Industrial Design Awards ceremony in Offenbach for the second time

The award ceremony took place in the Rockywood building in Offenbach harbor. It was hosted by Circle Cube GmbH, which made its premises available for the evening. The patron of the design award is Lord Mayor Dr. Felix Schwenke. The award ceremony was ceremoniously opened with a welcoming address by City Councillor Paul-Gerhard Weiß, who stood in for the Mayor, who was absent due to illness, and warmly welcomed numerous representatives from industry, politics and the creative sector.

With regard to the young designers, he stated: "They are the designers of the future, who open up new perspectives with courage, creativity and responsibility - and thus make a decisive contribution to a future worth living." Councillor Weiß continued: "Offenbach has been regarded as a location for design excellence for many years. The HfG Offenbach is far more than just a university - it is an impulse center for design, art and innovation. The cooperation between the city and the university, here and today at this award ceremony, is a great example of how joint ideas can be turned into concrete projects and how talent can be promoted and brought together with companies and institutions."

Prof. Frank Zebner, Head of Industrial Design at the HfG Offenbach and initiator of the industrial designed. design award added: ,,Industrial design is a transversal discipline that not only connects or transcends different fields of knowledge, but permeates them and has a transformative effect within them. It thrives on individual creativity, the power of judgment, cultural depth and, in particular, scientific and mathematical education that makes technical and systemic relationships understandable. The carrier of this transversality is the disegno - the actual ability to conceive and structure thoughts, ideas and forms and to mediate between theory, practice, idea and material. Only in this way can industrial design develop its creative and knowledge-generating quality.

The prize, worth a total of 6,000 euros, was awarded to outstanding projects that particularly impressed the jury out of ten nominated designs. The three award-winning works are exemplary examples of how design can productively combine social and technological issues. The prize was awarded to projects by young designers that combine innovation with solutions for current ecological and community challenges such as climate change, resource conservation and social responsibility.

The first prize (EUR 3,000) went to Niklas Karl for design to brand. The project was created in the context of the cooperation with Wöhner and shows how brand-typical design parameters can be translated into consistent product identities. The developed product family dtb6244 includes gateway connector, fan and cable duct and demonstrates how technical performance and precise design merge into a coherent CrossBoard system.

The second prize (EUR 2,000) was awarded to Jakob Fink for GravLock. The reusable gravity dowel anchors itself behind cavity walls using its own weight alone - without screws, expansion or chemicals. A simple twisting movement creates a T-profile, ideal for temporary fixings and flexible structures.

The third prize (EUR 1,000) went to Simon Schmidt-Meinzer for DentaPhage, a portable device for precise caries prophylaxis. It analyzes the breath, identifies harmful bacteria in the oral biome and releases targeted bacteriophages - an efficient, hygienic and early intervention.

The industrial designed. award recognizes young talent and promotes visionary product developments that combine industry, technology, science, innovation and design.