Hungarian Design Award Winners 2020

The system implemented using innovative acoustic technology promises a new dimension of listening to music. Besides being suitable for listening to music alone or with others, Aura also makes it possible for several people to listen to different musical pieces simultaneously in the same space while completely excluding the world outside. Progressive solutions required a new appearance, so the designer developed a shape starting from a torus, which is innovative and distinctive and at the same time creates a special transition between the visual worlds of headphones and sound systems. The ring-shaped solid of revolution can be set in a vertical and horizontal position too depending on how many people use it and in what way. In the single-user focused mode the ring is set vertically, while in the case of several listeners the horizontal series of loudspeakers turned toward the users are activated. If people in the same space want to listen to different music, their audio space follows them as they move. The sound system can be controlled via an application too and can even be used for watching films.

Jury statement

This MA design degree project is an exemplary and internationally competitive project. It is thought-through and implemented to the highest standard in every detail from the proposition of its key question (What path of development will the modern culture of listening to music take and what tools, processes and systems will be needed for this in the future?) through the research and the concept (today’s trends of listening to and consuming music; exploring the most recent available technologies, applications as well as acoustic and ergonomic requirements and user needs) all the way to the final design. The designer set himself the objective of designing a system that provides a solution for listening to music individually and in groups. He chose an already existing, recent technology to realise this: that of ultrasound transducers. The no-frills design developed to the minutest detail suggests high quality, and the appearance of the object in itself reflects the new technology and the new trend in listening to music. The ring shape that defines the form of the sound system evokes multiple semantic associations, while the two positions – horizontal and vertical – are a clear and spectacular visual reflection of the two functions: listening to music in groups, and individually, in a more focused way. The project is a complex system including an application with graphic and ergonomic integrity, which ensures the Aura system’s adaptive functioning.

The Frigo modular disinfecting and cooling product family reinvented food storage and created a new form for the functions of traditional refrigerators. During the design process the interior of homes was an important factor, while the designer also researched the changes in food consumption and storage habits. Demonstrating a bold approach, he broke refrigerators down into the component parts that each execute a different function. One of the strengths of the design is its focus on sustainability, which appears in the project at various levels. Firstly, its disinfecting function helps keep food fresher longer and therefore can be stored longer, thus reducing the wastage of food. Secondly, the breakdown into smaller, functionally different units ensures that when one is opened separately, it uses less energy to reach the desired temperature again. The built-in smart functions and the application enables household-level control and easy management for the storage of refrigerated food and for shopping. The jury found it especially impressive that the traditional refrigerator was reinvented and a novel modular product family was designed based on already existing technologies.

Jury statement

Today’s freer and more mobile lifestyle has shifted the previously more fixed function of rooms. Thus, eating and even storing food are not strictly restricted to kitchens. The changed living conditions of homes are addressed by the Frigo refrigerator and disinfecting food storage system. The product is designed in three sizes: the smallest version can be primarily used to store leftover food and keep fruit and vegetables fresh, while the medium size one is suitable for larger, kitchen-centric food and the largest refrigerator follows the compartment structure of conventional refrigerators. The form of the Frigo series combines the characteristic features of classical decorative plates with the aesthetics of modern small appliances. The inside is structured like that of refrigerators in general and the cooling process is based on the well-known principle. Besides cooling, the appliance has a sterilising function using a combination of technologies, moreover, in a tenth of a second it identifies the food placed inside it and lists the items in the application, thus making shopping easier.

The manufacturing of parts for the automobile industry requires special and exceptional precision. The individual parts are typically checked with manual instruments but they are only suitable to measure one parameter at a time. Moreover, they are difficult to use and the administration of the measured data is slow and complicated because as many as 20 to 30 parameters need to be recorded for a single manufactured part.

The newly developed digital measurement cell is built into the work process in a way that high precision analysis is completed without time loss. The blocking station integrated into the conveyor belt stops and positions the part at the necessary point for the measuring, a robot grabs the part, removes the dirt with a cleaning unit and places the piece into a measuring cell in the appropriate position. The necessary measurements are carried out and the results are analysed during the manufacturing cycle. The device calibrates itself based on an etalon analysed with another authenticated measuring instrument and compares the parameters of the manufactured part to these data.

Jury statement

Losonczi Innovation Ltd’s is AXIS PRO a computer-controlled device that can be used to measure and evaluate axis type parts. Meeting the requirements prescribed by vehicle manufacturers, it can check and document all the dimensions of each part, while supplying it with a unique QR code, after which it sends feedback to the manufacturing machine, which then can make the necessary adjustments based on the incoming data. The equipment is fully automated; it can equally be used manually and in robot-assisted modes.

The product was developed by Losonczi Innovation Ltd, which is a Hungarian-owned family business with a history of 25 years specialised in the design and manufacturing of customised cutting tools, tool holders, various devices and measuring instruments. Its general commitment to the highest professional standards is also reflected in its corporate identity as well as to the design and innovation of its products. The company asked the Remion Design Ltd to make the design for its AXIS PRO. Their cooperation resulted in an outstanding achievement in the industrial design category. In addition to the design of the instrument’s casing and its monitor-holder arm, Remion Design developed the design for the management software as well as the product AXIS PRO name and its visual identity, while their work even included the design of the pictograms. This was all realised in a unified form and by meeting the criteria of design communication. Costefficient manufacturing, which will contribute to increasing the product’s competitiveness, was also an important factor during the design process.

In regard to both its material and appearance SLÉ breaks with the traditional image we have of winter leisure time equipment. The design was inspired by the flexibility of plywood, which is exploited during bending, which has been one of the most widely used technologies in the furniture industry for some time now. It took a long period of experimentation for the initial concept to be made into the final version, which is akin in its forms to the clear, function-based elegance and quality of Scandinavian design. The flexibility of the plywood, its excellent abrasion- and moist-resistance are all key factors in the case of winter sports equipment. This extravagant sledge is light and is easily manoeuvrable, while its tilted-back seat makes its use comfortable and safe for adults and children alike. The arched design is not only visually impressive but also forms a firm and streamlined structure serving to dampen side and crossways forces, thus enhancing the speed of the sledge sliding down a slope.

Jury statement

The designer adapted the tradition and fun of sledging to a given technology, while reinventing and exploiting the benefits of the new structural construction afforded by plywood. The two linearly interlocked shell structures with their surfaces broken up with cut-out sections pro vide the metal-clad sliding surface, while ensuring the rigidity of the structure as required by use. The first converging and then diverging shell structures utilising the flexibility of the material create a sledge with exceptional ergonomy and formal integrity. The design of the form and the use of the material mutually reinforce each other. The edges of the bent sheets are rounded off with a big radius and the inner cut-out sections also end in curves, which significantly determines the sledge’s sculptural appearance, while also eliminating most of the injuries during sledging. Slē provides an excellent example of how a traditional object can be transformed by being made of a new material, preserving and even enhancing our memories of it and even creating new experiences during its use. This project shows how the benefits of a material can be perfectly fine tuned to fulfil a function.