(^18) ABCMay 2019 busnews.com.au
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Volvo’s latest 9900 long-distance coach
has received distinction for its high design
quality in the prestigious Red Dot Award:
Product Design 2019.
The renowned jury for the Red Dot
honour only awards it to products that
feature an outstanding design, it’s
explained.
The new premium Volvo 9900 coach
for tourist operation – as part of the
9000 range, which includes the equally
stunning 9700 – was launched in 2018.
According to Volvo: “The distinct Volvo
design language has both a professional
expression and operational functionality,
designed to provide fuel efficiency,
increased stability at higher speeds
while meeting the highest level of travel
experience for demanding passengers.”
Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and
CEO of Red Dot, in reference to the
winners, said: “I would like to congratulate
the laureates sincerely on their wonderful
success. The fact that their products were
able to satisfy the strict criteria of the jury
bears testimony to their award-winning
design quality. The laureates are thus
setting key trends in the design industry
and are showing where future directions
may lead.”
“When developing the new Volvo
flagship, an inside-out user approach has
been the core. We have created a friendly
and relaxing overall interior, with a safe
and impressive exterior character. We
are thrilled and grateful that the result
is receiving such attention,” said Dan
Frykholm,designdirectoratVolvoBuses.
The ‘Red Dot Award: Product Design’
is one of the world’s largest design
competitions, the organisation states.
In 2019, designers and manufacturers
from 55 countries entered more than
5,500 products into the competition. The
international jury comprises experienced
experts from different disciplines and
has been convening for more than 60
years in order to select the year’s best
designs, it states.
THOROUGH ANALYSIS
During an adjudication process that spans
several days they try out the products,
discuss them and, ultimately, reach a
well-founded decision regarding the
design quality of the entries. True to the
motto ‘In search of good design and
innovation’, their assessment focuses on
criteria such as the level of innovation,
functionality, formal quality, longevity
and ergonomics, organisers state.
FORMAL DO
On 8 July, 2019, the international design
scene will gather in the Aalto-Theater, in
Essen, Germany, as part of the Red Dot
Gala. At the subsequent Designers’ Night
party, the Red Dot winners will receive
their certificates and a video of the Volvo
9900 will join the exhibition “Design on
Stage” in the Red Dot Design Museum
Essen, Volvo explains.
The Volvo 9900 will also be on show in
the Red Dot Design Yearbook, online and
in the Red Dot Design App.
VOLVO 9900 WINS
DESIGN AWARD
CHILDREN OF THE
REVOLUTION
A group of local journalists
has been taking independent
news to the public in
Venezuela, by getting on buses
and staging TV news bulletins.
The initiative, carried out by
volunteers, is called “The Bus
TV”. With Venezuela’s press
freedom declining according
to the 2019 Reporter Without
Borders press freedom index,
it’s great to see buses forming
a stage for pushback. Check
them out @elbusTV
GOING GREEN
If you’re in Singapore and see
a garden driving off down the
road, don’t be alarmed. It’s a
new initiative called Garden on
the Move, with 10 SBS Transit
buses donning a horticultural
hat for three months to test
if buses will stay at a lower
temperature throughout the
day, saving on air con costs.
Now that is cool!
GAME ON!
Remember back in the old
days (mid ‘90s) when Snake
was the pinnacle of mobile
gaming entertainment?
Well, Seattle game studio
Stovetop has developed a new
bus driving simulator called
Snakeybus. Imagine Snake
meets Grand Theft Auto, but
you’re hurtling around in a
bus that stretches for two km.
Check out a video at https://
bit.ly/2PWsFWx
THE WOT!?!
NEWS IN FOCUS
darren dugan
(Darren Dugan)
#1