BRABUS Shadow 900
BRABUS Shadow 900 wins prestigious Red Dot Design Award
BRABUS Shadow 900-Reviewing the best new products of the year, the annual Red Dot Design Awards are recognised as being one of the most prestigious design awards in the world. (BRABUS Shadow 900)
And the hotly contested Product Design category is where the world’s top brands meet to compete.
From fashion to consumer electronics, vehicles, medical technology, furniture design and many more, award entries are assessed not just for their design aesthetic, but the materials selected, the level of manufacturing craftsmanship, the surface structure, the ergonomics and overall functionality.
With the BRABUS Shadow 900 range winning a 2020 Red Dot Award in the Product Design Category is the latest, welcome achievement for BRABUS Marine, the joint manufacturing alliance formed between German, high-performance, luxury automotive car producer, BRABUS Group and Finnish boat manufacturer, Axopar Boats.
Unlike the marine industry’s often ‘unilateral’ way of working up a new design, the approach adopted for the BRABUS Shadow 900 range was a disruption and reversal of normal rules and considered norms.
Responsibility was not just a solitary performance by any single designer. More a collaboration of multiple designers, business strategists, naval architects, engineers — people with different skillsets and backgrounds, but all with a solid understanding of the market and the product.
Referring to the Red Dot Award win, Axopar and BRABUS Marine Head of Creative and Innovations Director, Jan-Erik Viitala, explained more when he said: “Ours is a new way of working within the industry. By utilising our ‘shared-platform’ thinking, design of the Shadow 900 range is the result of three unique parties, namely, BRABUS, BRABUS Marine and Navia Design Agency co-contributing and therefore co-designing together.”
Navia’s Head of Yacht Design Jarkko Jämsén added: “There’s a genuine sense of excitement, innovation and inspiration when we get together for workshops and meetings. We use immersive design tools like 1:1 scale modelling, prototyping and mixed reality with computer-game engine technology to get everyone excited, revved-up and deeply involved in the discussion and decision-making process.”
Expressing his pleasure at winning the award, BRABUS Group CEO, Constantin Buschmann, said: “The international esteem gained from receiving a Red Dot Design Award proves the BRABUS Shadow 900 is an outstanding product, packed with previously unseen innovation, such as the amazing front cabin Gullwing Doors and the clever use of internal and external deck space. The united competence of Axopar, Navia and our own engineering design team have, between them, done a truly excellent job creating a unique high-performance ultra-luxurious ‘superboat’.”
Taking place from 23rd June 2020 to 31st May 2021, the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen will host two exhibitions connected with the awards, namely, ‘Milestones in Contemporary Design’ and ‘Design on Stage’ where a 1:15 scale model of the BRABUS Shadow 900 will be on permanent display.
