LaCie Receives 2006 Red Dot Award For Superior Product Design

LaCie has been awarded the 2006 Red Dot Award for superior product design. Two LaCie hard drives – LaCie Rugged and LaCie Skwarim – were selected by an international jury of design experts from more than 5,000 entrants for their superior and innovative design in the Media and Consumer Electronics category. Since 1955, Red Dot Awards have been regarded worldwide as an international seal of quality for outstanding design achievement. Winning LaCie hard drives will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Red Dot Design Museum in Essen, Germany.

“LaCie is thrilled to again receive the Red Dot Award for hard drive design,” says Mathilde Bohrmann, LaCie Vice President of Marketing and R&D. “This prestigious award validates our goal to be the most innovative external hard drive manufacturer in the business. LaCie has always strived to combine powerful technology with pioneering product design. We work closely with world-renowned designers such as Neil Poulton - designer of Rugged, and Karim Rashid - designer or Skwarim, to accomplish this. As we’ve always said, tech products should not only be functional but aesthetically pleasing. You have to look at them on your desk every day, after all.”

The annual Red Dot Award competition is organized by Essen’s Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, the oldest and most highly reputed design institution in Europe. “Receiving an award in an internationally renowned design competition such as Red Dot is an important indicator whether a product has the potential to be successful on an international scale,” says Professor Dr. Peter Zec, initiator of the Red Dot design award and president of the ICSID/International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. “Many companies participating in the Red Dot competition have been successfully investing in innovation and design for a long time in order to stand out from the competition and to convey their brand values. However, creativity by itself is not enough—the products also have to be of high quality. And it is also the task of design to communicate this quality.”

LaCie Rugged is an exclusive creation of world-renowned designer Neil Poulton, built for the constant traveler who needs data protection from everyday bumps and bruises of the real world. It has a unique aluminum shell and orange rubber bumper to protect it from table-height drops, and comes with triple interface (FireWire 800/400, USB 2.0) for use with Macs or PCs. LaCie Skwarim is a stylish handheld for those who want a portable hard drive to match their mood. Designer Karim Rashid made it a perfect 3.3-inch square shape with a unique textured feel. Comes in an electric blue 60GB or dazzling pink 30GB version with USB 2.0 interface for use with Macs or PCs.

The festive Red Dot Award ceremony takes place on June 26, 2006, in Essen’s Aalto Theatre. Award-winning works will be displayed in the special exhibition “Design on stage – winners red dot award: product design 2006” from June 27 to July 23, 2006. The Red Dot Design Museum houses the largest permanent exhibition of contemporary design worldwide with more than 1,000 exhibits spanning 13,000 square feet that draws 120,000 visitors each month. Past recipients of the Red Dot Award include such products as the Apple® iPod®, the Audi A6 automobile, and the Bose® Wave® music system.

About Red Dot Awards
With more than 5,000 entries in its categories red dot award: product design, red dot award: communication design, and red dot award: design concept the red dot design award is one of the leading and largest design competitions worldwide. Since 1955, the Essen Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen has annually selected outstanding design quality and paid official tribute to the award-winning products in an exhibition. For further information visit the web-site www.red-dot.de.

About LaCie
LaCie creates external storage solutions and color monitors that help professionals and everyday users easily manage their digital lives. Powerful technology combined with unique designs by the internationally acclaimed Philippe Starck, Neil Poulton, Porsche Design GmbH, Ora-Ïto and Karim Rashid make LaCie the world leader in storage innovation. Established in France in 1989, LaCie is now headquartered in North America, Europe and Asia and listed on the Paris Nouveau Marché (code 5431). For more information, visit www.lacie.com

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