Melbourne (Australia) - The entries for the 2009 Australian International Design Awards, an Icsid endorsed event, are now online. This year the program has produced 155 of the most outstanding and diverse entries from some of the world's leading product design and manufacturing companies, including an unprecedented number of Australian design icons revisited!

Entries are now online and available for review at www.designawards.com.au under Entries.

With everything from an Australian-designed hearse and reborn Victa lawnmower to a pair of Swiss-designed socks that cool your feet, a revolutionary medical device to obtain tear samples and eco-resin wall panels crafted by artisans from around the world, the 2009 Australian International Design Awards is a melting pot of Australian and international design innovation.

Beginning today, 600 design practitioners from around the world will be invited to go online to vote for products to proceed to the next stage of judging.

In a year with one of the most diverse array of entries, judges will vote on the design merits of products as wide ranging as a wetsuit, trampoline, asthma puffer, laptop, 'muscle car', pocket-watch, hearing aid, ratchet lopper, clothesline, GPS system, airline seat, cane sprayer, bicycle and even the kitchen sink.

"This year, we have seen a huge variety in entries. There is truly something for everyone, including baby and children's products, sporting and leisure equipment, business instruments, materials and textiles, mobile phones, watches, home appliances, cars, agricultural equipment, housing and building products, medical technology, audiovisual equipment, communication tools and office furniture," said Stephanie Watson, Program Director of the Australian International Design Awards, a division of Standards Australia.

"In addition, an unprecedented number of Australian design icons and brands have been revisited and redesigned with a new level of innovation, sophistication and style. We have also unearthed some world-first products incorporating the latest in technology, cutting-edge design and medical breakthrough."

Ms Watson said that in its second year as an international design awards program, competition is heating up.

"Australian-designed entries, including products from Qantas, Ford, Holden and Cochlear, account for approximately 60% of the total entries. These have been joined by international equivalents from British Airways, Audi, Volkswagen and Danish hearing aid manufacturer Oticon, to name a few.

"We have also received entries from as far a field as Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, UK, Portugal, China, France, USA, Italy, New Zealand, Denmark, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, The Netherlands and the Czech Republic," she said.

Ms Watson said the 2009 competition also includes a growing number of entries demonstrating responsible design.

"More than ever before, entries in the 2009 Awards demonstrate that industrial designers the world over are considering the wider implications of product design, including energy, water, material and waste reduction; choice of materials and manufacturing processes; responsible use, re-use and disposal; product afterlife and its overall impact on society," said Ms Watson.

"With much stronger emphasis on these factors in our assessment process, the Australian International Design Awards is taking a lead role in promoting and encouraging responsible design, where design for design's sake is no longer good enough."

Background
The Australian International Design Awards is a division of Standards Australia, the nation's peak Standards body. It is dedicated to promoting and encouraging good design which supports rigorous standards, quality craftsmanship and innovative application and usability.

The assessment process includes First Round Internet Shortlisting followed by final assessment by an independent judging panel of Australian and international experts in relevant design disciplines. Judges have the opportunity to look, touch, test and play with the entries, whilst assessing them against a common set of criteria including innovation, visual/emotional appeal, functionality, quality/manufacturing, human factors (ergonomics, semantics and safety) and environmental sustainability.

The results of the 2009 Australian International Design Awards, including the 2009 Australian International Design Award of the Year, will be announced on Friday 29 May 2009 in Melbourne.

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For more information, please contact:

Australian International Design Awards
Standards Australia
Luisa Bustos
Media Officer
t: +61 2 9237 6184
e:
w: www.designawards.com.au