DULLES, Va., Dec. 1, 2010 – The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is accepting entries to its 2011 International Design Excellence Awards® (IDEA) program from designers, students and companies worldwide. For over 30 years, IDEA has recognized design excellence in products, sustainability, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. The awards program honors new products that have been in distribution between Feb. 2009 and Feb. 2011. The Henry Ford will house the winners in its permanent collection.

A panel of independent design experts will use the following criteria in selecting winning designs:

• Innovation (design, experience, manufacturing)
• Benefit to the user (performance, comfort, safety, ease of use, usability, user interface, ergonomics, universal function and access, quality of life, affordability)
• Benefit to society, environment, culture and economy
• Benefit to the client (profitability, increased sales, brand reputation, employee morale)
• Visual appeal and appropriate aesthetics
• In the Design Research Category: insights (usability, emotional factors, unmet needs), testing rigor and reliability
• In the Design Strategy Category: internal factors and methods, strategic value and implementation

IDEA accepts entries in the following categories:
Industry Segments:

• Commercial and Industrial Products
• Communication Tools
• Computer Equipment
• Entertainment
• Environments
• Home Living
• Leisure and Recreation
• Medical and Scientific Products
• Office and Productivity
• Personal Accessories
• Service Design
• Transportation

Design Segments:

• Design Strategy
• Interactive Product Experiences
• Packaging and Graphics
• Student Designs
• Research

For complete contest information, visit http://www.idsa.org/content/panel/idea-2011-gallery

See last year's winners at:
http://www.idsa.org/content/panel/idea-2010-gallery

About IDEA
Started in 1980, the IDEA program fosters business and public understanding about the impact of industrial design excellence on the quality of life and the economy. For the second year, The Henry Ford will house the IDEA award winners in its permanent collection to continue to tell the story of American innovation. The IDEA media partners include Core 77, Yanko Design, Curve magazine, and media sponsors include Facesofdesign.com and FUSE conference.

About IDSA
Founded in 1965, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is the world’s oldest, largest, member-driven society for product design, industrial design, interaction design, human factors, ergonomics, design research, design management, universal design and related design fields. IDSA produces the renowned International Design Excellence Award® (IDEA) competition annually; hosts the International Design Conference and five regional conferences each year; and publishes Innovation, a quarterly journal on design, and designBytes, a weekly e-newsletter highlighting the latest headlines in the design world. IDSA's charitable arm, the Design Foundation, supports the dissemination of undergraduate scholarships annually to further industrial design education. The organization has more than 2,300 members in 28 chapters in the U.S. and internationally.