Design management stars honoured

Eighteen companies have been honoured in the Design Management Europe Awards, a new pan-European awards scheme that recognises the commercial benefits of good design management.

A ceremony for the first DME awards was held last Thursday (22 November) at the Red Dot design museum in Essen, Germany. Around 350 delegates attended the event.

German-based Loewe and Walter Knoll, along with Dark in Belgium, came first in the categories for large, medium and small enterprises respectively.

The remaining categories comprised micro enterprises, newcomers and institutes. In these divisions, Beau & Bien in France, Justincase Trading in Austria and Escela de Arte y Superior de Diseno de la Rioja, Spain, were all recognised.

The awards are part of the ADMIRE project, a scheme supported by the EU to honour and strengthen successful design management and to promote its economic benefits.

Professor Peter Zec, president of project partner Zentrum Norhein Westfalen, says the scheme enables comparison of the value of design management among organisations.

The scheme is supported by 19 partners, including the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.