Recent Awards

Design Concepts, Inc., a nationally-recognized innovation consultancy located in Madison, WI, has received the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s (HFES) 2009 User Centered Design Award for the design of JohnsonDiversey’s ProSpeed™ floor finish applicator.

The annual award recognizes innovative and user-centered approaches to human factors and industrial design. The award selection is based upon both the product’s design and the methods used by designers. The ProSpeed™ was selected to receive the honor based on HFES criteria including, “functional obviousness, ease of use and creativity,” as well as “user focus during concept development, the design process and use of evaluation methods.”

ProSpeed™ is a floor finish applicator designed specifically for the tight spaces of schools, hospitals and retail environments. It dispenses finish from a 2.5 liter replaceable reservoir purposefully positioned on its contoured shaft that allows for greater balance and control. ProSpeed™ produces more consistent coverage, wastes less finish and takes less of a toll on the body. With ProSpeed’s™ contoured handle, users naturally adopt the proper technique for floor finishing.

Craig Conner, Design Concepts’ director of human factors and principal, accepted the award at a reception on October 20th at the HFES Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Dave Franchino, president and principal of Design Concepts, shared his excitement at the news explaining, “It’s an honor to receive this award from the HFES. It’s an incredible acknowledgment of the work of Craig and his entire team on the ProSpeed™ design and of the wonderful collaboration with JohnsonDiversey.”

For more information, visit HFES

On October 22, 2009, The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum presented the 2009 People’s Design Award to the Trek Lime bicycle. The award was presented at the 10th annual National Design Awards ceremony in New York. The award was accepted by Hans Eckholm, Trek senior industrial designer.