IHA News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110

25 Products Named 2006 Design Defined Honoree At  International Home & Housewares Show

ROSEMONT, IL (April 7, 2006)—The International Housewares Association has announced the honorees of its second annual Designed Defined product design initiative at the 2006 International Home & Housewares Show held at Chicago’s McCormick Place March 12-14. Twenty-five innovative products for cleaning and organizing the home were named as 2006
Design Defined Product Design Honorees.

The products were selected by Design Finders, teams of young designers, experienced practitioners and educators from the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Interdisciplinary Product Development Program. They scoured hundreds of exhibitors in the Clean, Contain & Outdoor Domain Expo in the North Building and the Home Décor category in the Dine & Design Expo in the South Building, searching for products that exemplified a commitment to design while achieving a solution to common household cleaning, storage and home décor issues.

“What we saw on the floor confirmed our enthusiasm for the promise of quality design in new product launches,” said Design Defined program director Stephen Melamed, head of the UIC Interdisciplinary Product Development Program and principal of Tres Design Group, a Chicago-based industrial design firm. “The companies are looking at their product categories in creative ways. Once-mundane products, such as brushes and squeegees, now are considered design objects for personal expression.”

“The purpose of the Design Defined program is to bring attention to those companies that have placed a premium on quality design,” said Phil Brandl, president of IHA, which sponsors the Show. “We are pleased to announce the results of this pioneering effort.”

Design Finders evaluated products according to five standard design criteria:

• Innovation: How is the design new and unique?
• Aesthetics: How does the appearance enhance the product?
• User: How does the design solution benefit the user?
• Environment: How is the product ecologically responsible?
• Impact: How did or might the product impact the market and the company’s business?

Recognized as Design Defined Product Design Honorees are: