Press Release
Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo Receives the Golden A' Design Award for JK9 Sync Smart Dog Harness in Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design
Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo recognized for pet care, toys, supplies and products for animals design by the international grand jury of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 17, 2024 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that JK9 Sync Smart Dog Harness by Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo, designed for Julius-K9, has been granted the Golden A' Design Award in the Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2023 - 2024 A' Design Award & Competition and was reached through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Golden A' Design Award Means
The Gold A' Design Award is granted to designs that demonstrate a high level of innovation and a significant impact on their intended audience. Recognized as a major achievement by the A' Design Awards, these designs are characterized by their visionary approach and the exceptional skill of their creators. Winners of the Gold A' Design Award are noted for their ability to push the envelope in art, science, design, and technology, delivering solutions that not only meet but exceed expectations. These designs serve as benchmarks for excellence, encouraging further innovation and inspiring future generations of designers.
About JK9 Sync Smart Dog Harness
JK9 Sync is designed to make city living with dogs safer and more comfortable. Thanks to its high-tech knitting material the extremely breathable harness provides an ultra-ergonomic fit while also has extreme tensile strength for control. Its integrated hardware provides high accuracy geolocation to help you find your dog if it gets lost. The hidden LED lights automatically switch on when it's getting dark creating a safe visibility in the city. Built-in movement sensors track your dog's activity level and signals when it drops below healthy.
About Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo
I help pet brands and businesses shape their market position with confidence and craft products and experiences that bring their vision to life. I strategise and design for an ever-changing market. Working closely with my clients and partners, I identify market opportunities and risks, and design laser focused products for carefully defined audiences.
Award Record
With this recognition, Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo is a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design Award
The A' Pet Care Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good pet supplies, toys and product designs by designers and brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to pet care designers, animal toy designers, pet supply manufacturers and pet care brands from all countries. Typical entries include pet food, pet apparel, pet beds, feeding bowls, litter boxes and pet carriers. The awarded pet supply designs are published at https://designers.org/design-category/pet-care
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://designers.org/160657
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/160657
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!160657
- Laureate Profile: https://designers.org/d/354260
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://www.petpowered.design/
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- JK9 Sync Smart Dog Harness
- Function
- Smart Dog Harness
- Category
- Pet Care, Toys, Supplies and Products for Animals Design
- Discipline
- Product Design
- Industry
- Packaging & Retail and Furniture & Home
- Colors
- Silver, Saddle Brown, Light Gray, Lavender and Dark Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Julius-K9
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Alberto Vasquez, Istvan Vincze and Gyula Sebo
- Country
- Hungary
- Recognition
- Golden A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2023 - 2024
- Design ID
- #160657
Credits
- Team
- Alberto Vasquez, István Vincze, Gyula Sebő, Gergely Kozma, Pál Jelli and Emese Forgács
- Image Credits
- JK9 / Tamás Szigeti
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- JK9 Sync is designed to make city living with dogs safer and more comfortable. Thanks to its high-tech knitting material the extremely breathable harness provides an ultra-ergonomic fit while also has extreme tensile strength for control. Its integrated hardware provides high accuracy geolocation to help you find your dog if it gets lost. The hidden LED lights automatically switch on when it's getting dark. Built-in movement sensors track your dog's activity level and signal its healthy range.
- Inspiration
- The Sync smart harness project was launched in pursuit of exploring the next-gen experience of urban dog walking and accessories. How are we going to walk the cities in the future? What will dog harnesses be capable of? What will they be made of? Our aim was to develop a dog harness that utilises the potentials of cutting edge material, hardware and software technologies to make city life for dogs safer and more comfortable.
- Research
- Core field of research was the future of urban dog keeping culture and application of interspecies design for dog harness development. We made both quantitative and qualitative research: we surveyed 1500 dog owners in 10 countries and made 30 in-depth interviews in 5 countries about their lifestyle. One of the most important issues for owners is coexistence: the quality of the symbiosis of dogs, people, and the city, which is crucial considering that by 2050, 70% of people will live in cities.
- Challenge
- One of the striking things that made development complex is that dogs and humans are simultaneous users of this product with very different needs – in addition these dogs live in urban environments that weren't designed for animals in the first place. To meet these complex requirements, we must ask somehow animals too about their needs. This made us to involve a team of animal experts and advisors to be able to identify the needs of animal users the same level as their human companion.
- Realization and Technology
- Developing 3D knitting we combined normal polyester yarns and ultra strong thermo-yarns in a special knitting pattern which allows durable 3D forming through steaming and pressing processes. Thanks to high-tensile knitting, the straps can be grown out of the saddle part, creating a seamless unibody construction and a perfect fit on dogs' body. No die cuts (and no waste of yarn) in the process. While normal dog harnesses consist of almost 40 parts, the JK9®Sync only consists of 2 knitted layers.
- Operation and Interaction
- The App of the Sync Harness allows you to manage the most important geolocation, lighting and lifestyle functions. Its GPS system signals the dog's position accurately to 10m. If your dog strays, the GPS can track your dog for two weeks. With built-in motion sensors the harness always know whether your pet is standing, sitting, playing, or sniffing about and by analysing the patterns of movement and behaviour, it keeps track of your dog's activity level and signals when it drops below healthy.
- Project Duration and Location
- Core development started in 2019 and finished in 2021 in Budapest, Hungary. After that a two-year testing and DMF session started.
- Specifications
- Dimensions on dog (size L): 200 x 300 x 400 mm
- Keywords
- wearable, technology, app, pet, smart, harness, dog, knitting, sync, jk9
