For the first time in the history of the International Design Award the general public were allowed to choose the winners in the public vote online. The organisers of the competition, Dr. Andreas Hettich (Hettich) and Andreas Albig (Rehau), had shortlisted the top ten and then left the final decision to the design fans. The public's top choice by far was the most colourful, most playful design, followed by two clever furnishing solutions for small rooms.
1st place: "Cabi"<br/> Making it to the top was a smart furniture idea for children's bedrooms that inspires children to play and clear up or which, later on, clears itself up so to speak with the aid of drones. The novel design was entered by Jia Min Luo, Kang Tian and Yi Fei Zhong who are studying at South China Agricultural University. Attracting 9,420 votes, it was the public's absolute favourite.
2nd place: "Moving Cabinets"<br/> Here, the small cabinet elements, which can be moved, flexibly adjust to suit any chosen use, providing the storage space that happens to be needed. The technically perfected idea also comes from China, from Fangyuan Chen, a student at Nanjing Forestry University. It received 4,521 votes. This university also entered the highest number of designs for the 2018 International Design Award.
3rd place: "Chair PF"<br/> This piece of furniture is a veritable allrounder − it can be used as a chair or bench, high desk or table. Equally as simple as it is impressive, this practical design comes from Daniel Diermeier who is studying at Pforzheim University. Attracting 3,553 votes, it managed to secure a comfortable third place.
Hettich and Rehau congratulate the winners and thank all entrants for their fascinating, innovative and creative furnishing solutions.
About the International Design Award<br/> For a good two decades now the competition has been regularly inviting students from across the globe to design trendy, innovative and unusual solutions in the domain of furniture design and furniture making. From 1997 to today, some 10,000 designs have been submitted from over 80 countries – 1,360 students from no fewer than 71 countries had registered for the 2018 International Design Award. The award is organised by two leading companies in the supply industry, Hettich and Rehau.
