iF Design Award 2021 Honors Innovative Ideas from Around the World

Special times call for special measures and concepts. On May 10, we honor the creatives who have heeded this call.

Insulated bottles are an essential part of outdoor adventure, but fall short when it comes to crafting beverages on the road. When bag space is at a premium, gear that does more is valued most. The answer to that call is Hibear’s All-Day Adventure Flask designed by TAK KOLEKTIV: It is designed to hold beverages from coffee to cocktails, yet is also simple enough to be used as an everyday water bottle. Stainless steel construction with an unbreakable glass finish prevents flavors and aromas from sticking. The silicone sleeve prevents denting and can double as a cup. The lid can be flipped upside down to brew pour-over coffee. Learn more.

Children are wild, cheeky, colorful, and unique — the innovative children’s eyewear from OVVO is all this too. With five frame styles in three colors, three sizes, and customizable temple colors and lengths — every pair is personalized to the exact specifications of the child. The material, OVVO’s own surgical steel and titanium composite, is virtually indestructible, light, and hypoallergenic. Learn more.

Google’s hardware family has a new member: Pixel Buds. They were designed around ears, which are not only more unique than fingerprints but show a huge breadth in a variety of sizes and shapes. Designing one system that worked well for a diversity of people and activities was always the design team’s goal. They achieved the industrial design to be both organic and approachable yet technical and contained as well as housing a bevy of specialized sensors and acoustic geometry within a low-profile form. Learn more.

The 4K Ultra Short-Throw Laser Projector by Sunvalleytek is a home theater projector that uses laser technology to cast a large cinematic image from a distance of only 7.2 inches from the wall or screen. The Laser Projector designed by Y Studios delivers deeper colors, higher contrast, fuller saturation, and sharper imagery. Learn more.

The physical office as we know it today is slowly dissolving. Work is moving with us from one location to another and people need a way to increase focus and enhance privacy when collaborating with teams in open spaces like coffee shops, co-working spaces, or even airport terminals — wherever they plug into work. Alcove workstation® is a laptop case that creates a private workstation, instantly. Learn more.

This is a handbag like no other: durable, robust, and incredibly elegant. Atelier 37 spent more than a year designing the handbag that they couldn’t find on the market. At every step of the production process, they innovated a new playbook, from sourcing 100 percent traceable, natural materials and minimizing the use of plastic fillers to engineering an entirely new structured shape (patent-pending). Learn more.

For Defne Koz and Marco Susani, the process of design always begins with an understanding of people and how their behavior and lifestyle evolve over time. For Isla by Cumberland, that inspiration came from observing the changing nature of work — its transition from occurring only within formal, rigidly defined spaces to activities that have now become more free-form and fluid. Offering an innovative approach to modular seating, Isla allows for both linear, orthogonal layouts and free-flow configurations — making it the ideal solution for multi-functional, fluid-use architectures. Learn more.

Rivelet by Kohler Company is a dual-use bathroom washbasin and cabinet with an integrated foot washer designed for normal washing up and the Islamic self-cleansing ritual usually done using a wall tap, which results in a wet floor and unhygienic bathroom conditions. The tall faucet helps to eliminate spillage. The pull-down foot washer releases a stream of water as the user steps onto the footplate. Learn more.

Oransi mod designed by BOLTGROUP combines high design and high performance into a user-friendly air purifier that looks great in every home. The smart design starts with a glass touch user interface and has a carry handle that makes it easy to move. The form floats visually above a sculptural aluminum base to elevate the intake and appearance. Inside, an efficient motor quietly powers high airflow through a medical-grade HEPA filter, for best-in-class air cleaning. Learn more.

Phyn’s Smart Water Assistant is a small but sophisticated smart home device that monitors the water consumption in your house down to the individual device. It allows individuals to save water for their own benefit and for the greater good. From a central location, it measures tiny fluctuations in water pressure anywhere in your home and details water usage down to fixtures and time. It also detects leaks instantly and will notify you to prevent water damage. Learn more.

Urban and natural at the same time — it’s possible. As part of the new urbanization plan, Xiamen Urban Environment Design Engineering was commissioned to give farmland occupying about 80,000 ㎡ and bearing significant cultural and historical importance a new identity as a cultural park that fits in the lifestyle of the urban residents. Working with agriculturalists and historians, they restored the local ecosystem and cultural heritage then utilized the existing infrastructure for the cultural and educational life of the city. Learn more.

Temperature plays a big role in well-being, from feeling sweaty before a big presentation to office thermostat wars. Thermal management can help relieve symptoms of menopause and other conditions such as insomnia and migraines that cause the body to overheat. Created by Loft Design, Wave 2, the newest product from Embr Labs, addresses these hot button issues by allowing users to manage their own comfort through personalized control. The new form factor feels lighter and slimmer, distinguishing it from most wearable medical devices and making it a desirable part of the user’s self-expression. Learn more.

Series One was designed with personal interaction in mind, resulting in a 6-piece set of conferencing hardware specifically for use with Google Meet software that enables meetings to be seamless, inviting, and immersive. Available in small, medium, and large kits, the large Series One Room Kit contains the tools needed to support the largest boardrooms. Series One users can join meetings touch-free with their voice and enjoy studio-grade audio through enhanced TrueVoice™ noise cancellation. Learn more.