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FIFTEENTH ANNUAL EID WINNERS
Judging this year's Excellence in Design entries was no easy task for this year's jurors, and they wouldn't have had it any other way.
This year's EID competition attracted 127 entries, the vast majority of which represented truly outstanding and innovative design solutions to a range of challenges. The three-person panel of industrial design experts commented often on the high quality of this year's entries, and spent two days evaluating the entries according to 1) aesthetics, 2) ergonomics/human factors, and 3) innovative features. Each judge granted each entry 1-5 points per criterion, so that an entry's maximum score was 15 points per judge; 45 points overall. Top point scores within a category were declared Winners, with Runners-Up being those that scored second highest in a category. For categories that were especially strong in terms of the number of high-quality entries, judges had the option of declaring additional Runners-Up awards. This happened in two categories: Majors and Peripherals/Accessories.
Coverage of this year's Winners begins on this page. For a look at this year's Runners-up, see page 27. And for a profile of this year's judges, see "Meet the Judges," on page 24.
Best Overall
Majors
Duet(TM) Fabric Care System by Whirlpool, Benton Harbor, Mich.
Location! Location! Location! While that's often the mantra of real-estate professionals, this theme is also central to the success of Whirlpool's front-load Duet washer dryer-this year's Best Overall and Winner in the Majors category.
From the convenient top-front location of the controls that allow for the units to be stacked, to the angled, oversized drum opening, human factors obviously played a critical role in the design and development of this entry. There's even an optional pedestal that raises the units by 12 in. while doubling as storage areas, with customizable dividers for extra detergent or other supplies.
Further, the advanced Catalyst(R) washing technology is an energy- and clothes-saver. The system mixes detergent with a small amount of water and then sprays the foamy lather directly on clothes, thus eliminating the need for pretreatment. The tumbling action gently flexes and moves fabrics over three separate baffles that help loosen and remove soil and stains. A specially designed valve closes during washing to ensure that virtually all of the...