH_24/ The jury’s appraisal_For creating a basic electric bicycle that looks under-designed but is practical, lightweight and attractive.
International design: Palco Low Voltage/The jury’s appraisal for being a very simple way of trimming the light and expanding the possibilities of how to light up an area within a space. It makes the most of the LED’s change in paradigm in a gesture that is very easy to apply.
The silver medals were going:
Product for people:
- The menstrual cup Enna cycle, designed by Ernest Perera Design Studio for the company EcareYou Innovation SL, Delta de Plata for being an easy, close and attractive system, getting to establish a link with its user
- UDX, by Nacar Design for Nicolás Correa SA, Delta de Plata for solving a demanding technical problem, with the design of an elegant, versatile and multifunctional piece.
Indoor products:
- Bridge Collection, by Oriol Guimerà and Joan Cinca for Fontini, Delta de Plata for redesigning the classic switch in a fun, simple and elegant way. For its flexibility in possible combinations of finishes and create a new gesture in the interaction with the switch.
- Pointer, a design by Rubén Saldaña for the company Arkoslight has achieved a Silver Delta because it is a product of a very technical category, which has managed to solve in an easy and practical way the work with the directionality of light.
- For its part, the Chair Gata, Miguel Milà and Gonzalo Milà for Expormim, has won a special mention for-according to the jury-promote a material and traditional techniques with a result with very good ergonomics and comfort.
Outdoor products Silver Medal:
- The Rai bench, by Olga Tarrasó and Julià Espinas for Santa & Cole, has achieved a Silver Delta for being an honest, versatile, dynamic, simple design with the ability to adapt to a multitude of different spaces and scenarios.
- The Toledo Aire chair, a reissue in a plastic injection of the classic aluminium Toledo chair, designed by Jorge Pensi for Resol.
Products for mobility Silver Medal:
- The electric motorcycle Volta BCN 2017, from Ànima Barcelona for Volta Motorbikes, has been awarded a Silver Delta by, according to the jury, the realization of a motorcycle that works very well proportions, with a clean design that elegantly hides the battery.
Also, electric, the Dragonfly motorcycle, by Jordi Milà for Mecatecno, gets a Silver Delta for providing electrification in a new type of trial motorcycle.
International design Silver Medal:
- Multi Bottle Opener Hello Functionals, designed by Jordi Pla for WMF, has won a Silver Delta for incorporating two functions in one piece. A simple, intuitive and beautiful product, according to the verdict of the jury.
- Handy Bowl & Colander Set, designed by Emiliana Design Studio for Ekobo has won a Silver Delta for innovation in the application of a new material to rinse fruits or vegetables, making this daily act more sustainable and playful.
The 2018 Design Trophy, has been requested to Andreu Carulla.
The Opinion prize is the prize of the vote of the associated of ADIFAD. The Opinion Vote was for Landscape by Emiliana Design Studio for Figueras International Seating: A seating system for collectives, designed to create dynamic and flexible environments.
The results can be seen in ‘The Best Design of the Year’ exhibition from 5th of June to 22nd October 2018.
More info at Delta Awards
You can read in Spanish a full article at Experimenta.
