Competition as a means of advancement
The Baden-Württemberg International Design Award is a permanent feature of the German and international competition scene and enjoys high standing under the Focus Open label. Focus Open invites companies and design agencies from all over the world to submit their most innovative product and concept solutions and enter its competition for outstanding and forward-thinking design. Because of its non-commercial orientation, the contest fulfils its mandate to promote design and enables even the smallest companies to take part. For the prize winners and those honoured with distinctions, the Focus Gold, Focus Silver and Focus Special Mention awards constitute an effective tool for strengthening their brand, not just in terms of its external impact on the market but internally as well, within the winning companies and the collaborations between design agencies and their clients.
The label stands for outstanding design and provides important guidance for consumers because it can be found on top-quality products of all kinds.

Participants and awards
This year, the Focus Open jury evaluated entries submitted in 14 different categories. The product innovations came from Austria, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland and the USA. The jury selected a total of 33 prize winners from among all the entries submitted. The premium Focus Gold accolade for outstanding design was awarded to nine products. Eight received the Focus Silver for above-average design achievements, while the Focus Special Mention distinction was presented to 16 products for their innovativeness.

A fair jury, a fair assessment
One special feature of the Focus Open competition is that no pre-selection of the entries is made prior to the judging. Every single product submitted is presented to the jury for assessment. In order to ensure a fair evaluation, the jurors agree not to submit any products whose development they were involved with. Almost without exception, the assessment of the entries was conducted on the basis of the original product. The judging comprised several rounds and gave rise to some lively discussions. The jury line-up and its combined experience from a wide range of different sectors and product categories helped ensure fair and competent assessments from a variety of very different perspectives. The experts found here 

The jurors based their assessment on the following design criteria:
design quality, functionality, innovativeness, ergonomics, interface design, usability, ecology, sustainability, perceived value, look and feel, emotionality, brand fit, product graphics and/or typography.

A valuable distinction for the prize winners
The non-commercial nature of the competition and the moderate participation fees give even very small and emerging companies the opportunity to enter their innovative products and compete at international level. The competition pursues the declared aim of highlighting tendencies in design, uncovering totally new solutions and, most importantly of all, promoting and assisting the annual prize winners with the marketing of their innovations. The awards are particularly beneficial for brand communications: the Focus Gold, Focus Silver and Focus Special Mention labels are a mark of quality and a valuable tool for distinguishing products within the brand profile. In addition, a wide range of other measures help generate publicity and awareness: the festive award ceremony, the exhibition at the MIK (Museum Information Art) in Ludwigsburg, which lasts several weeks, as well as the extensive online presentation and premium exhibition catalogue that is distributed all over the world.
Being honoured with a design award sends a signal that the submitted work is held in high esteem by carefully selected experts. It is a signal that can have a positive impact within big companies too, and represents an important endorsement for all those involved with the development process. It can boost both motivation and identification with the company and its products and help reinforce confidence in the collaboration between designers and companies.