AV Zombie: Panasonic has won six awards in the 2006 Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEAs), dominating the event. However they didn’t win anything for their plasma or CE products.
Instead the prizes came from work on an emergency flashlight, high-tech washer-dryer, pro-HD camcorder, security camera, fridge and home-power fuel cell.
The result is a big payback for the brand, which has devoted a huge resource to design. With around 300 designers on its payroll, the company typically runs 3,500 design projects a year.
Internal design competitions are run to inspire creative thought and generate new ideas. The best ideas earn the winners prizes, one such being a holidays for two in Hawaii. Design accolades, which are decided by members of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), also went to Samsung, Eastman Kodak and Philips.
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