Thousands of GrabCADrs have got to see their hard work out in the market. And thousands of GrabCAD students have gotten A+++ for their final grad projects. And we've all seem them online, floating past our eyes on the feed and making us go 'Wow'. So you can wow the crowd, but can you wow the world? The Industrial Design Society of America puts on an annual competition for students, engineers, designers everywhere to award the best in Design. And chances are, you've flown in a winner (Boeing 787 Dreamliner), perhaps sat on one (Setu Chair) or learned some of the essentials of mechaelectronics (Teagueduino)
No, you don't have to be Boeing to win, or have sold millions of units. The general rule is you must have put your product up for sale between February 2011 and February 2013 (there's still time!). Students are more than welcome to enter, provided you had your design submitted to your school in that time as well. For all you pure modellers, you can submit your Design Concept, provided it was finalized in that time range. And for all you Design Researchers, you may unpack your portfolio and dig around for DVDs and Reports, as long as you don't submit something created before February 2008. More info here.
So you have a few projects that you could submit, or you worked with a client or your company to make a great product. Would it count? Here are the categories.
Bathrooms, Spas, Wellness
Bathroom & Sanitary Furnishings / Accessories/ Wellness Rooms and Equipment / Control Elements and Systems / Concepts & Prototypes
Commercial & Industrial Products
Building Equipment & Systems / Heavy Machinery / Construction & Industrial Vehicles / Other Equipment or Tools / Concepts & Prototypes
Communication Tools
Phones and VOIP / Cell Phones, Smart Phones, PDAs / Navigation Devices / Earpieces & Headsets / Accessories / Concepts & Prototypes
Computer Equipment
Desktops / Laptops, Notebooks, Ultra-mobiles / Servers & Housings / Portable Devices / Display Screens, Monitors & Projectors / Input Devices / Peripherals / Concepts & Prototypes
Entertainment
Stereos, Speakers / TVs, DVD players / Headphones / Cameras & Camcorders / Personal Audio Players / Accessories & Cable Management / Home Theater / Musical Instruments / Multimedia & Gaming Equipment / Multifunction Devices / Mobile Entertainment / Concepts & Prototypes
Environments
Corporate, Public & Private Spaces / Environmental Graphics & Signage Systems / Museum Exhibits & Set Designs / Showrooms & Retail Merchandising / Trade Show Exhibits / Street Lighting and Furniture / Concepts & Prototypes
Gardens & Outdoor
Garden & Outdoor Furniture / Garden Equipment & Tools/ Garden Lamps & Lighting / Décor / Accessories / Concepts & Prototypes
Kitchens
Furniture/ Appliances/ Lighting/ Tableware/ Utensils/ Cookware/ Cutlery/ Accessories/ Concepts & Prototypes
Living Room and Bedroom
Furniture/ Accessories/ Floorings/ Carpets/ Décor/ Lighting/ Windows/ Materials/ Concepts & Prototypes
Leisure & Recreation
Toys & Games / Sporting, Fitness & Camping Gear / Concepts & Prototypes
Medical & Scientific Products
Clinical & Diagnostic Products / Industrial & Scientific Products / Surgical & Therapeutic Products / Home-Care & Self-Care Products / Concepts & Prototypes
Office & Productivity
Supplies & Organizers / Equipment & Fixtures / Writing Instruments / Office Furniture & Lighting / Concepts & Prototypes
Personal Accessories
Apparel / Backpacks / Bags & Cases / Eyeglasses / Footwear / Hats & Helmets / Watches / Concepts & Prototypes
Service Design
There are three categories of services: Revenue Generating Services, Nonprofit Services and Government Services.
Social Impact Design
Products: Design for the Majority / Humanitarian and NGO / Public Spaces / Government / Concepts and Prototypes
Transportation
Automotive & Locomotive Exterior & Interior / Marine & Aircraft Exterior & Interior / Motorcycles / Recreational Vehicles / Bicycles / Concepts & Prototypes
Design Segments
Design Strategy (use the Design Strategy entry form available before Call for Entries begins)
Design Strategy & Management / Design Thinking
Digital Design (use the Digital Design entry form available before Call for Entries begins)
Interaction/ User Interface/ Web and Applications/ Concepts & Prototypes
Packaging & Graphics
Packaging Graphics / Packaging Structures / Concepts & Prototypes
Student Designs
Undergraduate Student Projects / Graduate Student Projects
Research (use the Research entry form available before Call for Entries begins)
Design Research Projects
Whew! What can't you submit?
But what's the point of submitting? What's a winning entry look like? Well, excellence comes in many forms. In short, a winning entry is innovative, it's improves or benefits the user, it's responsible, it made the client oodles of money and looks pleasing. After all those entries and prizes from GrabCAD Challenges, you know what a winner looks like, irregardless of category. If you're still not sure, IDSA has a great explaination of their explanations here.
If you need a little inspiration, I highly recommend you check out previous winners. My two favourites?
Stop! Hammer time. Thanks to Hart and Concept Centre International, they made framing and demolishing timber easier than ever, winning Silver in the 'Commercial and Industrial Products' category in 2011. I spent a good chunk of Sunday working on a project (a crate for shipping a few things, using spare lumber I had). I was wishing there was an easier way to remove oddly placed nails. Don't you hate it when you stumble across a great idea at the wrong time?
Trains expend a tremendous amount of energy stopping and starting, wasting time for passengers and choking up lines. High Speed rail is expanding steadily, but this is one major shortcoming in need of a solution. The geniuses at Priestmangoode developed a 'Moving Platform' that moved passengers into a smaller, slower train from the stationary platform to a slow-moving High-speed train. Nothing like leaping onto a moving train to spice up an ordinary business trip!
