Apple Watch Wins Design Award
The Apple Watch isn’t officially out yet but already the smartwatch has won a prestigious award. Every year since 1954 the German-based iF International Forum Design has handed out its awards for excellence in design. These prizes, especially the coveted gold award, are chosen by judges from 2,000 entries in a number of categories and this year the Apple Watch was one of two gold winners in the telecommunications category. By now Apple is accustomed to being honored by the organization since the tech giant has taken home 125 awards since 1985, 44 of them gold.
Why was the Apple Watch chosen for this year’s gold award? Here is a statement from the jury that made the selection: “The idea of combining classic materials such as leather and metal with state-of-the-art technology to create a very individual fashion accessory has resulted in a delightful product offering a holistic user experience. The Apple Watch scores highly for each design detail and is an altogether extraordinary piece of design. For us, it is already an icon.”
Notice the phrase “fashion accessory.” It’s no secret that Apple intends to market the device as the first smartwatch aimed at the luxury market so winning such a prestigious design award before even going on sale should garner even more publicity for the company’s first new product category since the release of the iPad five years ago. This honor is especially timely coming just a few days before Apple will be formally introducing its first smartwatch on Monday, March 9.
