The winners of the German Design Award 2013 have been announced. The German Design Council’s panel of experts selected the most outstanding designs for this “prize of prizes” and conferred its award on BMW Group Design three times for the BMW 6 Series Convertible, the BMW 1 Series and the Husqvarna Nuda 900 R. This year’s German Design Award ranked the elegant BMW 6 Series Convertible among the winners in the “Transportation and Public Space” category. Further honours went to the BMW 1 Series and the Husqvarna Nuda 900 R, which received a special mention for their particularly outstanding design aspects. The award ceremony will be held on 15 February 2013 during the Ambiente international consumer goods fair in Frankfurt.
Thanks to its goal of setting innovative design trends with an international impact, the Design Council enjoys broad resonance for its German Design Award which, after just two editions, already ranks as an important yardstick for design trends and added brand value in Germany. The business and design worlds commend the initiative as an enhancement to publicising the German design scene and corroborate the Design Council’s approach by their active involvement. More than 1,500 submissions were presented to the international panel of experts in Frankfurt am Main on 16 and 17 August 2012. The 30-strong jury of the German Design Award 2013 comprises design experts from a range of areas. Hailing from business, academe and the design industry, they are acknowledged authorities in their fields.
The aim of the competition is to identify, publicise and reward innovative international design trends. Eligibility for nomination for the German Design Award is limited to products that are both forward-looking and marketable and whose market launch was within the previous five years. Prototypes and concepts are likewise eligible. For 2013, the Design Council has divided nominations into ten new categories in a structural expansion of the competition. In addition to “Transportation and Public Space”, the categories include “Interactive User Experience”, “Working Spaces”, “Audiovisual and Digital Media” and “Lifestyle”.
In the past, BMW Group Design has repeatedly earned recognition from the Design Council for its products. In 2012 – the debut of the German Design Award – the jury conferred the accolade on the BMW 5 Series Touring (silver), which was deemed to embody sheer elegance and sporting agility.
With its supremely aesthetic design, the new BMW 6 Series Convertible sets the benchmark for exclusive open-top motoring. It combines the typical proportions of a BMW Convertible – stretched bonnet, set-back passenger compartment, long wheelbase and low waistline – with a classic fabric top in hallmark fin look. Powerfully sculpted surfaces and the forward-surging dynamics of the Convertible’s contours signal authoritative driving characteristics. Contributing further to its sporting allure is the forward-tilting BMW kidney grille at the very tip of the body, creating a shark-nose effect.
The BMW 1 Series represents a youthful and spontaneous take on the distinctive design of BMW automobiles. Striking contours and three-dimensional effects accentuate its dynamic styling and lend this five-door premium compact class model an individual character and trademark sporty appearance, now further highlighted by its forward-surging design. A particularly intriguing feature is its blend of agility and compactness, lending the BMW 1 Series an authentic, lively presence that successfully embraces both tradition and cutting-edge design.
With its fresh and frisky look, the Husqvarna Nuda 900 R conveys a sense of agility, sportiness and dynamics. This motorcycle is the first Husqvarna model to couple the engineering expertise of the BMW Group with elegant Italian flair. Its minimalist design means that each element plays a definitive role in creating the athletic exterior that lends the bike its unique dynamic tension. It is a distinctive formal language that extends all the way to the aerodynamically styled tail.
This year’s German Design Award marks the second time that these three models have won a prize for their outstanding design qualities. In 2012 the BMW 1 Series secured a first place in the iF Product Design Award; in the red dot award 2012, the Husqvarna Nuda 900 R earned the ultimate seal of quality – the “best of the best” – for its minimalist and exhilarating design; and the BMW 6 Series Convertible had already won over the judges of the internationally renowned Good Design Award 2011.
[Source: BMW]
