Braun Announces Winners of 21st Edition of the BraunPrize International Design Competition, Celebrating Good Design for a Better Future

Today, Braun revealed the 10 winning concepts of the 21st edition of the BraunPrize International Design Competition at the first ever digital award ceremony; a competition that aims to promote the work of young designers, creatives and inventors.

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Over the past 53 years, the competition has become a truly global event with submissions from all over the world. This year, the competition saw 1150 entries from 80 countries, with the international judging panel awarding an equal share of $100,000 USD to 10 exceptional design concepts.

This year, young, up-and-coming designers and inventors were challenged to ‘Shape Tomorrow’ – a call to action for young creative minds to address and solve the challenges of today’s most important global issues.

The digital award ceremony included many firsts, including the very first ‘Special Mention’ accolade. Narrowly missing out on the top spot, two concepts were highly commended by the international jury panel for their thought-provoking designs; and in keeping with the BraunPrize tradition of supporting young design talent, the recipients were awarded a mentorship with leaders from the Braun design team.

Established in 1968, the BraunPrize was Germany’s first international design competition, and Braun’s continuous commitment to nurturing young talent has been highly regarded by the design world and the design-aware public ever since.

Over the past 100 years, Braun has shaped the past, present, and future with ‘good design’. Braun believes that good design follows the principles of ‘Simple, Useful and Built to last,’ and that these design tenents remain as relevant in 2021 as they were in 1921 in making life better for people and the environment.

Speaking at the 2021 BraunPrize Digital Award Ceremony, Oliver Grabes, Chairman of the BraunPrize commented: “I would like to express my thanks for the incredible response to this year’s competition. Despite closed universities and difficult work situations for most of you, we received so many exceptional submissions. As always, it has been inspiring to see the wonderful creative talent coming through amongst the next generation. I hope the award money will support this pool of young creatives to follow their passion, use their talent to excel and make a difference through ‘Good Design’. Good design means simple and useful design for everyone—design that anyone can understand, and anyone can make use of to better their life and to better our collective future.”

The digital award ceremony not only celebrated the brightest new design talent from around the world but also announced the first ever public vote element for the competition; the public vote accolade will be awarded to one of the 10 winning concepts via an online voting process on social media, engaging the public in the awards programme and its results. The public will also have the opportunity to win 1 of 10 Braun watches by placing a vote.

The public voting period will open on Friday 19 November and will conclude on 9 December 2021.

To find out more about the 2021 BraunPrize digital award ceremony, the 2021 BraunPrize Public Vote and Vote to Win competition please visit www.braunprize.org.

THE 2021 WINNERS

1. WeScope by Natalie Wochner (Germany), Tian Yuan (China), Joep van Stijn (Netherlands), Julia de Jong (Netherlands), Patrick Busser (Netherlands) & Renzo Vonk (Netherlands/USA)

A low-cost digital microscope that improves education in Sub-Saharan Africa. WeScope is designed to teach medical students in Africa basic microscopy and prepare them for their future profession. The microscope is locally produced and repairable by combining off-the-shelf components with accessible production methods like FDM printing and laser cutting. In comparison with other solutions, the WeScope can be maintained and upgraded throughout its product lifetime due to the modular approach to the design, ultimately reducing the chance for e-waste.

2. LIDfree by Pei-Chun Hsueh & Chia Chun Chuang (Taiwan)

Using an origami technique, LIDfree features a hexagonal folding rim that collapses inwards to shut the top of the cup instead of requiring a plastic lid. The concept aims to simplify the process of recycling for consumers by removing the barrier of having to separate plastic lids from cups.

3. CANNE by Shuai Li (China)

An affordable self-directed CPR learning experience solution to teach quality life-saving skills to the wider population. CANNE saves time and medical resources and has a minimal requirement for the learning environment. CANNE could raise the survival rate of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, particularly in China, by addressing the local, societal, and cultural needs.

4. Papilio by Tobias Trübenbacher (Germany)

A wind powered streetlight to tackle light pollution. The lamp generates electricity using a wind turbine reducing the ecological footprint of street lighting while at the same time minimizing light pollution. With Papilio, the process of generating energy becomes an aesthetic play, enriching the public space — both during the day and at night.

5. MonkeyBots by Mohammad Moradi (Iran/Germany) & Georg Klöck (Germany/USA)

MonkeyBots are small IoT Robots that free your digital events from your phone and turn them into movement in the physical world. MonkeyBots can click analogue switches, rattle your medication, or hit a ‘bell’ to poetically remind you of important things in your life or automate your daily routines. MonkeyBots come with an array of sustainably 3D printed add-ons to grip, push, hit or click almost anything.

6. Carbon Card by Mansi Agarwal (India)

A digital card for mobile wallets that automates its design based on the carbon footprint of an individual's digital transactions. Carbon Card aims to educate the user about the environmental impact of their transactions and provides data in a simplified visual representation that is engaging and user friendly.

7. DTS 01 by Mehmet Mehmetalioglu (Turkey)

DTS is an innovation to solve problems and improve efficiencies in the aerospace assembly process, specifically focusing on fuselage and ribs connections. The concept aims to speed up the workflow and reduce the need for an extremely skilled operator. The DTS reduces human error, and it enhances accuracy rate in the assembling process. The product consists of two major units including a modular targeting unit and the drilling unit.

8. RUEI-01 by Maxwell Ashford (United Kingdom)

A robotically recyclable shoe that utilises new and contemporary tools for recycling. It is designed to be multi-material and recyclable with complete accuracy by the use of robotics. All the object information is digitally embedded into it by design, including robotic g.code instructions and exact material information, even down to colour codes and factory sources. This allows robots to ‘unmanufacture’ the multi-material shoe, disassembling and separating materials with complete accuracy and providing all the necessary material information to be able to create recycled material of true accuracy.

9. WATERePUBLIC by Jadwiga Slezak (Germany)

A multifunctional water point for public spaces which transforms the existing hydrant network into water points for public life. Both people and animals would have access to fresh drinking water all the time, and water connections can be rented for events like weekly markets and street festivals. WATERePUBLIC aims to increase the quality of life in cities and turn empty squares into gathering and meeting points.

10. ORTO by Lukas Hartz (Germany)

A mobile aid to help orientation for people with sight loss. ORTO uses a continuous wave radar to scan the environment and then transmits it to the user via a vibration. As a handle for the cane, ORTO detects things at head height. In addition, the handle can be removed from the cane and thus used as a mobile aid for indoor orientation. ORTO aims to help users gain freedom of movement and experience environments that were previously hidden from them.

THE 2021 SPECIAL MENTIONS

1. Spectrum by Monica Bhyrappa (India)

A pair of noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones designed specifically for people with ASD. Spectrum features an optical heart rate monitoring system located right above the temporal pulse area of the ear - it continuously monitors the heart rate to detect an oncoming anxiety attack. Once detected, it will notify the user through the voice assistant and the app, and quick procedures are initiated with active noise cancellation, followed by breathing techniques to relieve the user from the anxiety attack.

2. SOVA by Mehmet Mehmetalioglu (Turkey), Alexander Fries (Germany), Fabian Böttcher (Germany) & Mihkel Güsson (Estonia)

A system to monitor aspects of the patient’s mental health continuously while allowing the patients to communicate their needs. It consists of three parts including: a sensor on the patient’s head that monitors the patient’s sleep patterns and brain activity, a patient interface with an integrated camera that monitors activity and allows the patient to communicate any needs, discomfort or pain via eye tracking, and the interface where the information is visualised. SOVA aims to help healthcare professionals to get a better understanding of the patient’s pain, activity, sleep and mental state. Overall, SOVA provides a more personalized treatment which considers both physical and mental health.

NOTES TO EDITORS

• The BraunPrize 2021 is organized by Braun, a Procter & Gamble brand, and managed by the Braun Design Team in Kronberg, Germany
• Braun is a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble
• Braun was 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 household appliances, watches and speakers. Braun products enjoy worldwide distribution. Please visit www.braun.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the Braun brand.

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Contact information

LEANDRA CARDOZO: leandra.cardozo@saatchi.co.uk
LIZZI BURGE: lizzie.burge@pgone.co.uk