Gorenje Design Studio News

Gorenje Design Studio proves that the challenging economic situation is an opportunity for growth

Thu, 26 Jan 12 08:01 GMT

In the previous year, Gorenje Design Studio, despite the unfavourable economic conditions, managed to follow the objectives of further development of the studio and achieved 11% growth in operating income. This placed Gorenje Design Studio among the leading Slovenian design studios. Business growth, satisfied clients and users, and three Red Dot Awards in the past two years confirm the success of the strategy – offering the most comprehensive design services for the needs of company's founding companies and external clients in the open market. The ambitions of a relatively young design studio with a rich tradition will be in the coming years even more focused on international waters and intense deepening of the modern design knowledge.

Gorenje Design Studio was founded by four partners in February 2008. Gorenje, Pristop, Riko, and Trimo are the companies that have been for many years now realising how important the role of the superior design was to achieving business objectives. Nearly 50 years of experience in product design for the global market and excellent knowledge of the design process are the foundations, based on which the Gorenje Design Studio has developed into a company that today offers complete design services to the founding companies, as well as to numerous external clients. Thus, they successfully followed the ambitious objectives of the Gorenje Group in the previous year and in addition to product design significantly increased design services also in the field of graphic and architectural design. At the same time, they continued to develop their design skills also with other co-founder companies and gained significant new external clients.

Thus, Gorenje Design Studio is actively linking product, graphic and architectural designs with modern approaches of service design and methodologies of creating the user experience. The design process starts with qualitative user surveys, which are the foundation for successful business development and user-friendly products and services. The design process, which includes innovative methodologies, research and testing of end users, is what together with ambitious clients even in tough times leads to successfully implemented products and services. A worthy example in this area includes a user survey for the Kolektor Liv company that has in the process of direct user experience of the product led to the design and development guidelines of the final product.

Moreover, the excellent work of Gorenje Design Studio was confirmed by prestigious professional awards and honours. In the last two years, they received as many as three Red Dot Awards. In 2010, they received one with the Trimo Company for Art Me – a new approach to individual facade design, and last year for Gorenje's innovative user interface iChef and Iskratel's Innbox modem series. All three products include innovation that was the result of research and consideration of the needs and desires of end users.

However, Gorenje Design Studio is not only targeting the domestic market. After the establishment of ingenious sales channel for retail centres of the BMW brand, this concept was being successfully implemented also in markets outside Slovenia. Similarly, they have designed an integrated solution for Gorenje’s retail outlets that standardised the typical elements of space, typical way of presenting products and client experience in various markets worldwide. In the last year, the first Gorenje’s sales salon in Scandinavia was developed in accordance with this concept, and this year, a sales salon with a renewed concept is opening in Brazil and Slovenia.

Therefore, the New Year is a year of new challenges. Due to generally adverse economic situation, Gorenje Design Studio will continue to pay close attention to streamlining operations, while planning to achieve further growth and development of the studio, with the increasing penetration in external markets.

Petra Lepoša was a guest of the round table Cradle-to-cradle

Thu, 01 Dec 11 21:12 GMT

On the 24th of November, during the 12th International Management Conference 2011, organized by the Faculty of Management, University of Primorska, a Cradle-to-cradle or. C2C (Slovenian: "Od zibke do zibke") round table was held.

Guests of the round table were: Mr. Albin Kaelin, CEO of EPEA Switzerland GmbH, one of the first developers of C2C based products, Mrs. Marjana Dremelj from the Government Office for Development and European Affairs, Mr. Anže Čokl, director of Bohinj Park Hotel Eco Resort & Spa Bohinj and Petra Lepoša, project manager at Gorenje design studio. Guests and visitors of the round table talked about the importance and potential of sustainable design and C2C as a strategic approach for the future.

Three Plus X Awards 2011

Thu, 17 Nov 11 13:11 GMT

The oven fitted with the innovative iChef+ control wins product of the year award – The fastidious Plus X Award jury also impressed by the Gorenje RedSet washing machine.

Gorenje won three prestigious Plus X Awards 2011 in Germany. Oven with the innovative iChef+ electronic control module won the Plus X award for innovation, high quality, excellence of design and simplicity of use, as well as product of the year award in the category of ovens. Gorenje's third Plus X award 2011 went to the Gorenje RedSet (WA72149RD) washing machine for excellence of design, simplicity of use, and environmentally friendly and economical operation

more...

Impressions from the opening of the Month of Design

Fri, 28 Oct 11 13:10 GMT

On October 13, the Month of Design, organised by Zavod Big (the Big Institute) for the fourth year now, started with the opening presentations. The opening was marked by the design awards ceremony. Janez Smerdelj received the award for timeless Slovenian design for the Gorenje Simple & Logical washing machine. In the framework of the Gorenje Design Centre and later the Gorenje Design Studio, he was paving the foundations of Slovenian industrial design and as Professor in the Department of Design at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design accompanied many Slovenian designers to their professional career path. The Gorenje Design Studio, beside Elan and Alpina companies, received an honorary design award for the user-friendly interface for Gorenje appliances.

The Month of Design started with the 180o lecture stage, on which the Creative Director of the Gorenje Design Studio Lidija Pritržnik captured the essence of challenges that the present time brings to the designer. These are honesty to the environment, resulting in sustainable designing, honesty to clients that must comply with the principle “designing is not styling”, and honesty to the consumers, which is being integrated in the designing through the simplification of use.

While watching the VJ Koala video projection, listening to the sounds of DJ Blasch and sipping champagne, we spent some quality time with our partners. Visitors were able to see our sales hit, Simplicity White household appliances, as well as the Innbox modem and user-friendly iChef oven interface, the recipients of the Red Dot Design Award; moreover, we have exhibited the user-friendly WashExpert washing interface.

The evening was wrapped up by the awards ceremony of the Eat and Drink contest. The Gorenje Design Studio participated in the contest together with the Herberstein Mansion. We have added a new content to the basic, primary, fresh food and upgraded the food, which seemed commonplace at first glance, to gourmet experience. By changing the core, we have assigned it a new role of a plate or cutlery, and thereby substantially increased the utilisation of food while reducing waste material. Food serving method was reduced to the sole food with which we wanted to draw attention to environmental awareness and maximum utilisation of food.

CREOS statuette receives praise from Carinthia’s advertisers

Mon, 17 Oct 11 15:10 GMT

Klagenfurt on October 5th 2011

A kick-off presentation of the new Carinthia advertising awards CREOS was held in Klagenfurt on October 5th. Designed by our designer David Cugelj, the CREOS statuette received special acclaim by the organizer (The Carinthia Chamber of Commerce) and more importantly by the advertisers.

“The Creos statuette is given to award-winning creative individuals or groups.
The winner’s occupation is in itself a quest for new creative ideas and solutions. Their mind and spirit should therefore be free of any restraints, and their ideas should rise above all. For the idea to overcome all obstacles on its way to realization it must be able to soar over the walls that confine us. The shape of the wings follows the CREOS award symbol, while the stem completes the statuette and adds momentum to the wings. The Swarovski crystals emphasize the elegance of the feathers.“ says David Cugelj.

This project came to realization through our cooperation with White House, an advertising firm from Vienna, and represents another step of building our presence in the Austrian market.

Gorenje at the IFA 2011

Fri, 02 Sep 11 09:09 GMT

Berlin, 2.9.2011

Gorenje is successfully combining state-of-the-art know-how and innovative technology into convenient solutions that have convinced even the most demanding users. This year, they return to Berlin's IFA fair, where numerous novelties and innovations are displayed in Hall 1.1, exhibition area 201.
The creative design (concept) and realization of the presentation at the fair has been entrusted to house Design studio Gorenje.

more...

Beograd Design Week 2011

Thu, 26 May 11 15:05 GMT

Beograd, 25.5.2011

In the period between 23rd and 28th May 2011, the 6th Belgrade Design Week was held in Belgrade. A part of it was the conference Future Europe and city exhibitions 100% Future Serbia.
As the main sponsor of 100% Future Serbia, on Wednesday 25.5. in the evening, Gorenje organized the opening event. The attention of the event was focused on the oven with control module iChef which this year was awarded with Red Dot Award.
Four representatives of GDS attended the event, among them also the authors of the awarded product, Mr. Matevž Popič and Mrs. Lidija Pritržnik.
Within the design conference Future Europe, the Creative Director of GDS Mrs. Lidija Pritržnik held lectures about GDS operation and presented design vision in the company Gorenje.

GDS is the winner of two red dot awards

Thu, 17 Mar 11 16:03 GMT

Velenje/ Essen, 17.3.2011

Gorenje's innovative iChef oven control module received an honourable mention at the eminent international red dot design award. The jury was impressed by especially refined detail solutions. The acclaimed electronic control module with a large colour display introduces the most advanced electronic touch control for ovens to date and represents a major step forward in home appliance development. It is a complex innovation translated into simple use and appealing form.

The award-winning control module is entirely a result of Gorenje's in-house development and design. The iChef was designed by Matevž Popič and Lidija Pritržnik of the Gorenje Design Studio. They stressed that the key guiding principle in module design was simple and intuitive use of the oven. Lidija Pritržnik, Creative Director: "We have developed a concept of oven control that will suit different types of users. We succeeded in translating complex technology into a user-friendly product, to such extent that it can be used both by those with little or no cooking skills and by the aspiring chefs." Matevž Popič, designer: "iChef control module allows making the decisions and choosing the food faster. Control of the contents is clear, recipes are supported by explanations of particular functions to replace the conventional instruction manuals. The focus is on simple editing of the existing recipes and creation of new, user-defined ones. A wide choice of module colour schemes allows the users to personalize the appearance of the display."

This year the prestigious red dot design award went to the Iskratel product line marketed under the Innbox trademark and designed by David Cugelj, leading designer in GDS, and co-designer Miha Črtalič.
“Owing to its neutral design the Innbox modem is an undisturbing element in the user's working or living environment. The innovative way of connecting individual functional modules allows the design conformity of the device in all functional assemblies. What makes it different from the competition is the possibility of simple and fast upgrading of the access to IP services, without sacrificing its design conformity. This is a key innovation that required the fusion of expert design, technical and technological as well as engineering knowledge, where the design studio – GDS and the development department of Iskratel joined their forces. In the design procedure special attention was paid to the investigation of the possibilities how a user can use and manage the device, which additionally contributed to the quality of the final solution«, added the project manager in GDS, Ana Osredkar. »As far as engineering knowledge is concerned, we cooperated with Mitja Laharnar from the company Simetrija” explained Rok Jenko, creative director, and David Cugelj from GDS.

The red dot awards were first awarded in 1955 and belong to the most important international design awards. The winning symbol is an internationally recognised “red dot”, which communicates top quality in the design area. This year in the category of product design about 1700 companies from 60 countries applied for them with the total of 4433 applications. The award winning ceremony will take place on 4 July in Essen, Germany.

GDS has won the red dot award for the second year in a row. Last year they shared it with Trimo for the product Art Me - a new way of individual design on a facade surface.

Service Design Conference 2010

Mon, 08 Nov 10 09:11 GMT

Service Design Conference 2010, Berlin 13.-15.10.2011

This October we attended our second SDN conference in Berlin.

The event gave us an opportunity to meet designers from all over the world and share our experiences on service design projects.

The first conference day was dedicated to client project presentations and it was fascinating to see traditionally conservative companies such as Deutche Bank and Swedish pharmacies chain Apoteket AB, present their service design projects.

We drew inspiration from Phillips Design's story on how they promote the service design discipline within Phillips. We have yet to rise to this challenge.

We spent the second conference day trying not to miss all the interesting workshops on SD observational techniques, scenario building, roleplaying and prototyping, and have a rubber duck to show for it.

The days plenary sessions and lectures gave us some great new ideas and insights on how to sell service design to prospect clients.

As of this October we are also proud members of the Service Design Network, an international network for and from organizations and institutions dealing with service design in a professional way.
http://www.service-design-network.org/

The network wants to deepen and spread the knowledge and the expertise in the area of service design in the scientific as well as in the practical area.

Miran Napotnik at SolidWorks users meeting

Fri, 05 Nov 10 12:11 GMT

Ljubljana, 4.11.2010

Our co-worker Miran Napotnik was invited by the organizer, the company ib-CADdy, d.o.o.from Ljubljana, to take part at the event Annual meeting of SolidWorks users and presentation of the latest program version 2011. The meeting took place on 4 November 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Kolosej, BTC in Ljubljana. Miran Napotnik, as long-term and experienced SolidWorks user, presented to the audience beside the novelties and the latest version of the program also examples from practice in Gorenje design studio.

SolidWorks is a program that allows you to design new products faster, more precisely and more reliably with unmatched 2D and 3D design technology. Owing to these characteristics it has become an indispensable tool for the designers in GDS.

BIO 22 - Trimo invited GDS to participate at the round table

Wed, 27 Oct 10 12:10 GMT

Ljubljana, 27.10.2010

Within the Biennial of Industrial Design the company Trimo invited us to participate at the round table titled "Can designers be architects and can architects be designers?" At the round table, taking place on 26 Oct. 2010 from 7:00 p.m. to 7:50 p.m. in the castle Fužinski grad in Ljubljana, GDS was represented by Rok Jenko.

Other participants: Matevž Čelik, architect, prof. Miloš Florijančič, architect, Sandi Pirš, architect in Nika Zupanc, industrial designer. Moderator: Miloš Ebner, Trimo.

GDS at Design Month 2010

Mon, 25 Oct 10 15:10 GMT

Ljubljana, 21. and 22.10.2010

The events organized as part of Design Month, intended for both the expert and general public, showcases the achievements of Slovenian design, the country's best designers and the companies pursuing the most interesting and innovative design strategies. The programme of events includes a conference, lectures by distinguished designers from around the world, an exhibition and many accompanying events taking place all over the city.

* GDS presented itself with retrospective story with the topic "all design awards"
* Lidija Pritržnik and Rok Jenko gave lectures at international design conference "Makeing Design Work"
* GDS and Hotel Paka presented themselves together at culinary – creative event "Eat&Drink Design 2010"
more: http://www.monthofdesign.com/

ArtMe receives Red Dot Product Design Award 2010

Tue, 06 Jul 10 11:07 GMT

Essen / Germany, 6th July 2010 - ArtMe innovation, which is a result of coalescing Slovenian knowledge developed in Trim o between the Forming laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, and the Gorenje Design Studio (GDS). ArtMe, a new way of individually designing the surfaces of façade cladding that won the prestigious Red Dot Product Design Award. This makes ArtMe the only product from the field of fireproofed roofs and façades to receive this award. ArtMe was selected out of 4,252 applied projects from 57 countries. Consequently, ArtMe was one of 7 Slovenian products to receive the Red Dot Award. Representatives accepted the award at a ceremony in honour of the winners, held yesterday at the Opera House Aalto-Teater, in Essen, Germany.

in photo: Saša Hribernik (GDS), dr. Viktor Zaletelj (Trimo), dr. Aleš Petek (FS.UNI-LJ, LAP), David Cugelj (GDS)

ArtMe enables the creation of visual effects with shadows, shapes, and patterns on the façade clad building surface. Aside from the use of 3 pre-prepared patterns (a range of 3 foundation designs), a new technological approach also enables the random use of unique shapes, pictures, signs, logos, and brand signs on the surface of Trimo’s façade elements, based on the architect's ideas.

The main advantage of the ArtMe solution for end-users is the option of complete individualisation of the façade envelope image. The innovation's main feature is hidden by the use of sophisticated technology to reform existing end-products so the product's operational quality, basic integrity, and characteristics of the façade system aim to be sustained, and enhanced, by the ArtMe application. The special aspect of the ArtMe individualized façades is encapsulated by the constant production of new images for the observer (depending on the lighting, angle, and lighting sources).

Jasna Petan, MA, Director, Gorenje Design Studio: “The main challenge in designing Artme patterns was combining architectural, technological, and graphical elements to achieve the abstract outcomes, and individualise the façade envelope at the same time. The quality of the design solution is the result of successful cooperation of the designer David Cugelj, and architect Saša Hribernik, from Gorenje's Design Studio, with the Trimo’s development team and the Forming laboratory, of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering in Ljubljana. The Red Dot Design Award only confirms the key role of uniting inter-disciplinary knowledge for innovation and product added value.”

BIO 22 – Lidija Pritržnik in Selection Committee; GDS exhibits Simplicity Light and Innbox

Mon, 17 May 10 16:05 GMT

Exhibits are chosen by the Selection Committee, which is composed of distinguished experts from various areas of design. Mrs. Lidija Pritržnik was one of them as well. The Selection Committee has meet in Ljubljana on 13–14 May 2010.

Chosen exhibits, among which were two of the five also reported from Gorenje Design Studio, will be displayed from 7th October – 7th November at Arhitekturni muzej Ljubljana, grad Fužine, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Gorenje design studio will feature designer products: Simplicity Light (Gorenje) and Central Processing Unit - Innbox (Iskratel).

The Biennial of Industrial Design (known by its Slovene acronym as BIO) is an international design exhibition that highlights current trends in contemporary design through its selection of well-designed products with an emphasis on quality, originality, and innovation. Every two years, designers, commissioners, manufacturers and students from all over the world exhibit their latest achievements at BIO.

Marketing Directors' Club Spring Meeting

Tue, 06 Apr 10 11:04 GMT

Rok Jenko took part in the presentation and discussion on the second topic of the meeting, dealing with a case of innovative marketing practice in the service industry. BMW Group Slovenia managed to create a top-selling premium automobile brand in Slovenia despite the recession occurring at that very time. Also a part of the success story was the "Premium Brand Experience project", seeking to found the customer relationship upon services that are appealingly designed and conceived differently than it has commonly been the case thus far.

This is a marketing novelty in the world of BMW, based on connectible Slovenian knowledge as it was co-created by BMW Group Slovenia, Gorenje Design Studio, Zoran Garevski, and Mura. The leitmotif of project development was presented by
• Barbara Uranjek (BMW Group Slovenia),
• Zoran Garevski, fashion designer, and
• Rok Jenko (Gorenje Design Studio).

Pure built-in ovens, designed by GDS, won Get Connected Magazine’s Product of the Year Award

Fri, 02 Apr 10 09:04 GMT

London, 30.3.2010

Product was designed by GDS team: Oskar Fučik, Lidija Pritržnik and Miran Napotnik.

Gorenje has won in United Kingdom the Get Connected Magazine’s Product of the Year Award 2010 for its range of Pure built-in ovens.

Recognised for versatility and stylish good looks the Pure collection is designed for today’s busy lives we all lead. Pure ovens combine design, quality and functionality, affordably.

International scope of the Premium Brand Experience project

Thu, 01 Apr 10 15:04 GMT

In the process of expanding the BMW Premium Brand Experience project to Slovakia, Gorenje Design Studio hosted special guests on Wednesday, March 31st. The studio's Ljubljana office was visited by BMW representative from Germany Mrs. Lisa Steinhauer, and Head of Marketing at BMW Group Slovakia Mr. Peter Zoldos. The meeting resulted in consolidating our business ties, and defining the processes for successful completion of ten BMW showrooms in Slovakia and for the services to be provided there.

Rok Jenko speaks about role of design in the past and today at SMA monthly meeting

Thu, 01 Apr 10 15:04 GMT

Rok Jenko of the Gorenje Design Studio's Ljubljana office was among the speakers at the round table discussing design as a part of the creative industry. The round table, organized by the Slovenian Marketing Association, was held on March 4th at the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Outlining his view of the round table topic, he presented the work methods at the user-focused Gorenje Design Studio, and emphasized the transdisciplinarity of contemporary design where know-how in industrial design is commonly transferred to design of services. The Premium Brand Experience project, commissioned by BMW Group Slovenia and carried out last year by Gorenje Design Studio, was given as one successful example of such approach.

In addition to Rok Jenko, round table speakers included Ivo Tomic of the company SLOKA, Matevž Marc from Riko, and architect Boštjan Vuga of Sadar Vuga Architects. The round table of these creative guests was moderated by Mrs. Ladeja Godina Košir.

A large number of listeners who also took part in the conversation indicates that the topic was evidently of great interest and current relevance. DMS Chairwoman, Mrs. Maja Makovec Brenčič, PhD., concluded the conversation with the following guidelines: let us dare to develop new products and services; to go further and beyond; to think in a transdisciplinary manner; to implement transnationally.

This round table is a prime example of how a dialogue can be established between marketing and design experts to respond to the new requirements brought about by the changes in the social environment.

What can designers offer to the Slovenian economy

Tue, 09 Feb 10 18:02 GMT

Designers Society of Slovenia (DSS) organized a round table discussion in Cankarjev dom on the 28th of January 2010, entitled »What can designers offer to the Slovenian economy«, which was also attended by Lidija Pritržnik, GDS's creative director from Velenje.

With this round table, along with business representatives, designers wanted to draw attention to the unexploitation of knowledge and opportunities for mutual cooperation in developing new products and services.

Due to the on going economic crisis, the conversation also included the possible ways out of recession and the possibility of finding internal reserves by means of design knowledge.

David Cugelj at the granting of Epica Awards in Belgrade

Fri, 05 Feb 10 13:02 GMT

On January the 22nd, 2010, the Royal Palace of Prince Alexander II. Karadžordževič in Belgrade held a special ceremony of this year's Epica Awards. As a recipient of the Bronze Award for the design of a wine tote, GDS's industrial designer David Cugelj also attented the gala event.

Epica is considered as one of Europe's most prestigious selection of the best creative solutions in design, advertising and visual communications. This year's granting of Epica Awards was the 23rd in a row and GDS was the only awarded Slovenian applicant. The award went into hands of project manager David Cugelj for the wine tote designed for winemaker Dolfo.

Epica Awards jury selection consists of 34 professional representatives of most eminent European magazines on the fields of advertising and design. This year's award granting was hosted by New Moment magazine, which covers the entire Balkan area.

Iskra: Non-aligned design 1946–1990

Thu, 10 Dec 09 16:12 GMT

Iskra: Non-aligned design 1946–1990 exhibiton opened in the beginning of November 2009 in the Architecture Museum of Ljubljana is a unique monument of Slovenian industrial design during the Yugoslavia era. The last exhibition-guidance in this year will happen on Sunday, December the 13th 2009, by authors Cvetka Požar, curator of visual communications an senior curator (AML), and Barbara Predan, expert consultant and initiator of the project (Pekinpah Association). The exhibition will be open until February the 28th 2010.

Exhibiton's focus is the wide range of industrial and graphic design items that resulted from Iskra's design department’s efforts (1962-1982). The project also marks the 30th anniversary since the launch of Iskra's internationally recognized telephone, the ETA 80, by the distinguished Slovene designer Davorin Savnik. Iskra, just like Gorenje, represents a symbol of Slovenian electronics and industrial design knowledge production.

GDS's Wine tote for Dolfo Wine wins bronze award Epica 2009

Fri, 04 Dec 09 17:12 GMT

GDS's wine tote, created for Slovenian winemaker Dolfo got the Epica 2009 bronze award as the only Slovenian entry.

GDS's wine tote was created in collaboration with the house of wines Dolfo from Goriška Brda. The aim was to create packaging with an added value of a useful object even after when it no longer serves to protect the gifted bottle. "Winemakers grabbed the idea immediatley, as it enables proper wine storage for consumers, transferring the story of wine and the winemaker into the product as well as upgrades the product with a magnitude of life," commented the results of the Epica Awards GDS designer and author, David Cugelj, and expressed satisfaction that the product was also confirmed by the expert public.

The annual selection of the most prestigious European quality and creative ideas Epica has been giving away the awards in twelve different categories for the past 23 years. 3196 entries through 476 companies from the 48 European countries competed this year and among them there were six Slovenian applicants with a total of 17 entries. Gala awards ceremony will take place on January the 22nd 2010 in the Royal Palace of Alexander II. in Belgrade, hosted by the New Moment magazine.

Gorenje design studio with new leadership

Mon, 30 Nov 09 15:11 GMT

On December the 1st, GDS gets brand new leadership. With the departure of managing director Jurij Giacomelli, who is taking over the leadership of newspaper company Delo, the new managing director will be Jasna Petan, MBA. The new leadership will also include two creative directors, Rok Jenko and Lidija Pritržnik, while Ladeja Godina Košir steps in as an assistant director.

Ms. Petan strongly believes, that the strategic renewal of GDS's mission along with an enhanced design team will provide better conditions for GDS's vision implementation and provide long-term competitiveness in the market. Given the strategic importance of developing Gorenje's brand, a professional management program will be established, led by Lidija Pritržnik, who was the previous product manager of design for Gorenje in the Velenje branch office. Rok Jenko, who was formerly the team leader in the Ljubljana branch office, will be the creative director responsible for external projects and for professional project management of founders and other external partners. The role of assisting in the pursuit of the company's strong ambitions and obtaining new business at home and abroad will be taken over by Ladeja Godina Košir.

On the photo from left: Ladeja Godina Košir, former managing director Jurij Giacomelli, new managing director Jasna Petan and creative directors Rok Jenko and Lidija Pritržnik.

Giacomelli's lecture at Month Of Design conference

Mon, 09 Nov 09 13:11 GMT

On the second day of the Sustaining Design Excellence conference, which took place at this years edition of Zavod Big's Month Of Design on the 5th and 6th of November 2009 in Ljubljana, Jurij Giacomelli, GDS's managing director, gave a lecture on successful cases of product design.

By presenting DGS's experiences regarding the topic, Giacomelli was one of eight internationally active and engaged practitioners who presented their work and their vision within the framework of ‘Sustaining Design Excellence’.

Creating sustainable products and services

Fri, 06 Nov 09 10:11 GMT

On November 5th, the UN Global Compact Slovenia held a member's meeting in Ljubljana entitled Creating Sustainable Products and Services. The purpose of the event, which was hosted by Mercator Group and attended by close to 60 representatives from various industries and organizations , was to deepen understanding of sustainable products and services and to discuss what has been taking place in this area.

Participants first welcomed Professor Danica Purg, president of both the UN Global Compact Slovenia and the IEDC-Bled School of Management, and then Professor Nadya Zhexembayeva, Vice President of the UN Global Compact Slovenia and director of the One-Year Executive MBA program at the IEDC-Bled School of Management, gave a presentation of best-practice cases. This presentation was followed by another, entitled "Sustainable Development Strategy as part of Mercator Group" that was delivered by Vera Aljančič Falež, of Mercator's management board, and Lučka Kavkler, Mercator's Head of Environmental Affairs. After the presentations, participants discussed the problems and solutions encountered by their organizations in their efforts to not only develop sustainable products and services but also achieve growth through sustainable development.

This event combined knowledge, networking, and inspiration in an effort to stimulate the debate on concrete and innovative projects. Sustainable products and services offer a range of untapped opportunities to achieve comparable cost benefits and better results in terms of impact on the environment and society. GDS is pursuing these goals through designs that allow sustainability and efficient use of resources.

Giacomelli amongst Lecturers at the Annual MoD Conference

Mon, 12 Oct 09 17:10 GMT

Last week, Zavod BIG announced the final list of lecturers for the annual Month of Design (MoD) Conference. In the beginning of November, experts will discuss the global innovations and revolutionary technologies, and our own Jurij Giacomelli will be featured amongst the creative directors and managers of world-renowned design companies. GDS will be the only Slovenian representative to join the design conference, whose working title is 'Green Excellence'.

Conference moderator Jeff Bickert will also host: Libby Sellers, Curator/Director of Gallery Libby Sellers (UK), Florian Dengler, Creative Director of Meta Design (Germany); Erik Mastebroek, Client Services Manager at Total Identity (NL); Michael Mckay, Director of McKay Explore Design and Consulting (DK); James Mair, Director at Viaduct (UK); Sabine Seymour, Chief Creative Officer at Moondial Inc. (USA/AT); Roland Sailer, Head of Interaction Design at NOSE (CH); and Kun-Pyo LEE, Professor and Head of the Department of Industrial Design at KAIST (South Korea).

The two-day conference, which will take place on the 5th and 6th of November at Slovenijales Bivanje showroom (Dunajska cesta 20, Ljubljana), is one of the main MoD 2009 events, and will be questioning the relationship between quality design, creativity, innovation, technology, strategy, responsibility, and sustainability.

Month of Design 2009 is approaching

Tue, 29 Sep 09 09:09 GMT

From 15th October till 15th November 2009 the annual largest creative project in Slovenia, Month of Design, will take place in the Slovenijales business complex on 20 – 22 Dunajska Street in Ljubljana as well as at other locations in the city. The title of this years project, organized by Zavod BIG, is The Future of Sustainability.

Month of Design annualy deals with a selected global topic and the role of design in business and social practices. The Month of Design 2009 covers a large variety of topical and interesting events such as a conference on global lnnovation and revolutionary technologies, Brands&Signs Expo, national design awards and many others.

More about the project and its program on the site of Zavod BIG .

SmarTable at the IFA fair 2009

Thu, 17 Sep 09 12:09 GMT

Inspired by "Beyond White", the central theme of this year's Gorenje presentation at IFA, one of the world's largest consumer electronics fairs, designer Matevž Popič of the Gorenje Design Studio created an exclusive version of the SmarTable, made of white Kerrock and featuring purple design accents. The fair took place from 4th till 9th of September 2009.

The table is made of white Kerrock – a highly durable, easily treatable, low-maintenance composite material. Resulting from years of research and development efforts by experts at Kolpa, Kerrock is an ideal medium for bringing daring and creative designs to life. The contrast between the elegant white surfaces and sprightly purple details on the table base conjures a harmony of opposites and evokes a relaxed ambiance of a social gathering around the SmarTable.

Trendy purple colour, this year's hit both in fashion industry and in interior design and architecture, symbolizes mystique, dignity, and yearning for the unreachable, the very qualities reflected by this prestigious table itself.

Tailor made furniture

Mon, 07 Sep 09 09:09 GMT

On the 3rd of September the opening of the exhibition “Tailor Made Furniture” took place at Orion Intertrade in Ljubljana. The exhibition presented products of renowned furniture company Wittmann from Etsdorf in Austria. The exhibition “Tailor Made Furniture” also announced the Month of Design 2009 and will be opened from September 3rd to 24th

The exhibition was an attempt of how to bring each step of the carefully planned production of a certain product closer to the visitor. Its motto is manufacture. Tailor’s dummies dressed in materials used by the manufacturer associate with high craftsman quality, genuineness and top quality of the raw material, the creativity of the established designers and the respect of the “métier”.

More about the exhibiton on the site of Zavod BIG.

Gorenje Studio's Belgrade Blueprints

Tue, 07 Jul 09 09:07 GMT

Gorenje Studio's Belgrade Blueprints

GDS recently hosted Ivana Aleksandrovic, a young architect from Belgrade, Serbia. The 26-year old designer is working on the new Gorenje Studio showroom concept. She visited GDS to start working on a new common project.

With the help of a graphic designer colleague, Aleksandrović began radically redesigning the existing Gorenje showrooms a couple of years ago. Ivana explains, »The basic visual standards of these nine showrooms was set before I came to Gorenje, but when someone brought up the idea of renovation, we just said 'Let's change the whole thing!' So we changed the entire concept - colours, textures, the layout, everything.«

Gorenje is planning to open up to 20 such showrooms in Serbia in the near future, and Ivana shares, »Working for Gorenje is an absolute pleasure! I always find understanding and support for my ideas here. It's been so great cooperating with Marko Mrzel, head of Gorenje Belgrade, as well as collaboratingwith my Slovenian colleagues. I'm glad we've started working together, because I'd heard so much about them in the past. The moment we met, we completely connected.«

Product and service transformation

Fri, 19 Jun 09 09:06 GMT

Product and service transformation

Product and service transformation is the essential part of anticrisis strategy, especially through solid and fortified partnerships with pro-active and pro-innovation partners. GDS's experience on this topic is being revealed in today's Finance newspaper's special feature on industrial design, page 32: Finance online

Modular Platform Approach to Product Design

Tue, 09 Jun 09 09:06 GMT

Modular Platform Approach to Product Design

The economic, social and environmental challenges of today will force companies to rethink their business strategies in order to be able to provide continuous added value, embedded in their products and services, for the customer.
Adopting the modular platform approach to product design is one way of recognizing that the customer is "the king" and doing so, we reinforce and verify the purpose of our business today and in the future.

Ron Sanchez, Management Professor at Copenhagen Business School, often introduces himself as the evangelist of Modular Platform Approach to Product Design. He presented a part of this theory at the Design and development of new products and services in the times of global economic and environmental challenges lecture on June the 4th, event organised by GDS and Ljubljana Faculty of Economics. Sanchez, GDS's pratner, regulary lectures at Ljubljana Faculty of Economics every spring.

Professor Sanchez stressed out how important it is to regularly check our core business strategic alignment, starting with our business strategy. Doing so we prevent it from losing its shape, just as any other system tends to.

Basically the first rule is not to forget our customer. Who they are, what they are like, what they (really) want and what they (really) need. Obsolete as it seems everything starts and finishes with customers. In turbulent times such as we are facing today customer orientation is more important than ever. The winning design anticipates customers' needs and offers the variety of solutions that correspond to the growing need for individualisation. Something that gives a headache to every manager trying to efficiently organise the production line.

Modular Platform Approach to Product Design gives a simple yet very efficient answer to that issue. The logic behind it is very simple but demands a serious shift in organisational thinking. Instead of designing every single variation of a product line and trying to optimise complex production lines according to unstable demand, the product line should be taken as a platform that already incorporates all different functionalities of the final product variations. With this approach standard parts of a product can be designed in a way that they can be mass produced. Only a short final phase of the production line is therefore occupied with differentiation.

Modular Platform Approach is actually a tool that enables companies to radically cut production costs and to increase the variety of different products within a product line at the same time.

Developing new products with a focus on actual customers' needs and at the same time cutting down production costs and increasing product variety sounds like a winning combination worth trying. It is also the approach that GDS successfully applied with several customers and according to its output it actually works.

Ron Sanchez holds degrees from MIT in design (BS in Architecture), engineering (MS), and strategic management (PhD). He has professional experience in both design and management, and consults widely on design-related strategic management issues with leading companies (including Philips, Daimler-Chrysler, and Agilent), as well as with a number of mid-sized international companies seeking to use design to drive business strategies for growth and improved performance. He has published numerous articles and cases on design and strategic management issues in leading academic journals and in professional publications (including Financial Times). He has taught in leading business schools around the world, and is currently Professor of Management at Copenhagen Business School (Denmark) and is a visiting professor in the Division of Engineering and Technology Management at the National University of Singapore.

BIO Quality Concept Award for the White Cube Concept

Mon, 03 Nov 08 09:11 GMT

BIO Quality Concept Award for the White Cube Concept

At the festive opening ceremony of the 21st Biennial of Industrial Design BIO21, Gorenje Design Studio was presented the "BIO Quality Concept Award" for the White Qube conceptual project by the young designer Mrs. Tina Jeřabek.

The Biennial of Industrial Design is a major international display of best products and prototypes of industrial design, notable messages, and design concepts from across the globe. Independent international jury at the 21st Biennial of Industrial Design supported its decision to present the BIO Quality Concept Award to the White Qube concept with the following explanation: "Household appliances that change the perception of a conventional kitchen and introduce innovative design tuned to the modern lifestyle."

The author of the concept, Mrs. Tina Jeřabek, stated upon receiving the award: "Qube excels with perfect ergonomics and appealing rounded design. It is an ideal concept for furnishing open attics of old bourgeois mansions, lofts, and originally redecorated apartments in former industrial facilities where the ambient is not defined by rooms or restricted by walls. The kitchen thus becomes an open space that invites creative and innovative solutions."