Judge Praises BenQ’s Innovative and International Product Design
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - May 26, 2003
BenQ's H200 LCD and M770GT mobile phone received Symbol of Excellence silver awards at the presentation ceremony for the 11th National Symbol of Excellence awards held on May 9. Jury spokesperson Henning Horn, the managing director of the Design Center in Stuttgart, Germany, had special praise for BenQ's product design during remarks made at the awards presentation. He regards BenQ's innovative and international product design capabilities as exceptionally praiseworthy, which enable BenQ’s products to stand out among competing products. BenQ was in fact the only company that Henning Horn cited specifically by name. During his remarks, Henning Horn pointed out that in recent years, Taiwan's product design capabilities have advanced considerably. However, a great deal of room for improvement in product design remains if Taiwanese vendors hope to compete effectively in international markets against global rivals. He used BenQ's innovative product design as an example to demonstrate that Taiwanese vendors can indeed do better, and he expressed his high expectations for Taiwanese product design capabilities.
Manfred Wang, Director of Lifestyle Design Center (ID & Trend Research) at BenQ’s Headquarter in Taipei, notes that products have transcended mere utility to become symbols of lifestyles and tastes. The values embodied by the BenQ brand—the application of humanistic design principles that combine fun-to-use technology and a regard for culture in products—allow users to truly achieve greater enjoyment in their lives. This affirmation of BenQ's approach from no less an authority than the director of a world-class design center is ample indication that BenQ's investment and dedicated effort in product design are starting to pay off. In the future, BenQ will remain faithful to its belief in the importance of product design and continue to create products that consumers truly enjoy.
Of the two BenQ products that won awards, the H200 is a 20" LCD TV that boasts a super-slim form factor and is capable of receiving HDTV signals. The H200 was also selected by Singapore's HWM magazine as one of the year's most innovative products, and was given a rating of 4.5 stars by the editors of the HardwareZone.com website. The M770GT, the other award-winning BenQ product, is BenQ's first titanium-encased ultra-thin mobile phone. With its elegantly simple appearance and inverse-mode LCD, it radiates a futuristic aura that has made its distinctive design the focus of media attention since its release.
Entry applications for a total of 724 products were received for this year's 11th National Symbol of Excellence awards. From these, 359 were selected for the competition. The jury spent several months to rigorously appraise the entrants, eventually choosing the 24 products that won the National Symbol of Excellence awards. The National Symbol of Excellence awards competition was established by the Bureau of Foreign Trade of the Taiwanese government's Ministry of Economic Affairs to encourage innovation among Taiwanese vendors.
