Wacom Hot for the Box with the Dots

Sydney, July 3 2009  - Wacom Australia today confirmed that Wacom has received further accolade for the Intuos4 product, this time winning at Europe’s largest and most prestigous event for design, the red dot awards, with the head of the Australian business saying development of the product was greatly influenced by users.

Mr. David Spencer, Managing Director of Wacom Australia said “The process of creating the Intuos4 started as always with extensive research amongst our existing user groups.  The opinions, suggestions and comments received have been incorporated into the new Intuos series so this award really demonstrates consumer insight and user power at its most valuable.”

Wacom is the world’s the leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and intuitive interface devices.  Earlier this year it launched the Intuos4, which to date has gained a significant number of accolades from users, industry groups and professional bodies.  The recent award was presented to the company at the Essen Opera House in Germany, at an event that is well known as the night of nights for all things ‘Design’.

Intuos4 was developed by Wacom and designed in coooperation with Ziba, an internationally recognised consultancy based in North America that includes Logitech, Microsoft, Motorola, Fujitsu and Panasonic amongst it’s many technology brand clients.

“We knew it would be difficult to improve on an already outstanding product. Intuos4 is first and foremost a professional tool. The strategic target is the professional designer. There is no more discerning and critical audience – they are trained to critique, to dissect, to argue and to ever improve. We therefore wanted to set the bar higher than ever,” said Kai Halsinger, Associate Creative Director at Ziba Design. “At the same time however, we wanted to craft a tool that would enable the enthusiast user ease of use. Together with Wacom, we therefore set out to identify opportunities to improve on every aspect of the total user experience.”

What resulted is the next generation of pen tablet with a never before experienced level of pressure sensitive engineering, powerful enough to deliver for the most demanding of professional users but sufficiently intuitive to ensure a great experience for any tablet enthusiast.

With over 3,203 entries from 51 countries, the red dot design award ranks among the largest design competitions worldwide. The competition is divided into three sections – product design, communication design and concept design – which are staged and adjudicated separately.

The coveted trophy is the red dot, the international seal of quality for outstanding design.

ENDS