Winning the 2023 IF Industrial Design Award
The IF Foundation sent all the winners a template press release. Here’s a mostly copy-and-paste version of what they sent followed by a purposely vague description of what went into the process.
Bluue Co.'s medical device has won this year's iF Design Award. Established in 1954, the iF DESIGN AWARD is one of the most prestigious design prizes globally. It honors design achievements across various disciplines, including product, packaging, communication, service design, architecture, interior architecture, professional concept, user experience (UX), and user interface (UI).
The 2023 competition saw 11,000 entries submitted from 56 countries, including from well-established design and technology organizations, such as Apple, Google, and Porche. The jury was composed of 133 independent experts from around the globe, including design professors from Harvard and RISD.
The Bluue Co. team at the award ceremony.
About the Journey
Creating our award-winning medical device was quite a journey. We poured our hearts into this project, and we're excited to share some key moments from our design process:
Concept Sketching. We began with 2D and 2.5D sketching to visualize our concept and establish a design direction. Through iterative refinement, we explored various options to ensure our final product would be both functional and visually appealing.
3D Prototypes. To initially prototype a rough design, we made mockups using foam blocks. Once we chose the final design, we made a model and 3D printed it using filament extrusion. Once we were satisfied with the final form, we moved on to resin-based stereolithography prints, which are much higher resolution.
Electro-mechanical Integration: The IF Design Award isn't just about looks - the device needs to function too. We'd been working on the electronics and software for years, but the new design meant we had to create a custom PCB. There were plenty of late nights testing and tweaking to get everything just right.
We're honored that our efforts were recognized by the IF Award Jury.
