braunprize-1968

Braun Prize 1968 1/4 Documents and photographs from the Braun Archive relating to the first BraunPrize competition in 1968: Original press release from 1968 The 25,000 DM (12,500 EUR) Braun Prize for technical design was awarded for the first time this year. The delighted winners of the prize endowed by Braun AG to encourage young industrial designers and engineers were Florian Seiffert (25) and Masanori Umeda (27). Jury chairman Dr. Fritz Eichler presented the prize to them at the Frankfurter Hof hotel on November 11. Florian Seiffert, from the Folkwangschule in Essen, received a prize of 15,000 DM for his design for an entirely new kind of 16 mm film camera. Japan's Masanori Umeda, who had submitted a forward-looking concept for a system of movable living units as his competition entry, received a prize of 10,000 DM. The three-member jury, which included Otl Aicher and Fritz Gotthelf, had to consider entries submitted by 122 participants from 15 countries. A shortlist of 30 entries was selected at a preliminary judging session in Cologne before the final winners were chosen during the first week of November. In order to be eligible to participate in this international competition, entrants had to be young industrial designers and engineers under the age of 35 who were still at design school/university or who had been working for no longer than two years. Their task: develop an outstanding solution for a technical design problem. As the projects were not tied to the Braun product range, the jury was faced with an extremely wide range of interesting concepts from the most diverse fields: from a construction crane to a diesel locomotive, from a drill to an electrophoresis system, from a hotplate to an exposure meter, from a welding system to a traffic light, from a combine harvester to street lighting - the diversity of the entries was quite phenomenal. Braun Prize 1968 From the Archives 2/4 / Braun Prize 1968 - 1st Prize Jury's analysis: Stating the reasons for its verdict, the jury praised Seiffert's camera design for its entirely new concept which represented a refreshing departure from the usual developments in this field. It also emphasised the quality of the design which was reflected in the discreet, natural and straightforward implementation of the solution. In addition to its other technical refinements, the camera developed by Seiffert can be loaded with 120 m of film without the need for a top-mounted film magazine. Designer Florian Seiffert , Essen-Stadtwald Fourth child of interior designer, painter and copper engraver Erich Seiffert and weaver Maria Seiffert (née Kühne); born in Jamlitz in the Niederlausitz region on March 10, 1943. Attended school from 1949 to 1958. Underwent training in a grey-iron foundry and wrought- iron workshop before escaping to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1960. 1961 to 1964: successfully completed apprenticeship as a precision engineer followed by practical training as a technical draughtsman and design engineer in the same firm in preparation for studying industrial design. Since 1965: student in the industrial design department at the Folkwangschule für Gestaltung [Folkwang design school]. Braun Prize 1968 From the Archives 3/4 / Braun Prize 1968 - 2nd Prize Jury's analysis: The system of movable living units submitted by Japan's Masanori Umeda, who works in Italy, consists of kitchen, bathroom and information modules which can be transported easily. The jury emphasised that the concept breaks with the current approach to domestic fittings and appliances, aiming instead at making the technical elements of our surroundings more freely available. This increases the space available to the individual and thus creates a more positive environment for development and self-realisation. Designer Masanori Umeda, Japan 1941: born in Kanagawa, Japan 1959: Kanagawa Technical School of Architecture 1962: graduated as product designer from Kuwasawa Design School 1963- 1966: worked in Tokyo in the fields of architecture, industrial design, display and interior design Has worked in Europe since 1966 in various design practices including Studio Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni in Milan Braun Prize 1968 From the Archives 4/4 / Braun Prize 1968 - Jury members Dr. Fritz Eichler (chairman of the jury), Braun Fritz Gotthelf Otl Aicher