LG sweeps global design awards

The global and regional digital leader received nine awards from the forum, the authoritative industrial design association in the world. The innovation awards were presented to products in the consumer electronic telecommunications category, which included 50-inch hard disk drive (HDD) embedded plasma TV, the world's largest 55-inch all-in-one LCD TV, third-generation mobile handset, instant messaging mobile phone, seven inch portable DVD player and a light wave oven. LG has consistently won critical acclaim for its product design; it won iF awards for its products in 2002 and 2003.

"This is validation at the highest level for us," said K H Kim, President, LG Electronics, Middle East and Africa Operations. "This is one of the most important design competitions in the world and attracted 2,322 entries from 31 countries this year. There is an increasing tendency for people to focus less on technology and more on style when selecting products like mobile phones and MP3 players. Impressively designed products are taking the market by storm, opening up new options for the way we design and use products."

LG will showcase the nine award-winning products at the CeBIT 2005 trade fair in Hanover, Germany, this year. The company won 16 innovation awards at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January this year, the largest number of design innovation awards collected by an electronics manufacturer.

Products are ranked on criteria such as practicality, safety, durability, ergonomic features, originality, environment-friendliness, conservation and reuse of resources, visualisation of usage and function, high-quality design, and sensory and intellectual stimulus. Launched in 1954, the awards are designed to support superior product designs and manage product development systems.

"The trend in mobile phone design is veering towards toys and fashion elements are influencing product design. Simplicity is in, clear designs without any add-ons are rated highly," Kim added.