Procter & Gamble : Braun Announces Winners of 20th Edition of BraunPrize Design Competition, Celebrating Design for What Matters

KRONBERG, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BraunPrize 2018 marked 50 years since the inaugural competition in 1968, as 10 finalists presented their design concepts on Wednesday, September 12 before a live Jury that included legendary industrial designer and former Braun Design Director, Dieter Rams. Held at Braun's Innovation Centre in Kronberg, Germany, the 20^th edition of BraunPrize was a culmination of a yearlong entry and judging process, awarding $75,000 worth of prizes for work that expresses creativity and exceptional design.

This year's theme challenged creative minds to develop designs that really matter - those that innovate, provide solutions and improve life experiences. BraunPrize, the longest running international prize for product design concepts, received more submissions than ever before this year with 3,087 entries coming from 107 countries.

Established in 1968 by Erwin Braun, BraunPrize remains committed to supporting up-and-coming designers devoted to improving the world through their creativity and craft.

'We have seen record participation for BraunPrize 2018,' said BraunPrize Chairman and Braun Design Director, Oliver Grabes. 'These fantastic results showcase the increasing relevance of good design that matters. We will always support designs that make a positive impact on people's daily lives.'

BraunPrize 2018: The Journey So Far

BraunPrize 2018 presented 10 Awards across two categories - Students and Young Talent. An international jury of top design and technology experts came together in June to evaluate all the entries and narrow the field down to 10 finalists who were chosen to present their concepts at the Final Judging Forum on September 12, 2018. The jury also selected fifty additional projects as 'Special Mentions' to be recognized and displayed in the BraunPrize exhibition.

'The competition has attracted talent from all over the world,' said Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, Designer, Consultant, IOT Expert and 2018 BraunPrize Jury Member. 'We were able to honor such exceptional minds from all types of backgrounds and walks of life. It was beautiful to be able to celebrate applicants from different regions of the world with varying academic backgrounds.'

'I was so impressed by the level of thought our applicants put into their ideas,' said Stefan Schamberg, Director R&D for Braun Global, Managing Director of R&D for P&G and BraunPrize 2018 Jury Member. 'We're so proud of them for demonstrating such social responsibility and addressing important real-life issues. Well done by all involved.'

BraunPrize 2018: The Winners

At the Final Judging Forum, each finalist was invited to present their product design concepts to the BraunPrize 2018 Jury and a selected audience of over 100 guest jurors from companies, universities and media in the field of design and innovation. Live voting was then conducted for the Forum to select the final Gold, Silver, Bronze and Sustainability winners.

In the Student category, Finalists prioritized health and the environment. WIM was awarded the Gold Prize of $15,000. The Silver Prize of $10,000 went to Otto, and Pluvo was chosen as the Bronze Prize winner of $5,000.

The Winning Student Product Concepts:

Gold: WIM, by Thomas Helmer and Jenny Holmsten
Silver: Otto, by Gabriel Uggla, Selvi Ol-gac and Birnur Sahin
Bronze: Pluvo, by Lewis Hornby, Nicholas Hooton and Claudia Arnold

WIM, by Thomas Helmer and Jenny Holmsten, is a new type of interactive stroke therapy, designed to empower and support patients' recovery at home. Thanks to its tracking armband, WIM offers advanced personalized therapy. A shared application enables constant communication between the patient and therapist, helping make therapy fun and interesting for the patient throughout the lengthy period of home recovery.

Otto, by Gabriel Uggla, Selvi Ol-gac and Birnur Sahin, is designed to improve the daily management of asthma through streamlining the process of monitoring, logging and medicating into one seamless experience. Otto guides users through the process using lights and sounds to take measurements and adjust medicine dosage all through the same mouthpiece, as well as logging the data into the patient's digital journal.

Pluvo, by Lewis Hornby, Nicholas Hooton and Claudia Arnold, is a cost neutral solution to urban air pollution. The patent pending technology uses an enclosed mist of water droplets to remove dangerous pollutants from the air, and pays for itself by using this mist to create a stunning new holographic-like advertising medium.

In the Young Talent category, innovation in children's health and environmental improvements were at the forefront of the ideas from the Finalists chosen by the Jury.

The Winning Young Talent Product Concepts:

Gold: ASHA, by Peter Alwin
Silver: Colo, by Matus Chlpek
Bronze: INST.ant, by Andreas Munk

ASHA, by Peter Alwin, was honored with the Gold Prize of $15,000. ASHA is a device designed to monitor low birth weight in babies in rural India. This simple portable device measures the baby's weight and temperature using an in-built digital weighing scale powered by solar cells and a non-touch infrared thermometer to avoid cross contamination. The baby's growth progress can be closely monitored and ensures timely, local care in the child's crucial early weeks.

The Silver Prize of $10,000 was awarded to Colo, by Matus Chlpek. Colois a new concept of sneakers designed to correct foot deformities and improve poor walking habits in children between three and 12 years old. The design consists of shoes, a smartphone app and custom 3D printed insoles. The sole is designed to passively track walking habits either visually or more precisely through the app. Colo is a playful solution for children with foot health issues, also serving as a reminder that everybody is different and diversity should be embraced.

Finally, INST.ant, by Andreas Munk was the Bronze Prize winner of $5,000. INST.antis a trunk concept that turns every bicycle into a cargo bike to overcome the storage benefits offered by cars and encourage people to use bikes more often. The folding technique of the trailer is based on the telescope principle, and its very compact design means it is available at any time without disturbing cycling - allowing the transport of loads up to 50kg.

The Sustainability Category is a new addition to BraunPrize 2018, keeping Braun's philosophy of 'less is more' in mind, stressing that sustainability really matters in today's world.

In the Student Category, Ö was awarded the first prize of $5,000, and ACORN the second prize of $2,500.

Ö, by Constance Richard, is a sustainable humanitarian aid, designed to make contaminated water drinkable. It is an open source project for filtering unhealthy water, using low technologies in the form of a ceramic filer and a sand filter, which eliminates pathogens present in the water to give people the necessary conditions to regain their autonomy.

ACORN, by Liye Zhang, Xucheng Yan, Zihan Xie, Ximing Jiang and Jiaqing Zhang, is an urban greening landscape for desert cities. This fertilizer-compressed sheet can provide fertilizer to plants after ACORN has been planted in the sand and has a strong ability to absorb and retain water. ACORN not only reduces the cost of afforestation is desert areas, but also improves planting efficiency and beautification.

In the Young Talent category, FIYLTER was awarded the first prize of $5,000, and Wireframe the second prize of $2,500.

FIYLTER, by Simon Desnerck, is a DIY microplastics filter for washing machines designed to reduce the microplastic fibres that end up in the ocean through the washing of synthetic clothes. The FIYLTER solution is like a manual for a filter system that mixes and matches components that are cheap and accessible to most people, allowing people to adjust it to their own needs and requirements in order to get as many people as possible filtering their washing machine's waste water and reduce the 'plastic soup' of our oceans.

Wireframe, by Ben Körös, helps villagers in developing countries build and maintain affordable wind turbines in order to generate enough electricity and set up an essential communication network. This allows them to talk to each other via radio, warn the next village in case of emergency and share weather forecasts, as well as giving them light after sunset, allowing them to have more productive hours each day.

In a world full of clutter, complexities and concerns, the design principles at the heart of Braun - functionality, quality, simplicity and durability - are more important than ever. Through continuing to champion good design, and promoting the role of industrial design in overcoming the challenges modern life presents, Braun and the BraunPrize aim to give a platform to young talent to ensure the next generation of designers continue Braun's mission of creating design for what matters.

See https://www.braunprize.org/en/ for more information.

For more information and imagery, please contact:
Danielle Dussault, 212-796-9816
[e-mail]

About Braun

Braun, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble founded in Germany in 1921, develops and manufactures a wide variety of small domestic appliances that marry technical innovation, reliable quality and distinctive design. These range from electric shavers and beauty products to hair care appliances. Braun products enjoy worldwide distribution. Please visit http://www.braun.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the Braun brand.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves nearly five billion people around the world with its brands. The Company has one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Braun®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks® and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.