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Orgafile to receive red dot award: product design!

Date: 2010-05-07

Stamp of Approval - Visi magazine - read the article here

Company that rises above rank and file - Business Day - read the article here

SA company wins red dot award - Business Mail - download the full article here

SA company to receive international design award - Bizcommunity

Capetonians Awarded The Red Dot - Cape Business News

In July, Orgafile, will become the first South African company to be honoured with the coveted Red Dot Award: Product Design. Orgafile has been selected from over 4 252 submissions by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Germany, one of the oldest and most highly reputed design institutions in the world.

The awards presentation with more than 1 000 guests will take place on 5 July 2010 in the Aalto-Theater in Essen, Germany – the 2010 European Capital of Culture.

After the presentation, Orgafile’s modular filing cabinets will be on display at the Red Dot Design Museum’s permanent exhibition on the premises of the ‘Zeche Zollverein’ World Cultural Heritage Site in Essen. With approximately 1 500 products on more than 4 000 square metres, the Red Dot Design Museum houses the largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design worldwide.

“All products that have won an award in the Red Dot Design Awards have had to convince an international expert jury of their quality. The products stand out from the masses with their excellent design and innovative approaches, and have proved their quality in one of the toughest design competitions worldwide,” explains design expert Professor Peter Zec, initiator of the Red Dot Design Award.

"The breakthrough here – a world first – is modularity," said Arnold van Wijk, paper systems management expert and founder of Orgafile. "For the first time businesses have access to storage solutions that match their current needs, with the option to grow as they go – the main benefit is reduced cost." This is made possible by three international patents that allow customers to buy drawers separately and add them to their existing drawers quickly and without any tools.

The father and son team, Arnold and Adrian van Wijk, sought to develop a storage product that would benefit manufacturers, dealers and customers alike.

“I was struck by how cumbersome it was to transport, offload and manoeuvre traditional filing cabinets while observing our installation many years ago at Mobil headquarters in London,” remembers Van Wijk Sr. “The idea struck me that if I could deliver drawers and not cabinets, it would benefit everybody.”

“We’re very happy with the result,” said Adrian van Wijk, Design Director at JDi Design. “Our design solution has been recognised at best-in-class product design awards in South Africa, Canada, and now Europe and North America – the Red Dot Award really is the pinnacle of achievement for any product designer.”

These innovations may be incorporated by manufacturers into their existing ranges and customised by the interior design industry. They are also available from Orgafile in a shell extruded from post-consumer fibre, making Orgafile the first storage system available in this finish. “We’re excited to introduce a win-win for all involved”, beamed Van Wijk Sr.

Orgafile featured on US-based core77 design portal

Date: 2010-04-09

In a tongue-in-cheek article, Orgafile is described as a filing system "designed not to be thrown away", in contrast to traditional filing cabinets left on the sidewalk by the City Clerk of Manhattan, destined for the landfill - read the full article

SABS Chairman's Award given to Orgafile!

Date: 2008-10-30

1. 2008 SABS Design Excellence Award winners announced
2. A revamped Prototype initiative to support product designers
3. Design Competitions, Conferences and general design news

SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCT DESIGN FLOURISHES IN ALL INDUSTRY SECTORS

South Africans are known for their ingenuity when it comes to designing products to solve specific problems or to meet special needs. For the past almost 40 years product designers have been lauded for their inventiveness by an award scheme that has placed South African products on the map.

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Design Excellence Awards scheme was established in 1969 to recognise the achievements of South African product designers, while also encouraging local product design and manufacture and promoting international competitiveness of local products. This award scheme, with the SABS Design Institute behind it, has established a proud tradition of promoting indigenous design.

This year’s design excellence award winners were honoured at a function held in Johannesburg on 30 October. As is the case every year, the SABS Design Excellence Awards entries were adjudicated by industry experts and entries fell into one of six categories.

Although the product designs are not in competition with one another, the panel of adjudicators annually vote for one product that has grabbed their imagination. This year’s Chairman’s Award winner was the Orga8 and Orga15 Modular Filing System, an eco-friendly office storage solution that can be combined in different ways. The components are made of recycled material and the compact design takes up less space than standard storage units.

South Africans have excelled in product design for the mining industry over the years and this year was no exception. Two mining products received design excellence awards – the Autorock, a mini support drill rig for drilling vertical or steeply angled rock bolt holes in narrow mine stopes and the Cheetah Sump Pump, a pneumatic pump for getting rid of water sludge underground.

On the other end of the spectrum product designs making life just a little easier also received awards. The 4 Secs Condom Applicator assists in the quick effortless fitting of a condom in a safe and correct manner and is an updated version of the condom applicator that received a design excellence award several years ago. Easy Sleepers are infant travel support pillows that keep a child’s head in an upright position in a car seat and the Kiddo Safety Toothbrush, made of soft, gum-friendly material, fits snugly over a child's or an adult's finger and has soft protrusions to clean teeth.

Product designs that present solutions to specific problems experienced in society also received excellence awards. The Modular Traffic Light System is a collapsible traffic light that offers very low impact resistance and causes no injuries to motorists and minimal damage to pavements and vehicles on impact. Then there is the The ExpoScreens Quick Lock, a compact device used to lock screens of exhibition stands. The Move-eez is a storage and movement system for hanging apparel that improves logistics in a variety of environments. The Vacuform Truck Bunk Bed is a moulded unit that fits below the bunk bed mattress in long-distance trucks to provide additional packing space.

South Africans are also known to make a plan to come up with a solution to a specific problem – what we call our ‘n-boer-maak-‘n-plan mentality. The Wiremate Wizard is one such solution. It is a pull cord system that uses a hand pump to draw pull cord through electrical conduits in seconds. Then there is the Quaddro Scissor Jack.  This innovative mechanical jack with a central coil spring assembly feature provides extreme structural support and safety to the user in the load lifting and lowering process.

Every year sees an increased focus on product designs in the information technology and electrical engineering categories. The Enermax Plus is a three-phase energy and demand meter that measures four quadrants of power and energy, whereas the MES Butterfly Range Single Switch Socket Outlet is used in a domestic light fitting environment.

Running at the same time as the SABS Design Excellence Award scheme this year was the SABS Design Institute’s Prototype Initiative where product designers with working prototype models had the opportunity to get advice on how to get their prototypes out of the garage and on their way to production. This design promotion initiative is set to support new product designers on the road to get their designs to become fully marketable products.

Click here to visit the SABS Design Excellence Award winners

A NEW NAME - THE SAME AWARD SCHEME FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE

The SABS Design Excellence Awards

The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) Design Institute promotes design in South Africa through a variety of initiatives. For close on 40 years one of the major vehicles used to reward design excellence has been the SABS’s flagship design award scheme known by various names in the past, but most recently as the disa Design Excellence Awards.

In line with the SABS’s policy of consolidating its business units and strengthening its brand, this award scheme will be known as the SABS Design Excellence Awards in future.

The scheme aims to recognise the achievements of South African product designers, encouraging local product design and manufacture, as well as promoting international competitiveness of local products.

The closing date for entries for the 2008 SABS Design Excellence Awards is 15 May 2008 and final adjudication will take place at the SABS Design Institute in Pretoria from 28 to 31 July 2008.  Award winners can look forward to taking part in the SABS’s Exhibition that runs from 28 – 31 October at the Sandton Convention Centre. The gala awards ceremony will be held on 30 October 2008.

Orgafile wins Canadian Design Award

Date: 2007-06-13

The Orgafile modular filing system is a winner in the 10th Annual BEST OF CANADA DESIGN COMPETITION. This award will be handed over on 26 September 2007 in Toronto. Click here to download the article, or visit http://www.canadianinteriors.com/bestofcanada/ for more information.

SABS

Date: 2007-04-23

The Orgafile filing system has recently undergone testing and has received the SABS stamp of approval. Click here to download the document.