Design News South Africa

South Africans excel at industrial design

The SABS Design Excellence Awards exhibition started with a gala evening where the 2009 product design winners were announced; this year's winning innovation is the "Snuza" baby monitor designed and manufactured by Biosentronics, XYZ, Savant and ID&B.

The exhibition opened to the public on 29 October and will remain open until 29 November 2009 at the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) in Groenkloof, Pretoria and celebrates 40 years of design by highlighting innovative products that have been invented, designed and manufactured in this country.

Exhibition design specialists IDG won the contract to design and build the exhibition, thanks to the company's creative design.

Explains Karuna Pillay of Bluprint Design, the event's co-ordinator: "We have worked with IDG before and are always impressed with their originality. The brief was to have a time-line within the exhibition that draws visitors in with an ease of flow. IDG provided this and created a sense of openness and space through their use of floor graphics and displays, while highlighting the various winning SA products on display."

Over 100 products are on exhibition including some of South Africa's most loved inventions.

"Think the G4 (also known as the Barracuda), the Brush Tee golf tee, the Stat Scan that takes just three minutes to scan the entire body, and the Dolos Breakwater and Foreshore protection bollards. These are all South African original designs that highlight the design excellence of which this country has a proud history," says Pillay.

"Design is something we are passionate about, so to be associated with an exhibition that highlights and celebrates design in the country for the past 40 years is a great honour," says Stefan Buss IDG's sales and marketing director.

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