Call for entries: disa Design Excellence Awards 2007

The SABS Design Institute invites designers, design teams and companies to enter their product designs in the disa Design Excellence Awards 2007. The disa Design Excellence Award scheme aims to recognise the achievements of South African product designers, encourage local product design and manufacture, as well as promote international competitiveness of local products.

Closing date for entries: 12 February 2007

Products entered should have been designed in South Africa, must currently be available on the market and must have a service record of at least one year. Products entered need not be manufactured in South Africa.

The award scheme comprises the following categories:

· Urban environment and landscape products, including urban furniture, equipment, tools and more
· Education, leisure, sports goods and toys, including any range of sporting equipment and accessories, new materials, innovative ideas, and unique applications
· Electronics, information and communication technology (ICT)
· Home ware and office ware, including domestic appliances and furniture
· Mechanical engineering, electrical power engineering, agricultural engineering, transport, automotive, mining and machinery
· Medical and healthcare, including preventive and promotive products
· Other (products that do not fall into any of the above categories)

Winning the chairperson’s award of the disa Design Excellence awards in 2006 has been hugely beneficial. Not only did we sell many more units since receiving the award, but we have also secured external investment and generated wide interest in our product. We see the award as an endorsement from industry of our product. - Irshad Khan, designer of the induction casting machine for platinum jewellery

Visit https://www.sabs.co.za:/Business_Units/Design_Institute/Awards/disa/index.aspx or phone Zenobia Norval 012 428 6655 for more information.