We reveal the first designs which have received Red Dot 2016 awards

Our editorial team has received news of the first designs to have received the prestigious, international  Red Dot 2016 awards. The awards ceremony will take place in Essen, Germany on July 4, and we can exclusively reveal that some of these pieces were manufactured in Spain.

FollowMe, a portable, rechargeable light which uses LED technology, created by Spanish designer Inma Bermúdez for Marset, received a Red Dot 2016 award in the Product Design category. Two other designs won awards in this category — an innovative lighting system Button, which doubles as a ceiling-hung shelf, designed by Francesc Rifé for Estiluz, and the Drum ceiling light by Rubén Saldaña, design director of Arkoslight.

Standout pieces in the seating category include the Season chair, Couvé sofa and Naoshima stool. The upholstered Season chair by Italian designer Piero Lissoni for Viccarbe has a simple, chic silhouette, making it suitable for all types of interior, and has castors concealed under its base, so it’s moveable. Created by Italian designer Piergiorgio Cazzaniga for Andreu World, the Couvé sofa won the award for its appearance, which fuses a subtle design with different elements — the angles of the legs, backrest, seat and, ultimately, its entire structure. Then there’s Naoshima, produced by Spanish outfit Emiliana Design Studio, which stands out for looking light yet being very strong, making it perfect for both contract and domestic use. Finally, Capdell has scooped two Red Dot Awards for its Stir chair designed by Kazuko Okamoto and Tri-Star table by Claesson Koivisto Rune.

Other pieces that won awards in the Red Dot 2016 Product Design category were Cosentino’s Dekton® XGloss collection with an ultra-compact surface and the Silaï handmade contemorary rug collection, dreamt up by Belgian designer Charlotte Lancelot for Gan, Gandia Blasco’s indoor homeware brand.

The Red Dot awards were established in 1955, and are organised by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen. In the Product Design category, pieces win awards for being well-designed, creative and for being considered innovative, functional, durable and for having strong formal qualities. This year, over 5,000 products from all over the world were submitted for consideration and the award-winning pieces are now recognised on an international level for their excellent design