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Automatic coffee machine and electric outboard motor win the DesignEuropa Awards

Promotion: the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has announced the winners of the DesignEuropa Awards, including RemigoOne, an electric outboard motor for boats.

Now in its fourth edition, the DesignEurope Awards are an initiative of EUIPO that recognises "great products and designers in the field of industrial design".

The announcement took place earlier this month in Berlin during the awards ceremony, which recognised RemigoOne by designer Ajda Bertok as the winner of the Small and Emerging Companies Award.

Image of RemigoOne against a grey background
RemigoOne is an electric outboard motor for boats

RemigoOne is an electric outboard motor for boats, which is designed to be lightweight and easy to transport. The motor is suitable for boats up to 1,500 kilograms and its design is guided by innovation and sustainability principles, according to Bertok.

Smeg's Full Automatic Coffee Machine designed by Vittorio Bertazzoni, Matteo Bazzicalupo and Raffaella Mangiarotti was the winner of the Industry Award.

The 'bean-to-cut' coffee machine is designed to ensure professional preparation of various coffee drinks in a "simple and intuitive way".

Swedish designer Maria Benktzon's coffee pot
Swedish designer Maria Benktzon's coffee pot is used on Swedish Airlines (SAS)

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Swedish designer Maria Benktzon. Benktzon is known for her innovative homeware, including the Tupperware knife as well as a coffee pot used by Swedish Airlines (SAS).

Benktzon's work has often been geared towards people with disabilities, considered by EUIPO to be "landmarks of inclusive design".

Smeg's automatic coffee maker
The automatic coffee maker from Smeg was selected

"Maria's innovative, ergonomic and consumer-friendly designs of household objects have been essential in demonstrating that design for all and universal design creates improved environments that benefit everyone," said EUIPO executive director Christian Archambeau.

Benktzon is also known for co-founding design consultancy Ergonomi Design Gruppen, which now operates under the umbrella of McKinsey Design.

Maria Benktzon
Swedish designer Maria Benktzon won the Lifetime Achievement Award

"We received nearly 700 excellent applications representing a wide range of industries from all over the EU. Consequently, selecting a winner was a very challenging task," said the chair of the jury, French designer Isabelle Vérilhac. "The winners of this edition exemplify great design-thinking, sustainability and environmental responsibility in European design."

"The winning projects serve as perfect examples of aesthetics, emotion, functionalism, circularity and inclusion in design. They also demonstrate how design is a crucial business asset for innovative companies, both large and small, across Europe."

EUIPO is based in Alicante, Spain, and is one of the largest decentralised agencies of the EU, which manages the registration of the European Union trade mark (EUTM) and the registered Community design (RCD).

To learn more about the awards, visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for EUIPO as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.