With 4,394 entries from 57 countries last year, the Red Dot Award: Design Concept has become an internationally significant event for companies, studios, universities, and designers alike.

Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2013

This year, it’s been announced that the award will be a shorter race, with an earlier announcement of the year’s best concepts to be revealed on 26 September. The awards night has traditionally been held in October.

Ken Koo, President of Red Dot Asia

President of Red Dot Asia, Ken Koo, says, “The Red Dot Award: Design Concept is analogous to competitive sports; the excitement stems only from a better race, a better time, and uncovering a better athlete. A more exciting race and a more exciting award are both the result of greater challenges where more and more of the best in the field participate and compete to win.”

2013 Red Dot: Luminary: Nest – Rehoming Spent Laying Hens by Massey University, New Zealand

In addition to a shorter race, this year’s Red Dot Award: Design Concept will have five new categories – Culinary, Industry, Exploration, Relax and Travel. This puts the total number of concept categories at 29, the largest and most wide-ranging in the history of the Red Dot Design Award.

Red Dot: Best of the Best: Jungle Island, Lakes & Mountains, Island, Auspicious Clouds – sofa by Zhang Bo’hang, China

Says Koo, “The award is constantly evolving with the times, and as such the categories have to expand to address the interests of our participants and also reflect the prevailing focus of the design industry. Travel and Relax are a broadening of the Recreation category, while Culinary is a focused grouping out of the Domestic aid category. Exploration and Industry offer an opportunity to go beyond consumer products, to understand the needs of industry.”

Red Dot: Best of the Best: Eco-Mobius – modular phone by ZTE Corporation, China

The international jury panel will be putting the submissions through a rigorous evaluation process. Aesthetics, quality, ergonomics, and manufacturing efficiency of the product will be considered. In addition, Ken says that the entries must have that ‘something extra’. “They should have that spark of innovation, and give a ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ feeling.”

Standard submissions for the Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2014 is on from 30 January to 2 April. For more information, visit red-dot.sg.