The annual Icelandic Design Awards were held last night at Iðnó in Reykjavík. The Reykjavík-based Genki Instruments received the main prize for Wave: a wearable MIDI controller that allows users to control sound through motion.
Every year since 2014, the Icelandic Design Awards have honoured the best in Icelandic design and architecture. This year, Genki Instruments – a music technology hardware company based in Reykjavík – received the main prize for Wave.
In a statement by the Design Awards’ panel of judges, Genki Instruments is described as a, “progressive and design-driven music company where design, technology, engineering, and music meld into one.” Commenting on Wave, the judges concluded that the product was a, “unique example of a startup building upon a progressive idea, where research, development, and testing – throughout the entire design process – results in a completely new experience for the user.”
Genki Instruments is comprised of Ólafur Bogason, Haraldur Þór Hugoson, Jón Helgi Hólmgeirsson, and Daníel Grétarsson.
Other winners this year include Omnom, an artisan chocolate maker based in Reykjavík, which received an award for “best design investment,” and Manfreð Vilhjálmson, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Icelandic architecture.
The Icelandic Design Awards is a collaboration between the Iceland Design Centre and the Iceland University of the Arts, with support from the National Power Company of Iceland (Landsvirkjun) and the Federation of Icelandic Industries (SI).
(For additional information on Wave, see below video.)
