Recently, we were honored to learn that our Williams-Sonoma Cooks’ Tools won a Red Dot design award for product design excellence. Since 1955, the “red dot” has been recognized as one of the most sought-after marks for excellent design in product worldwide. As part of the award, the tools will be on display at the Red Dot design museum in Essen, Germany for one year, starting with an awards ceremony on July 1, and will also be featured in Living, the Red Dot design yearbook for 2013-2014.
“Over two years ago our team decided to develop the most comprehensive, considered line of cooks’ tools for our customers,” said Ian Allan, Director of Global Products for Williams-Sonoma. “They had to be of the highest quality, use the best materials, be innovative and most importantly, perform. It’s a great feeling to receive recognition that we have achieved beautiful, perfectly executed products in all senses of the design development.”
Since they were released last fall, the tools have been praised for their sleek appearance, functionality, and innovative features, like the patented indentations on the ends of whisks that whip egg whites up to 30% faster. The Product Development team partnered with colleagues in our Food Development and Culinary departments to help refine the design of each utensil.
“We did a lot of prototyping and then we sent them out internally for user evaluation and feedback,” said Ian. “There were a lot of people involved in this development process and we really tapped into our knowledge to design the best products for our customers. We teamed up with world class leading designers and manufacturers. Ultimately we believe that we have created a product that makes us proud and something we hope our customers will appreciate and love using and bring them joy.”
Many thanks to the Red Dot team for this exciting honor! Learn more about the making of our tools in the video below: