DDSTUDIO named IDEA Finalist

The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) named DDSTUDIO a finalist in the 2014 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) competition—a recognition of design excellence in products, interaction design, service design, strategy, research, concepts and student designs in categories ranging from automobiles and commercial products to medical equipment and home furnishings.

DDSTUDIO, with offices in Carlsbad and Palo Alto, was honored in the Medical and Scientific Products category for the design of Syneron’s VelaShape III, a body contouring and cellulite-reduction device used in medical spas. The awards were judged by a panel of 24 international design experts from design consultancies, corporations and universities, who reviewed almost 2,000 entries.

“Being named an IDEA Finalist is quite an honor,” says Ant Creed, GM Experience Design, DDSTUDIO. “While our primary goals are positive business results and client satisfaction, being recognized as a standout by a panel of our peers is very satisfying.”

The jury evaluated entries on aspects of industrial design excellence including: innovation; benefits to the user and client; and sustainability, as well as the design’s visual appeal. “The range and diversity of entries submitted for this year’s IDEA competition confirmed definitively that design has ‘arrived’ as an activity with undisputed relevance for a broad range of problem types,” said IDEA 2014 Jury Chair Tad Toulis, IDSA. “In many ways the extent of that range, now grown so vast—seemed to herald a tipping point; a moment in time where design is openly embraced as a universal activity.”

DDSTUDIO CEO Charles Curbbun explained: “Our design process dictates that we create robust experiences that resonate with users on multiple levels. VelaShape III embodies our process in that we completely redesigned the unit, transforming it from an industrial-looking and ergonomically lacking piece of equipment into a beautiful and comfortable device that fits the medical spa aesthetic.”

“By designing the user interaction in tandem with the industrial design, we achieved a cohesive user experience,” Curbbun said.

For more information on the design of Syneron’s VelaShape III, click here.