by Larry Eder
adidas SMART RUN wins product design category at prestigious 2014 Red Dot awards
24th March 2014, Herzogenaurach – adidas miCoach SMART RUN has won the product design category at the Red Dot Award 2014 with the highest distinction.
Underlining its credentials in design excellence in one of the world’s largest and most renowned product competitions, the adidas miCoach SMART RUN stood out from 4,815 entries and received the Red Dot: Best of the Best for highest quality and ground-breaking design. In 2014, only 1.5% of all entries in the competition received the coveted top award, placing adidas miCoach at the forefront of international product design.
adidas will be presented with its deserved trophy during the awards ceremony at the Aalto-Theater in Essen, Germany in front of around 1,200 guests from all around the world.
The miCoach SMART RUN delivers advanced and intuitive blend of coaching and performance data. It is designed to help serious runners maximise their training from day one. There are no cables, straps and additional sensors with this unique all-in-one device. The SMART RUN uses optical technology to track heart rate. A built-in accelerometer counts stride rate so users can monitor running cadence. GPS tracks speed, distance and route and an MP3 player with Bluetooth® wireless audio delivers music and audible coaching guidance.
Scott Tomlinson, Design Lead of the SMART RUN commented: “Our ambition was to bring all the features and technology that runners value into an elegant, wearable package, with comfort and usability driving our decision making. Simple forms were executed in high quality materials such as magnesium, stainless steel, glass and silicone, to bring the look and feel that is appropriate to this level of innovation. We consciously ignored the running watch template and looked more into the world of consumer electronics for reference. The touch screen display is the hero of the product and allows a clean look for all day wear, but also brings a rich and intuitive experience that comes to life as the runner requires it. We believe that the key to successful wearable technology goes beyond the features and functions, and is really driven by how well the product integrates into the daily life of the user, how well it simplifies and reduces, rather that what it adds.”
Prof. Dr. Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of Red Dot, said: “The 40 experts assessed the quality of the entries with the utmost care and attention. Due to their backgrounds, they also assessed the special cultural aspects of the designs from 53 countries. But only the best products receive an award from the panel. This is especially reflected in the percentage of successful entries in the Red Dot Award, which is much smaller in contrast to other international design competitions. Therefore, the winners can be proud of their achievements – with their entries, they stood out from the rest and were able to pass the test in front of the critical eyes of the experts. This success will be perceptible during the Red Dot Gala, when the laureates will receive the recognition of the international audience.”
The award-winning products in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen
With around 2,000 exhibits spread over an area of more than 4,000 square metres, the Red Dot Design Museum houses the largest exhibition of contemporary design worldwide. The award-winning products from the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2014 will be presented in an impressive special exhibition from 8 July to 3 August 2014. Since touching and testing is expressly encouraged in the hands-on exhibition, visitors experience the current best achievements at close quarters in “Design on Stage”. This way, design enthusiasts can find out about the trends in international product design and assure themselves of the outstanding quality of the adidas miCoach SMART RUN.
Notes to Editor:
The Red Dot Design Award
With the Red Dot Design Award, the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen created an internationally renowned product competition. Its prize, the Red Dot, has established itself worldwide as one of the most sought-after quality marks for excellent design. The Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen displays the award-winning products in the Red Dot Design Museum Essen for at least one year.
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In order to appraise the diversity in the field of design in a professional manner, the Red Dot Design Award breaks down into the three disciplines Red Dot Award: Product Design, Red Dot Award: Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept.
Further information at: www.red-dot.de/press
About adidas miCoach
miCoach is an interactive training service for anyone who wants to train for his or her favorite sport, general fitness or just for fun. Bringing the knowledge and experience of adidas’ elite coaching partners to the masses, miCoach provides users with real-time coaching and all the tools they need to track performance and monitor progress to get the results they want. The breadth of the offer includes a free to access web platform and training community with hundreds of free training plans, free mobile apps on iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8 as well as a comprehensive range of devices for tracking all aspects of performance, both in game and in training. Visit www.micoach.com.
Follow miCoach on facebook.com/adidasmicoach and @adidas_micoach on Twitter
