By Patrick Avenell
The 2012 Australian International Design Awards will for the first time recognise excellence in service design, with four new categories added to the agenda.
Service design is refers to the experiences customers have when using a product. For example, an airline check-in system that makes flying more enjoyable or an integrated membership program to control the distribution of consumables could be eligible.
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An example relevant to the appliance industry would be the pro-forma sales models created by some suppliers in order to streamline the process for consumers while protecting retailers against price erosion and excess stock levels.
The four Service Award categories are: Business, Government, Education and Not-For-Profit. The full range of product categories is back in 2011, with the best designs in Consumer, Business/Technology, Medical/Scientific, Automotive/Transport, Sport/Leisure, Housing/Building, Heavy Machinery and Architectural/Interior.
More information on these awards can be found at the Awards’ official website.