In the intellectual property rights sector, this year has been dedicated to women designers, and for the first time, the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Design has been presented to a woman. At the celebratory DesignEuropa Awards ceremony, which took place on Tuesday, September 5, in Berlin, the Award was received by the Swedish designer Maria Benktzon.
The Award was presented to the designer for her contribution in creating functional everyday objects for people for whom the use of ordinary items causes great difficulty or is not even suitable. These are various kitchen utensils - the knife with a special handle like a hand saw, special cutlery with certain curvature or handles, as well as self-care accessories. All these design elements are not a designer's whim, but a necessity to facilitate daily activities and enable people with reduced mobility to be more independent. These items have been designed in collaboration with occupational therapists, rehabilitators, and people who need to use them.
The DesignEuropa Awards have also been presented in the two categories: "The Small and Emerging Companies" and "The Industry". Each of the eight finalists has created items, objects, and solutions to facilitate everyday activities. At the same time, they are visually very attractive, attention-grabbing, smart, and widely applicable solutions.
- The Small and Emerging Companies Award was presented to the Slovenian company "RemigoOne", which has created the portable electric outboard motor for various types of boats. Read more about the work of the Slovenian designers at https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/designs/designeuropa-awards/awards-2023/remigoone
- The Industry Award was presented to the fully automatic espresso coffee machine offering seven types of coffee created by the designers of the popular Italian company "SMEG". Find out more about the work of the Italian designers at: https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/designs/designeuropa-awards/awards-2023/full-automatic-espresso-coffee-machine
- The Estonian company "Cleveron 402", which has created the automated self-service smart package sending and receiving terminal, which determines the dimensions of packages and groups them accordingly on shelves, has also applied for the award in this category. Learn more about the work of the Estonian designers at: https://www.euipo.europa.eu/en/designs/designeuropa-awards/awards-2023/cleveron
Watch the recording of the Awards ceremony here:
In 2006, UNESCO appointed Berlin a City of Design, and Germany is the second leading country in protecting designs at the European Union level. The previous DesignEuropa Awards ceremonies have been held in Milan (Italy), Warsaw (Poland) and Eindhoven (the Netherlands).