6.11.2007

Tricycle-Enabled Design Tools Earn NeoCon Gold, Silver and Innovation Awards and Call for Creation of New Judging Category

At this year's NeoCon, design tools enabled by Tricycle® took home Gold, Silver and Innovation awards, and were deemed so innovative that a new award category of "Design Tools" was created during the judging.

Tricycle's customers who won the award were Tandus, which won Gold in the newly created Design Tools category, Karastan Contract, which won Design Tools Silver, and Lees, which won the Innovation award in the category.

Tricycle's mission has always been to erase unnecessary waste in the design process, while serving the design process itself. We see sustainability and design as wholly integrated, even inseparable. As we develop tools that reduce costs, wait time and the use of natur
al resources, every step in the development of these tools - from concept to launch - is based upon the way that designers work.

The Tandus, Karastan, Durkan and Lees programs are all on display in Tricycle's NeoCon booth thi
s year, along with other innovative programs from great brands. We could not be more pleased that the NeoCon judges created the new category of Design Tools, because we believe that there is much more work to be done, by manufacturers and service companies all across the industry who are rethinking what 'best practice' truly means.

The Gold was awarded to Tandus' Inunison Virtual Sample Folders, which were conceived in partnership with Tricycle. Using high resolution images of carpet to present running line pa
tterns in a revolutionary evolution of the sample book, the books minimize the need for carpet samples that end up in landfill, while enhancing the sampling experience for designers. The books present carpet with feeler samples as well as tear-off pads of carpet images printed on paper, encouraging designers to continue their common practices of tearing swatches out of a sample book for inspiration boards, schematic design and initial client presentations. While other carpet manufacturers discourage this practice, because it requires them to replace samples and books, this rethinking of the sample book acknowledges - and encourages - an important part of of a designer's creative process.

The Silver was awarded for Karastan's LE 12 and Folio 54 Interactive Design, designed and developed by Tricycle. LE 12 is a new rapid prototyping program which features an industry first - believable woven carpet simulation. The month-long lead times for custom woven products are cut to seconds, letting designers view custom colored woven designs immediately. Because it is integrated with a Tryk™ print program, recyclable paper print samples can be delivered within 24 hours for the early rounds of a designers' pattern and color exploration, before requesting a physical sample. LE 12 currently features Karaloc and Wilton products, with Axminster to follow this autumn.

The Interactive Design of Folio 54, also built by Tricycle, is an Ian-Schrager inspired sampling program from Durkan Commercial, which allows any designer with an internet connection to recolor their favorite patterns, view them in built environments, and order Tryk prints that save time and waste. The site was designed in collaboration with Armastus Studios.

The Innovation award was given to Lees Carpets, for their Accelerated Design System, developed in partnership with Tricycle. The system provides designers with large scale, highly realistic digital prints of their designs before ordering samples, using technology to reduce the turnaround time and environmental impact of the design process.

1 comment:

Josiah Roe said...

Congrats!

Booth pics?

Our blog is mostly about sustainable design in the interiors industry,
especially carpet. Sometimes it's just about us. Updated when we've got something good to say.