Samsung Electronics Captures Design Awards

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd announced that it has been honored with three awards in the 2008 International Design Excellence (IDEA) competition. The awards, which include a gold award and two silver, were announced by BusinessWeek magazine and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), raising Samsung’s five-year total in the competition to 15 awards.

Leading Samsung’s charge was the Touch Sight, a digital camera designed for visually impaired people. The Touch Sight, designed by Samsung Design China, was honored with a gold award in the Communications Tools Concept category, one of just 35 gold awards from over 1,500 entries. Judges lauded the Touch Sight for its features and attention to detail. Product highlights include a feature that records sound for three seconds after pressing the shutter button, allowing the individual to use the sound as reference when reviewing and managing the photos. Touch Sight also possesses a lightweight, flexible Braille display sheet which displays a 3D image by embossing the surface, allowing the user to touch their photo.

Samsung also won silver awards in the Computer Equipment category and the Entertainment category.

The IDEA competition is a celebration of the most innovative and exciting product designs and design concepts and focuses on sustainability, attention to detail and price point. Since 2004, Samsung has won 15 IDEA awards, the highest total among its industry peers and a testament to the company’s commitment to excellent design, the company said.

“Design is the heart of Samsung’s product development and it is something that brings experiential values to everyone for future life,” said Kook-Hyun Jung, Executive Vice President of Strategic Design Team at Corporate Design Center of Samsung Electronics. “We are proud to have been recognized so consistently through the years by the IDSA and will use these latest awards as encouragement for continued excellence.”

www.samsung.com