July 1, 2005

Industrial Designers Awards: More Than Rectal Thermometers, Much More

Very interesting. Here are some other kid-related winners from the Business Week-sponsored Industrial Design Excellence Awards:

  • Gerber SippySnacker, "a reinvention of the iconic sippy cup that, for the first time, combines a spill-proof cup and snack holder." Note: also named "the number one solution to keep your child entertained and quiet while at church" by Parenting magazine.
    ZARA-BabyTransporter.jpg
  • Zara 3 Stage Baby Transporter honestly has to be some sort of prank played on the jurors who've spent the last three years living in some kind of design cave. That thing is a frickin' Bugaboo. Oh, wait. It says it "saves parents money"? Well then, that's totally different. My bad.
  • Safety1st Perfect Fit Gate is apparently cheap, goodlooking, and getting an "overwhelming" response. Color me underwhelmed, but you can buy it at Amazon for $29.95 if you like.
  • SHIFT Concept Bicycle, aka the Notatrike, is actually cool. A lot of people sent this in when it debuted a few months ago, but I guess I wanted to see what Business Week thought before I posted it.

    But the real winner is from the Student Category. It's a concept by Evelyne Chaubert called Family Class Travel, and it works a little something like this: "The old sardine-like experience is eradicated and families are able to travel comfortably [Great! Finally!] without intruding on the comfort of other passengers... [Umm...] Located in the rear of the aircraft..." OK. Guess how many kids Evelyne Chaubert has. And I'll give you a hint: it's a number between zero and none. Tell you what, WE'LL take the front, and YOU can sardine yourself in the back, ya doublecrossin' little CalArts hipster.

    2005 Industrial Design Excellence Awards [idsa.org]

    [update: On their website, the Transporter's design company, The Node Company, describes the project. It was for Inditex, a Spanish knockoff fashion company--and parent company of Zara, thus the name. It was made to take advantage of local plastic furniture manufacturers. So it's a cheap plastic Bugaboo knockoff.]

  • 9 Comments

    That Bugaboo knockoff is a travesty and... wait, it's how much? Hmmmm... :)

    Also, I want to bet the Cal-Art student has never walked through an entire airplane to get to the back holding a baby in a car seat plus her own carry on luggage...

    OK, they look good, but are they shark proof? Or, wait, we could keep our kids out of shark-infested waters...

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050701/ap_on_re_us/shark_attacks

    OK, "baby transporter"? Color me underwhelmed until they come up with a "baby teleporter." That'd really be something.

    Also, why is it necessary to create Family Class Travel? I do it already by just booking on the back of the plane. No one else wants to sit back there anyway, so it's easier to get a full row to myself with the kid. Let me guess--next year she'll create a phone with some kind of cord that connects it to the base so you won't lose the phone in your apartment.

    Since when do rip-offs qualify for awards? Please can I get an award for creating the VW New Beetle out of plastic and a lawn mower engine?

    Isn't that what they ARE made out of??

    That Zara 3 Stage is so not a Bugaboo knockoff! Don't you see the GREEN buttons for folding, locking and switching seats? Bugaboo has WHITE buttons! Case closed! Rock on, my non-Bugaboo copying Spanish friends.

    No one can copy the Bugaboo, that thing is the best,

    how about family travel in *front*, just behind 1st class. Charge a premium even -- install car seats, bottle warmers, and storage place for strollers. Do it more in the summer, and all year on flights to places like Florida.

    Is it just me that thinks that the Zara 3 stage thing isn't a bugaboo lookalikey, it's the toy bugaboo for kids!

    Seriously cos that's what it looks like....:)

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