iF Design Awards - See the award-winning lamps here!
iF DESIGN AWARDS
See the lamps that have won the German award here!
Founded in 1953, iF Design is a global symbol of design excellence. iF Design is a German institution originally founded to shine a spotlight on all things well-designed - but today the institution is just as well known for its coveted award, presented each year by a jury of experts. Below you can find out more about what iF is - and which lamps have won the coveted award over the years!
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The story of iF Design
The first Mercedes E-Class is launched, equality between men and women before the law is written into the German constitution, and on June 16 and 17, a gigantic popular uprising takes place east of the border in Berlin, which spreads to most of the GDR and becomes a national holiday until 1990 in West Germany.
It's 1953 in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the effects of the war are still being felt - especially in the GDR, but also west of the Iron Curtain. German industry, at best stagnant and at worst bombed to pieces, was struggling to find a foothold both in Germany and abroad.
Six years earlier, the British military government had founded the Hannover Messe in an undamaged factory building in the Hannover suburb of Laatzen. The idea was that the fair would help the economy and industry recover after the war - and to make Hannover the new fair city, as the old fair city, Leipzig, was now in the Soviet part of Germany.
The Hannover Messe was a resounding success, with people from all over Germany visiting the fair to showcase new means of production, methods and inventions - and, extraordinarily, to create an institution to support, refine and celebrate the design of industrial products themselves: thus iF e.V. was founded - a symbol of high-quality design ever since.
It is estimated that over 700,000 people visited the fair from all over the world.
Image: Märklin's stand at the first Hannover Messe, 1947. Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-2005-0808-508 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
It's 1953 in the Federal Republic of Germany, and the effects of the war are still being felt - especially in the GDR, but also west of the Iron Curtain. German industry, at best stagnant and at worst bombed to pieces, was struggling to find a foothold both in Germany and abroad.
Six years earlier, the British military government had founded the Hannover Messe in an undamaged factory building in the Hannover suburb of Laatzen. The idea was that the fair would help the economy and industry recover after the war - and to make Hannover the new fair city, as the old fair city, Leipzig, was now in the Soviet part of Germany.
The Hannover Messe was a resounding success, with people from all over Germany visiting the fair to showcase new means of production, methods and inventions - and, extraordinarily, to create an institution to support, refine and celebrate the design of industrial products themselves: thus iF e.V. was founded - a symbol of high-quality design ever since.
It is estimated that over 700,000 people visited the fair from all over the world.
Image: Märklin's stand at the first Hannover Messe, 1947. Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-2005-0808-508 / CC-BY-SA 3.0
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iF e.V. stands for Die Gute Industrieform eingetragener Verein - 'The good industrial design, registered association.
The idea was to focus on design and all that design can do - iF wanted to celebrate good design, and iF wanted to spread knowledge about the importance of good design; for consumers, for manufacturers and for society. Die Gute Industrieform was later renamed Industrie Forum.
The Hannover Fair and the iF began to attract international visitors, and soon the reputation of German-designed products began to change around the world. Today, when you think of something made in Germany, you probably think of clean, thoughtful lines, durability and precision - after all, that's what has characterized arguably the best-known German industrial sector since the 1960s: the automotive industry.
Throughout the 1950s, West German GDP grew by almost 8 percent per year until 1960, and by the 1960s, the Federal Republic of Germany had regained its status as the largest and potentially most influential economic force in Europe - something that can be partially attributed to its high production and export of high-tech and value-added products.
Image: Hannover Messe 1947 by Hannover Messe
The idea was to focus on design and all that design can do - iF wanted to celebrate good design, and iF wanted to spread knowledge about the importance of good design; for consumers, for manufacturers and for society. Die Gute Industrieform was later renamed Industrie Forum.
The Hannover Fair and the iF began to attract international visitors, and soon the reputation of German-designed products began to change around the world. Today, when you think of something made in Germany, you probably think of clean, thoughtful lines, durability and precision - after all, that's what has characterized arguably the best-known German industrial sector since the 1960s: the automotive industry.
Throughout the 1950s, West German GDP grew by almost 8 percent per year until 1960, and by the 1960s, the Federal Republic of Germany had regained its status as the largest and potentially most influential economic force in Europe - something that can be partially attributed to its high production and export of high-tech and value-added products.
Image: Hannover Messe 1947 by Hannover Messe
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What do you win when you win an iF Design Award?
If you are lucky enough for your product or brand to win the renowed iF Design award, you can look forward to four main things:
Validation: You, your design and your team around you get the ultimate proof that what you're doing is right.
Differentiation: The award allows you to differentiate yourself from your competitors.
PR Opportunities: Besides the attention your design gets from just winning, you also get a lot of marketing materials from iF - and iF helps you spread the word about your product!
Product protection: The design industry will find out what you've created - and therefore know that you did it first.
On top of all this, you get to use the iF logo, of course, and you get a physical certificate in brushed aluminum. The winners are selected at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin at a gala evening where all the world's top designers gather for a lavish party on the world's largest theater stage.
Image: Friedrich Stadt Palast, home to the world's largest theater stage. License: Creative Commons 2.0
On top of all this, you get to use the iF logo, of course, and you get a physical certificate in brushed aluminum. The winners are selected at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin at a gala evening where all the world's top designers gather for a lavish party on the world's largest theater stage.
Image: Friedrich Stadt Palast, home to the world's largest theater stage. License: Creative Commons 2.0
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2023 – Blade from Light-Point
The Blade lamp series from Light-Point, designed by Studio F. A. Porsche, received the iF DESIGN AWARD 2023 for its precision, geometry and clean lines. The series consists of two cylinders connected by a movable, linear core, where the integrated but hidden functions play an important role. All hinges and cables are part of the design and therefore invisible. Each element has been reduced to its essential function and is present for a reason. The design process has not involved any compromises and has been a journey towards realizing a series of lamps focusing on a clean, simple and stylish design language combined with outstanding performance.
See all Blade ceiling lights from LIGHT-POINT here
See all Blade ceiling lights from LIGHT-POINT here
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2023 – Ambrosia from Marset
Ambrosia is a flexible lighting system that started as a light line but evolved into a modular system that can expand to adapt to any space. Its linear, unique design, an almost flat light segment, was made modular and asymmetrical to create a soft and surprising lighting system. Designed by Ciszak Dalmas Studio from Madrid, led by Andrea Caruso Ciszak and Alberto Gobbino Dalmas, Ambrosia has won the iF DESIGN AWARD 2023 and has been recognized for its innovative approach to lighting.
See the full Ambrosia range from Marset here
See the full Ambrosia range from Marset here
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2022 – Signe Hue Gradiant floor lamp from Philips Hue
Get a unique colorful light with the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022 winning Philips Hue Signe gradiant floor lamp from Philips Hue. Designed with a minimal footprint, the product has a slim profile that makes it less conspicuous so all visual attention is on the light itself. This unique floor lamp is perfect for transforming your living room or game room into a vibrant environment where your lights dance, flash, dim and light up in time with the content on your TV screen. And with dynamic scenes, Signe changes gradient through the colors in any scene, creating unique effects, perfect for setting the mood you want.
See both Signe Hue Gradiant floor lamps from Philips Hue here
See both Signe Hue Gradiant floor lamps from Philips Hue here
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2022 – Squire WiZ Portable table lamp from WiZ
Squire WiZ Portable table lamp RGB by WiZ has won the iF DESIGN AWARD 2022, adding a rich and new lighting experience to the WiZ ecosystem. Designers have focused on delivering different but exciting lighting experiences for the RGB lighting environment. Squire introduces the "dual zone" lighting effect, the first of its kind on the market, which is made possible by two independent RGB lights that can be controlled separately to create a unique lighting atmosphere. In addition, the carefully designed dual-zone preset light effect helps users choose the right light for the right moment.
See the Squire WiZ Portable table lamp by WiZ here
See the Squire WiZ Portable table lamp by WiZ here
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2021 – Edge from Light-Point
In 2021, Ronni Gol and the rest of Light-Point were able to spice up their office interior in Copenhagen with another aluminum panel from the coveted institution iF Design. The award-winning Edge was praised by the grand jury for being a prime example of the form-follows-function philosophy. The wonderful pendant series is described as state-of-the-art by iF, and the shape in particular excited the experts who choose who wins the awards. The conical shape ensures that the surface under the pendant is perfectly illuminated while a soft, atmospheric light escapes from the top of the lamp. The series is available both as a long table pendant and a round pendant - and the entire series is available in either carbon black or brass.
Explore all the award-winning models here!
Explore all the award-winning models here!
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2020 – Orbit from Light-Point
2020 was the year Light-Point won an iF Design Award for the first time with their wonderful ORBIT. It was the indoor-outdoor lamp series that ended up taking the award - and iF highlights the optical glass in the lamp as being what makes Orbit so special. Instead of a classic piece of glass, the Danish company Light-Point has used an optical glass similar to what you would find in a pair of glasses - and it disperses the light and makes the lamp's light column larger. Once the Orbit lamp is retired, it can easily be disassembled and reused as it is made of pure aluminum and glass. The lamp comes in a wide range of variants, available in black, white and rose gold.
See the whole Orbit family here!
See the whole Orbit family here!
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2020 – Sylvestrina from Santa & Cole
The Spanish lighting company Santa & Cole has been creating world-class lamps since 1985 - and 2020 was the year that their Barcelona office received the coveted aluminum plate for creating an extraordinary design.
If you know Santa & Cole's universe, you also know that the lighting company from Spain has always created lamps that exude warmth and comfort - and the award-winning Sylvestrina is no exception. "The Sylvestrina lamp goes places," the jury from iF Design wrote about the portable lamp, highlighting how it doesn't rely on wires to illuminate its surroundings. Barcelona designers Enric Sória and Jordi Garcés have truly created a lamp that exudes a sense of security in its glow that is exactly like that of the old oil lamps.
See Sylvestrina here!
If you know Santa & Cole's universe, you also know that the lighting company from Spain has always created lamps that exude warmth and comfort - and the award-winning Sylvestrina is no exception. "The Sylvestrina lamp goes places," the jury from iF Design wrote about the portable lamp, highlighting how it doesn't rely on wires to illuminate its surroundings. Barcelona designers Enric Sória and Jordi Garcés have truly created a lamp that exudes a sense of security in its glow that is exactly like that of the old oil lamps.
See Sylvestrina here!
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2019 – Luisa from Prandina
If you know Prandina, you also know that there is one discipline in particular that they excel in; glassblowing. The lamp company was founded by Italian Sergio Prandina, who experimented with new manufacturing methods and new shapes through mouth-blown glass - and it is precisely a glass product that ends up winning Prandina the coveted iF Design Award.
Luisa is a fusion of tradition and technology, says the iF Design Jury about the award-winning lamp - and besides being a fusion of tradition and technology, the lamp is also a fusion of Italian and Spanish design history. The lamp is created by Prandina, but designed by Spanish Gauzak - a product design agency with a long and impressive portfolio of lamps. The lamp is available in five different glass and metal finishes, and as both a pendant and table lamp.
See all the models here!
Luisa is a fusion of tradition and technology, says the iF Design Jury about the award-winning lamp - and besides being a fusion of tradition and technology, the lamp is also a fusion of Italian and Spanish design history. The lamp is created by Prandina, but designed by Spanish Gauzak - a product design agency with a long and impressive portfolio of lamps. The lamp is available in five different glass and metal finishes, and as both a pendant and table lamp.
See all the models here!