Cuisines Contentful Demo - The iF Story | Cuisines Contentful Demo

1953: Germany was still struggling to overcome the impact of the Second World War, at home and abroad.

The iF Opening Story

Six years after the British occupying forces selected Hannover as a venue for trade fairs, efforts were made to complement the fair with an institution that would foster and support the “formal design of industrial products” in Germany.

The Hannover Messegesellschaft was inspired by the ideas of the visionary entrepreneur Philip Rosenthal, who also played a key role in the Federation of German Industry (BDI), where he was committed to bringing together the worlds of culture and business. This concept was also adopted for the foundation of the new institution. Together with the Messegesellschaft and the Federation of German Industry, Rosenthal created this unique institution: iF e.V.

This was the start of a symbol of design excellence that is recognized to this day – the iF logo.

The aim was to draw attention to particularly well-designed industrial products. In doing so, they wanted to communicate the importance of design and all it can achieve: for users, for brands and for societies. A new image for German products began to take shape. Fitting then that the resulting association was first known as 'Die gute Industrieform e.V.' (Good Industrial Form). The name Industrie Forum (or iF for short) came later.

Story

Each year, iF International Forum Design GmbH organizes one of the world's most celebrated and valued design competitions: the iF DESIGN AWARD. Recognized as a symbol of design excellence around the world, the iF DESIGN AWARD welcomes over 6,000 submissions from 70 countries every year.

Our reputation as one of the oldest truly independent design institutions in the world rests on our integrity, which clearly sets us apart from our competitors. Since 1953, iF e.V. has followed six guiding principles:

To identify, support and promote good design
To raise awareness of design among the public and the role it plays in our lives
To help companies integrate design into their long-term strategies
To safeguard the role of professional designer and boost awareness for this job profile
To effect social change through design
To support talented young people and create a public platform for young designers

Picture above from iF jury session 1990, left to right: iF tech assistant, iF tech assistant, Herbert Lindinger, Kenji Ekuan, iF tech assistant, Herbert Schultes, Dean Richardson, Robert Blaich, Michele de Lucchi, Dieter Rams, Yuri Solovjev, Vittorio Lampugnani, Stefan Lengyel.

In the same way in which we can read from an antique jug what trends and move ments over time have influenced the master craftsman, in that same way, an industrial product shows us the mindset from which it is derived.

Bauhaus Icon Wilhelm Wagenfeld on the iF Opening

Wilhelm Wagenfeld provided valuable support at the time and wrote a wonderful opening address for the foundation of iF Industrie Forum Design e.V. His address was published in the first book on iF e.V. Although six decades have passed since then, his words have lost none of their significance, enthusiasm and validity. Download the opening adress by Wilhelm Wagenfeld about "Thoughts and Experiences of a Designer" in English below.

Over 60 High Profile Jury Sessions and Award Ceremonies, Social Impact and a new Foundation

Geschichte

And every year since, iF invited designers and manufacturers to judge which designs are award-worthy and which not – not only the number of award entries grew over the years – with more than 6,000 each year – the number of jurors from all around the world grew to about 60 to 70 people each year.