This year’s Usability Award Winners have been determined. After hours of proceedings the Jury decided to award the hearing aid ReSound® LiNX™ and the ReSound Smart App™ by GN Hearing with the premium prize „Usability Award Gold“. The Jury was convinced by the unique combination of a hearing aid with a modern and intuitively operating app, in addition to convincing product and interface design. In addition, five „Usability Award Winner“ prizes were adjudicated.
The diversity of awarded products demonstrates the highly relevant role of user-centered design different product fields and applications. From connected hearing aids, intuitive travel apps, intelligent solar lamps, to modular tabletop computers, complex smart home systems or medical software – products that are developed according to user needs often offer a better deal. The Usability Award Jury consists of acclaimed design, usability and user experience experts: Prof. Birgit Weller, Claude Toussaint, Karsten Henze, Peter Wouda and Dr.-Ing. Sebastian Glende. The competition is bestowed by International Design Center Berlin (IDZ), a non-profit institution dedicated to national and international promotion of design since 1968. IDZ realizes projects, acts as a network, and advises political and economic decision makers.
The Usability Award is a competition by International Design Center Berlin that awards products’ outstanding design quality and convincing user orientation and presents them to the public during IFA, the global consumer electronics show. User centered design is of key importance in particular for technical devices and interactive user interfaces because the success of these products lies in the hands of the real people who use them. Devices that can be used in an intuitive and user-friendly manner end up being more successful and will last longer on the global market. A high level of usability is a key feature of successful quality products of tomorrow.
Picture: Medx – Winner 2014
WINNER 2014 – SMART HOME
WINNER 2014 – MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO3
WINNER 2014 – SUN BELL 
WINNER 2014 – RESOUND LINX 
WINNER 2014 – HEARINGS SMART APP
WINNER 2014 – QIXXIT