Sponsored by both organizations, the 113 IDEA winners exemplify excellence in the profession that is responsible for making innovative products that are easy to use, safe, comfortable, appealing, successful and ecologically responsible. I saw a confidence, a maturity, in this year's entries which hasn't been apparent before. Gone was the sense of striving you used to get from design.
Good design is now across all product lines, from computers to appliances.
For the first time in the competition's history, the IDEA was open to international designers. 17 different countries entered the competition. The expansion of the IDEA to encompass international design is a sign of our recognition that we are not an isolated design community. The jury selected from a record number of 932 entry kits in 45 subcategories. The jurors then presented their highest scores to the entire jury, which discussed each finalist and voted on whom to recognize.