Fujitsu General’s residential air conditioner for Japan the nocria Z Series (hereinafter “Z Series”) and the nocria X Series Simple remote controller for Japan have won the Red Dot Award 2021 - one of the three major international design awards.
The Red Dot Design award is an international design award held by the German institute Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, and is one of the three major international design awards. This year, products from around the world were submitted to the strict judging process of the Product Design discipline. The Z Series and Simple remote controller were praised for their excellent design sense.
Fujitsu General’s design strategy had the design department involved in every aspect, from product planning to development, promotion and branding.
Features of the Winning Product
1. Z Series
Designed for living spaces with a Japanese aesthetic sense, blends seamlessly into spaces as an item of interior design.
Design Points
Designed to blend naturally into Japanese interiors, with a refined quality reminiscent of pottery or the earthen walls found in traditional Japanese abodes as motif. Using resin featuring finely colored flakes, the finish gives the feel of unglazed pottery. Further, the front panel has a soft form and is detailed with a wave pattern molded into the surface. This reduces the impression of bulk when installed while allowing for delicate shadows to be cast by natural and interior lighting.
The Z Series is a product of Fujitsu General’s Craft Design Series, designed with a natural feel full of warmth in mind. Another winning product in this Series is the SV Series, released in April last year, making this the second year in a row that the Series has won.
2. Simple remote controller (X Series)
In pursuit of universal design, the remote features ideally placed buttons for ease of use, and a compact yet simple form.
Design Points
The most commonly used buttons are placed for easy access. Care was also taken over the width of the form factor, ensuring users with smaller hands or reduced grip strength can operate the remote with ease. Additionally, the device uses Bluetooth so there is no need to point the remote at the air conditioning unit to operate it.
