BenQ Group today announced that Qisda Corp, one of its affiliate companies, has won two golden awards in the iF Product Design Award 2011, the best performance among Taiwan contestants and a record among Chinese community worldwide for the award, dubbed “Oscar of industrial design.” Qisda received the honor with its QPT-231 micro projector and QTD-402 LED Monitor during the iF award granting ceremony in the CeBIT show, held at Hanover of Germany on March 1. The honor is especially valuable, since there is only one golden award for each product category during the design contest. BenQ Group’s two leading design teams, namely the BenQ Lifestyle Design Center and the Qisda Creative Design Center, jointly garnered 11 iF design awards, the highest among contestants from Taiwan. Manfred Wang, Chief Design Officer who leads the two teams, pointed out that iF Design Award is a guidepost award in the international industrial-design field and its judges rigorously examine every entry from the angles of aesthetic idea, practicability, innovation, feasibility, and manifestation of brand value in determining the winning products. Of the several thousands of entries, only one golden award is available for each category and the winning of two golden awards by the group is a record achievement in the Chinese design circle, manifesting the group’s world-class design strength. The iF gold award winning QPT-231 Mini Projector features and exclusive design that allows the battery to detach from the fuselage, making it convenient to carry along and use anywhere. With a maximum projection size of 50 inches, it doesn't require any external power source and can display content for up to 3.5 hours. Qisda's other gold award winning product is the ultra-thin QPT-402 21.5 inch LED monitor. Employing an "intelligent panel" concept，the back of the monitor features a lid designed to greatly reduce the number of times it needs to be dismantled. With at total thickness of only 0.97 cm and highly recyclable metal as the primary structural material, it's an extreme expression of aesthetic technology that's environmentally friendly. In addition to the gold awards, this year the BenQ Group took home 11 iF design awards. The BenQ Lifestyle Design Center's four winning products include: the GP1 Plus Mini Projector featuring a design inspired by a traditional Chinese jade vessel with rectangular sides and curved elements that uses modern lines and artistry to renew its interpretation; the nReader K61 e-book reader, which emphasizes a smart, slim design, pays homage to the bamboo texts of ancient China and ushers in a new era of this medium while maintaining the feeling of a paper book; the P1420 digital camera that uses simple lines to evoke a profound and understated nature that provides a meaningful, classic style; and the EW2430 LCD monitor that displays the beauty of raw metal. These products, while stressing functionality, also display the aesthetic beauty of shaped materials that echo the BenQ brand's spirit of Bringing Enjoyment 'N Quality to Life. Following the announcement of iF design award winners at the end of each year, gold award winners from different categories are announced in March, including communications, electronics, transportation, lighting, health care, and more. Each product category has one gold award winner and each year only 50 products are bestowed with the gold award honor. In 2011, 1,121 participants from 43 different countries entered 2,756 products in the competition, with a total of 993 products receiving iF awards.
