BOCHUM – The Red Dot jury has decided: after all submitted products had been individually tested and evaluated within the context of an evaluation process lasting several days, the Vinyl from smart optics was distinguished with the “Red Dot” Award. The panel of experts awards the internationally recognized seal of quality only to products that convince through their high design quality.

Vinyl – The 3D scanner for ambitious users and winners
For the first time, a 3D scanner from the Bochum-based scanner manufacturer smart optics was awarded the internationally coveted design prize in the “Product Design” category. The high-quality Vinyl for dental technology was developed in cooperation with the renowned product designer Johannes Rojahn and presented at the IDS 2017 in Cologne. Clear lines and a modern, harmonious design rounded off the Vinyl and already convinced users and smart optics dealers at the time. The award-winning scanner owes its name “Vinyl” to its large, non-slip system disk, which resembles a turntable. Owing to this system plate, the Vinyl is able to scan dental models which the dental technician has mounted in an articulator (a device for simulating jaw movements).

“The Red Dot Awards offer smart optics a platform to present our work to an even larger community, outside our actual target group,” says Jörg Friemel, CEO at smart optics. “Winning an award is confirmation that we have not only met the demands of the dental market and the customer, but that our ideas have attained a top level.” The jury of the panel of experts justified their decision as follows: “The 3D scanner Vinyl inspires with its high-contrast interplay of colors, materials and surfaces, which make it a real eye-catcher!”

The scanner also convinces with precision, durability and an enormous range of functions. The user can choose whether the work is to create a monochrome or a color texture scan. The dental technician scans dental impressions to perfectly match his/her working style, even with the device open. The Vinyl is equipped with a fully automatic Z-axis, which automatically moves the scan object into the measuring field. This innovative technology saves valuable time, as the dental technician does not have to perform tedious conversions between the individual scans. In addition to time-savings, smart optics has also placed a special emphasis on user comfort. With its 180 degree opening the Vinyl offers considerable working space and the improved motor
control allows smooth and fast motor travel.

Assessment platform for excellent design
The Red Dot Award: Product Design, which has been in existence since 1955, identifies the best products of each year. In 2018, designers and manufacturers from 59 nations submitted more than 6,300 objects to the competition. True to the motto “In search of good design and innovation”, a jury of some 40 judges assessed the products individually and using the original. The strict evaluation criteria, which include the degree of innovation, functionality, formal quality, ergonomics and durability, form an orientation framework that the jurors fill in according to their
expertise.

“I warmly congratulate the winners on their great success in the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018. The award is proof of the good design quality of the products and once again demonstrates that the companies are on the right track. And when we talk about good design, I don’t just mean the attractive appearance of the products. All of them are characterized by outstanding functionality. This proves that the designers have understood their customers and their needs,” says Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator and CEO of the Red Dot Award.

Honoring the award winners
The winners have been honored at the Red Dot Gala on 9 July 2018. During the awards ceremony in Essen’s Aalto Theater, the Red Dot: Best of the Best Award winners have received their well-deserved trophies on stage. At the subsequent Designers’ Night at the Red Dot Design Museum Essen, the Red Dot winners have received their certificates and celebrated their successes together among the award-winning products, as the after-show party was also the opening of the exhibition: for four weeks, the special exhibition “Design on Stage – Winners Red Dot Award: Product Design 2018” was showcasing the award-winning innovations as part of the world’s largest show of contemporary design.

On the day of the Red Dot Gala, the Red Dot Design Yearbook 2018/2019 was also be published, presenting all the winning products of the year. Furthermore, they can also be found in the online exhibition, the Red Dot App, and on Red Dot 21.

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