On 7 July 2014, the highlight of the internationally renowned product competition will be celebrated in Essen, Germany: the presentation of the acclaimed Red Dot during the traditional Red Dot Gala and subsequent Designers’ Night. On that evening, roughly 1,200 guests from around the world gather in Essen in order to experience the awards ceremony. In the course of the party in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, the winners’ exhibition will also be opened, presenting the award-winning product SmartTest 50 to a wide audience for four weeks before it enters the museum’s permanent exhibition.

The SmartTest 50 sets new standards in fast and efficient semi-automatic testing of up to five physical parameters. Weight, thickness, width, diameter/length and hardness of virtually all tablet shapes can be tested in full compliance with current Pharmacopeia requirements. Proven Dr. Schleuniger hardness measuring technology guarantees accurate and highly reliable test data that can be evaluated immediately.

An integrated color touch screen with simple icon-based navigation makes operating the SmartTest 50 very intuitive consequently reducing operator training time to an absolute minimum. Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of Red Dot, on the decision process in the Red Dot Award: "The 40 experts assessed the quality of the entries with the utmost care and attention. Due to their backgrounds, they also assessed the special cultural aspects of the designs from 53 countries. But only the best products receive an award from the jury. This is especially reflected in the percentage of successful entries in the Red Dot Award, which is much smaller in contrast to other international design competitions. Therefore, the winners can be proud of their achievements – with their entries, they stood out from the rest and were able to pass the test in front of the critical eyes of the experts. This success will be perceptible during the Red Dot Gala, when the laureates will receive the recognition of the international audience."

The award-winning products in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen

With around 2,000 exhibits spread over an area of more than 4,000 square metres, the Red Dot Design Museum houses the largest exhibition of contemporary design worldwide. The award-winning products from the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014 will be presented in an impressive special exhibition from 8 July to 3 August 2014. Since touching and testing is expressly encouraged in the hands-on exhibition, visitors experience the current best achievements at close quarters in "Design on Stage". This way, design
enthusiasts can find out about the trends in international product design and assure themselves of the good quality of SmartTest 50 by Dr. Schleuniger® Pharmatron.

The Red Dot Design Award

With the Red Dot Design Award, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen created an internationally renowned product competition. Its prize, the Red Dot, has established itself worldwide as one of the most sought-after quality marks for excellent design. The Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen displays the award-winning products in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen for at least one year.

In order to appraise the diversity in the field of design in a professional manner, the Red Dot Design Award breaks down into the three disciplines Red Dot Award: Product Design, Red Dot Award: Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept.