3M Receives 13 Awards for Outstanding Product Design
3M was recently recognized with 13 awards for outstanding product design by two of the world’s most distinguished design competitions. Seven 3M products were selected for the prestigious 2012 Red Dot Design Award, while six products received the 2011 GOOD DESIGN Award. The accolades highlight the company’s commitment to design as a critical platform for delivering on 3M’s promise to bring practical and ingenious solutions to the world.
The 3M products recognized for these awards span a diverse range of categories from office and household products to health care and consumer electronics. Not surprisingly, four of the award-winning products come from the Scotch brand, which has yielded multiple innovations since Scotch Tape was first invented by 3M back in 1930. This year’s winning Scotch products were recognized for bringing joy to daily tasks and emphasizing sustainability.
An on-the-go lifestyle is another theme among the 3M portfolio of winning products, from a 3M mobile projector designed for sharing media from mobile devices, to a Filtrete water bottle filtration station that provides convenience, money savings and environmental benefits. Showcasing 3M’s innovations in health care are award-winning dental and orthodontic products that provide comfortable, aesthetically-pleasing solutions for patients.
"It is truly an honor for 3M to have such a diverse array of products recognized by the highly esteemed GOOD and Red Dot design programs, respectively," said Mauro Porcini, 3M’s head of global design. "3M is committed to elevate design as a strategic innovation priority, and we're thrilled to see our progress acknowledged by this grand achievement."
The 3M Design Labs in St. Paul, MN, in Milan, Italy, in Shanghai, China, and in Tokyo, Japan co-developed most of the projects working closely with internal marketing and R&D teams to underline the integral role of design in the fabric of 3M innovation. In addition, the Design Lab works with outside experts from Italy, the United States, and beyond on a regular basis to incorporate dynamic and creative perspectives into product design.
3M Product Winners of the 2012 Red Dot Design Awards:
Scotch Box Dispenser for Scotch Magic Tape brings joy to your desk. The minimalist design allows it to blend into its environment when not in use, but its character changes once put to use, requiring a fun, interactive snap of the fingers to split open the box and access the tape roll.
Scotch Magic A Greener Choice Glass Dispenser is a tape dispenser sustainably constructed using only three pieces of natural and recycled materials. The dispenser is designed to be very visible on your desk, with the beauty of the materials and the simple shape conveying a natural elegance.
3M Mobile Projector 225a is the ultimate in mobile projection technology. Hook it up to your favorite iPhone®, iPad® or laptop and you can enjoy an instant movie experience just about anywhere.
3M ESPE Scotchbond Universal Adhesive is the one adhesive for every dental practice, providing a simple, single-bottle solution that can be used in all application techniques and provides the ultimate in strength, speed and convenience.
3M Unitek Incognito Lite Appliance System enables orthodontists to take lingual treatment to the next level. Its low profile customized brackets and robotically bent wires work together to deliver a targeted result and enhanced patient comfort.
3M Product Winners of the 2011 GOOD DESIGN Awards:
Filtrete Slim Water Pitcher features a slim, refrigerator-friendly design that delivers fresh, clean drinking water in a matter of seconds thanks to a proprietary fast-flow water filter.
Post-it Z-Notes Natural Dispenser is sustainability constructed with only two pieces of natural, recyclable raw materials – just glass and 100% recycled cork. The beauty of its materials brings a natural elegance to your desk.
Post-it and Scotch Pebble Dispensers for Post-it Super Sticky Pop-up Notes and Scotch Magic Tape fuse designer Karim Rashid’s avant-garde aesthetics with 3M’s history of forward-thinking innovation to create exciting, emotional products.
Scotch Pop-Up Tape Refillable Desk Grip Dispenser is a refillable tape dispenser that brings a high level of design sophistication and usability to consumers on a budget.
3M Product Winners of Both Awards:
Filtrete Water Station provides filtered, bottled water in seconds by filtering your tap water into four reusable, BPA-free bottles. The innovative design features a proprietary fast-flow water filter and an environmentally-friendly filter housing that can be recycled.
Scotch-Brite Windows Cleaner is designed to clean windows better with less effort. The design combines a flexible, extendable tool with a foam cleaning solution, saving on water use and making it easy to clean the hard-to-reach outside surface of windows.
*Product images available upon request
About the GOOD DESIGN Program
The GOOD DESIGN Awards, sponsored by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Center for Architecture, Art Design and Urban Studies, is the oldest and most recognized program for design excellence worldwide, recognizing products that align with a vision to brighten and enhance society through design.
About the Red Dot Design Awards
Red Dot Design Awards recognize those who distinguish their business activities through design quality, and are sponsored by the Red Dot Institute at Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, one of the oldest and most highly reputed design institutions in Europe. In 2012, about 1,800 manufacturers and designers entered 4,500 products in the prestigious competition.
About 3M — A Global, Diversified Technology Company
3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Our culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With $30 billion in sales, 3M employs 84,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 65 countries. For more information, visit www.3M.com or follow @3MNews on Twitter.
3M, Scotch, Magic, Scotch-Brite, Scotchbond, Filtrete, 3M ESPE, 3M Unitek, Incognito, and Post-it are trademarks of 3M. GOOD DESIGN is a trademark of The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design.
3MGlenn Carter, 651-737-0687
