The 42 best design concepts of the year

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Red Dot Design Awards for Design Concepts

From a radical car prototype to a construction breakthrough to the coolest pen ever, there were a lot of cool designs in the past year.

The Red Dot Awards named 42 design concepts as the Best of the Best, selecting from nearly 5,000 submissions. Check out the winners below.

The 2-in-1 kitchen funnel can be a funnel or a container.

Red Dot juror: “This is a very elegant object. It’s the use of material which is unusual for this kind of product, being an air humidifier.”

Design by Choi Jueun, Kim Bitnuri, Lee Soojin, Hong Hyekyung, South Korea.

“An Insight Into Sight” teaches about design for the visually impaired.

Design from Ngā Pae Māhutonga – The School of Design, Massey University, New Zealand. 

Auroma One brews a high-tech personal coffee with zero plastic waste.

Design from Auroma Brewing Company, Canada.

Baked Air is a series of humidifiers disguised as steam-emitting kitchenware.

Red Dot juror: “This is a very elegant object. It’s the use of material which is unusual for this kind of product, being an air humidifier.”

Design by Choi Jueun, Kim Bitnuri, Lee Soojin, Hong Hyekyung, South Korea.

c2 Electrical Vehicle AC Charger is a smart and sharp vehicle charger.

Design from Beijing X-CHARGER Tech Co., Ltd., China.

Charac-IoT speakers play music alone or together over Wi-Fi (and look cool).

Design from KT, South Korea and design mu, South Korea.

Circle Life is a smart bracelet for diabetes patients that incorporates easy insulin injections.

Red Dot juror: “[They] make all the functions and devices very simple and easy to use. And also they are not looking like the healthcare device but they are looking more like fitness devices.”

Design from National Taipei University of Technology, Graduate Institute of Innovation and Design, Taiwan.

Climber is a portable device that gives electrical worker more flexibility.

Design from Dalian Minzu University, China.

Cubetto is a programmable wooden game for kids.

Red Dot juror: “This is a very simple game, mainly for kids aged three and above who will start to play with toys. It’s not just merely play, it incorporates a logic or program concept but with a motivation.”

Design by Primo Toys, United Kingdom.

DIVID is a street barrier that can also feature seats, planting, and more.

Design from GRAD, Design Research Lab, University of Montreal, Canada.

Easy-Defrost Fish Package uses highly conductive graphite to speed up defrosting.

Red Dot juror: “This packaging has been done very exquisitely. In terms of usability, regardless of the differences in materials tailored to ease of consumer usability during purchase and those used for thawing purposes, it allows for immediate retention of freshness of ingredients while defrosting.”

Design by Chen Yan-Ting, Kao Chia-Yi, Chen Pin-Ju, Taiwan.

Echo is a Chinese tea set inspired by a Buddhist temple, with lots of hidden features.

Design from Foryou Art Design Co., Ltd., China.

EDAG Light Cocoon is a lightweight car build with a bionic skeleton and 3D-printed parts.

Design from EDAG Engineering GmbH, Germany.

Espire reimagines gas masks for greater comfort and usability.

Design by Carlos Schreib, Germany.

F 015 Luxury In Motion is a vision of the future of driving from Mercedes-Benz.

Design from Mercedes-Benz, Germany.

First Response Monitor collects medical information in an emergency.

Red Dot juror: “It’s a small piece of technology but it can have a huge impact on special situations.”

Design by Cambridge Design Partnership, United Kingdom.

Fresh Date is a food wrap dispenser that also prints the date.

Red Dot juror: “It is an example of how innovation and design contribute to solving domestic problems using a simple technological integration of existing materials and devices.”

Design from inDare Design, Shenzhen Ge Wai Design Management Co., Ltd., China.

Gomo is a toy paired with an app, used to explain medical conditions to kids.

Red Dot juror: “Gomo is a nice way to communicate with the children what are the procedures in the hospital. They feel comfortable and not afraid of the procedures so it’s part game, part educational tool.”

Design from Savannah College of Art and Design, United States.

Google Self-Driving Car prototype is reinventing driving from the ground up. This design got the Luminary award, meaning it’s the best overall.

Red Dot juror: “It is changing what we now understand as mobility and is shifting or transforming the paradigms in the automotive industry by integrating technology, design and innovation in the service of human beings.”

Design from Google Inc., United States.

Hoop is a subtle and dynamic lighting system.

Red Dot juror: “Hoop is a very poetic, friendly product that kind of uses the latest technology of LEDs to bring light into a shape that is historically not known.”

Design by Yokota Saki, Japan.

ILY-I is a futuristic mobile armchair/wheelchair.

Red Dot juror: “So we see many times that disabled people, they are somehow connected to devices which are not accepted to normal people …. [T]his is nice and a very good concept in this area. I think it has been waited too long.”

Design from Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd., Japan and Studio I.T.O Design, Italy.

Kosmos is a beautiful pen with a magnetic opening system.

Design by Christoph Bohrer, Alexander Schmitke, Martin Wagner, Germany.

Leather DIY repackages leather remnants with instructions for making things with them.

Red Dot juror: “I like this idea because a lot of amount of leather is being just wasted out of the world famous designers, especially using the high quality leather, and this tool kit can use the leftover high quality leather so that users can have their own us.”

Design from Azero Leather, South Korea.

Lighting Reactive is a color-changing light that makes cool effects with varying thickness of plastic.

Design from LOTTE Advanced Materials Co., Ltd., South Korea.

Magnetic Transforming Structure is the first electromagnetically controllable structure.

Red Dot juror: “If this would work, this is design-wise and functionality-wise … a huge step.”

Design from Emami Design, Germany.

Nest Pole is a utility pole that birds can live in.

Design by Ryu Uiyoul and Kim Jihyun, South Korea.

“Nothing To Eat” is a cookbook designed to minimize household food waste.

Red Dot juror: “There is a lot of publications and TV shows and everything going on about food and preparation and so on, but this is another twist which tends to pick up leftovers and turn them into real recipes.”

Design from Ngā Pae Māhutonga – The School of Design, Massey University, New Zealand.

Omni-Fuse is a high-tech hiking shoe designed for any surface.

Design from VIBRAM, United States and Hankook Tire Co., Ltd, South Korea.

Optic makes cyclists smarter, using cameras and a visual display to present information.

Design from DCA Design, United Kingdom.

Orion Dental Camera is a consumer camera and app that tracks dental health.

Red Dot juror: “Instead of visiting the dentist frequently, [users] can do the scanning at home and the data can be transmitted to the dentist on a regular basis, ensuring their proper healthcare.”

Design by Jens Rehammar, Sweden.

Papier Machine is a book that comes with 12 electronic toys made of paper.

Red Dot juror: “What it does is it uses simple components, it uses conductivity through ink, conductive ink, light-sensing ink and a series of materials that conduct electricity with paper. It creates a series of toys that breaks down the complexity, the perception of complexity on electronic components, allowing the public to see technology as what it really is: just an enabler.”

Design from ENSCI – Les Ateliers, France.

Relaxed Wash is a washing machine with an inlet designed for people in wheelchairs. It also has a hand-washing setup.

Red Dot juror: “We’ve chosen this because in one way, it serves the purpose of helping disabled people accessing their laundry machines much easier than with the existing laundry machines. At the same time, the design is nice and pleasant.”

Design by Kim Sungsu, South Korea.

Rotate Washing Machine has a tilting drum, making it easier to load for people of different heights.

Designed by Kim Sungsu, South Korea.

SemsX Smart Shoes is a sharp-looking shoe that let you track your kid. It also has a soft part that slips out for indoor use.

Design from Shuangchi Industrial Co., Ltd., China.

Sharing Lunch Box is a disposable lunch box with 20% that breaks off to give away. It’s a reminder of people in need.

Red Dot juror: “It takes a daily product that we buy, a lunch from a vending machine that you find in most major cosmopolitan cities, and [creates] a social cause for it.”

Design by Yang Hui, Zhao Peiqiang, Li Shuyun, Gu Chengcheng, China.

Soul kitchen is a stylish and fully modular kitchen.

Design from SVOYA studio, Ukraine.

Spinetec is a bionically inspired building reinforcement that’s lightweight and eco-friendly.

Design by Alexander Turesson, Sweden.

Suki is baby carrier that converts to a baby rocker.

Design by Daniela Gardeweg, Germany.

Unveil is a collection of shirts with hidden mechanisms for wearing a catheter.

Design by Kaleb Cardenas, Javier Rebolledo, Mariana Pedroza, Alonso Benavidez, Carlos Villa, Mexico.

Visualization Puncture System is convenient ultrasound equipment.

Design from Shenzhen Perth Industrial Design Co., Ltd., China.

VM Desk is a stylish desk with a leather bag organizer.

Red Dot juror: “[E]ven though there is something very traditional and classic about it, it’s also new in the way that a new functionality has been added to it, having this bag holder on the left-hand side which actually also, in the change of different material, complements the simplicity of the product.”

Design by Sergey Gotvyansky, Ukraine.

Wave is a sharp and smart air conditioner and air purifier. The purifier part can be carried with you.

Red Dot juror: “I like this concept because it is not only aesthetically satisfied, it is also functionally minimal.”

Design from Gd Midea Air-Conditioner Equipment Co., Ltd., China.

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