Deadline: october 20, 2008

designboom in association with ALTEC LANSING and PLANTRONICS are looking for new speakers and headset designs. you are asked to submit your entry (entries) to the relevant category:

ALTEC LANSING – Future Sound Speakers
ALTEC LANSING created the first cinema speakers in the 1920’s and have continued to innovate ever since; designing and manufacturing award winning ipod and mp3 speaker systems, PC speakers, home audio and headphones, blending art with science to stir the soul!
We are looking for speaker designs that unleash and enhance your digital music lifestyle!
Entries should consider future styles / trends and usability.

PLANTRONICS – Stylish Sound Headsets
PLANTRONICS have recently launched a tech-cessory headset (D925) that fuses technology and jewelry into a beautiful earpiece that looks as good as it sounds. you are invited to take this theme further and develop concept bluetooth headsets that are fashion forward and desirable to wear.

the designers of 2winning entries will be granted with cash prize awards :
- Future Sound Speakers category winning prize USD 5000
- Stylish Sound Headsets category winning prize USD 5000

For more information, please refer to http://www.designboom.com/sound_innovation.html

Closing date: January 31, 2009

Theme: “Envision conscious design!”This internationally recognised design competition is open to young industrial designers who are still studying or who have graduated within the last two years.

In the coming days, some thousands sets of competition documentation will be sent out to design schools, universities and design studios all over the world.

Current industrial design students as well as recent graduates have until January 31, 2009 to submit their product concepts to Braun (the participation is free of charge).

The total prize money amounts to EUR 36,000. The winner of the BraunPrize will receive EUR 12,000 in prize money and a (paid) six-month internship in the Design Department at Braun. The other finalists will each receive a prize of EUR 5,000. The remaining prize money will be distributed in the form of special recognition awards at the discretion of the jury.

Our ID student, Donn Koh’s Leapfrog was selected as the grand winner of the 2007 competition and the information is as follows:

LeapFrog, winner
This product is a new type of walker for childrens uffering from cerebral polio or spina bifida.‘LeapFrog’ encourages and supports children with impaired mobility to rise from a sedentary position, allows them to practice walking and attaining balance as well as allowing for short sedentary breaks. The adjustment between the various positions, (i.e. sitting, standing and walking) takes place in an automatic way and responds to the intention and movement of the child. In addition, ‘LeapFrog’ stops moving automatically when the child assumes a sedentary position. This feature prevents crashing and sliding when sitting and therefore prevents the child from acquiring erroneous movement patterns. The mechanism for the support when in a standing position can be set according to weight and therefore can be adjusted according to the child’s development.

‘LeapFrog’ not only supports the physical development, but also the independence and self-confidence of the child. It reinterprets a ‘painfully’ medical appearance with a product that appears to be caring and playful.

Finding of the Jury:
This design product is the result of thorough user research and offers a complex yet practical solution to different forms of physical disability. The jury was impressed by the product’s adaptability to different disabilities, the way it adjusts to an individual user’s unique challenges and its effectiveness as a form of physical therapy that motivates improvement and self-worth.

For more information about the competition, please refer to http://www.braunprize.com/international/braunprize_2.html