Click on the advert above to visit the company web site

Product category: Engineering Industry Developments and Awards
News Release from: Institution of Engineering Designers
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 16 May 2003

Seymour Powell takes trophy

International design consultancy Seymour Powell has been awarded the prestigious Gerald Frewer Memorial Trophy for its outstanding contribution to the world of engineering design.

International design consultancy Seymour Powell was awarded the prestigious Gerald Frewer Memorial Trophy at the House of Commons last week for its outstanding contribution to the world of engineering design The announcement was made at the first annual awards ceremony to be held at the House by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED), a professional body for designers operating in widely diverse fields of engineering practice

The ceremony was hosted by Claire Curtis-Thomas MP, incoming President of the IED, and the first female professional engineer to enter the House of Commons in the history of the British Parliament.

Against strict judging criteria, institution council members selected Seymour Powell - the design team spearheaded by dynamic duo Richard Seymour and Dick Powell - for its industry-leading design innovations and for its part in promoting the work of designers to the wider international community.

"We receive many excellent nominations each year from outstanding individuals and organisations for achievements in design", said IED Chairman Prof Kevin Edwards who chaired the judging panel.

"The Seymour Powell team has a considerable track record in successful product innovation and through its charismatic leaders, Richard Seymour and Dick Powell, has raised the importance of design to industry and to the ordinary person in the street.

Their contribution to increasing design recognition in education and profile in the media has inspired many young people to take up careers in design.

They are worthy recipients of this years' top IED award".

Since its inception in 1984, Seymour Powell has evolved into an internationally renowned design consultancy, employing a 52-strong design team, which services a diverse range of clients with projects ranging from mobile phones and domestic appliances to cars, bras and accessories.

The secret of their success is simple, says Dick Powell, it all comes down to a design philosophy that focuses on the emotions that drive people: "To get the future right, you have to study people: what they want and how they want it.

You have to understand that their emotional needs often eclipse or replace their physical ones.

And, most importantly, that they aren't them, they're us".

"People use the word consumers too often", added Richard Seymour.

"In doing so they break the empathic link between them and their users.

Design is fundamentally about making things better - better for people and consequently better for industry and the world.

If it's not better - then it's not design".

Claire Curtis-Thomas, who as President of the IED aims to build a more significant and overt relationship between government, the engineering community and other institutions (hence the reason for having the awards at the House of Commons) said the council was delighted to award its most esteemed trophy to Seymour Powell as it represented an official acknowledgment of the company's exceptional achievements over the past 19 years.

"The IED congratulates the team at Seymour Powell for its ability to constantly reinvent the wheel by challenging preconceived notions of what constitutes design philosophy", she said.

"After almost two decades, Seymour Powell has become a leader in its field by pushing traditional boundaries and continuing to inspire and delight customers and consumers alike.

As a result they have not only set the benchmark for innovation and design in the European industry, but the global design industry as a whole".

The Gerald Frewer Memorial Trophy is presented annually to companies or individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to engineering design.

The remit includes design management, design philosophy as well as education and training.

The award was named after Gerald C Frewer, a member of the IED and a practising designer at the Kennedy Space Centre in the USA, where he was involved with the American space programme including Project Apollo, the Space Lab and the Shuttle Project.

Frewer died in 1978 at the age of 56.

The institution presents the award in his memory and in recognition of his significant contribution to aerospace engineering.

Guest speaker at the awards dinner was balloonist Don Cameron, a previous recipient of the trophy.

High-profile past winners include BBC2 presenter Adam Hart-Davis, F1 designer Adrian Newey and inventor James Dyson as well as carmakers Jaguar and Rover.

Other award recipients at this year's ceremony included Robert Tonks, a principal designer in preliminary mechanical design at Rolls-Royce in Bristol, who received the Kathbert Trophy, an honour bestowed on new IED members who have made a significant and developing contribution to design demonstrating tangible advantage either to commerce or society.

Czech-born engineer, Prof Vladimir Hubka, was awarded the Hills Millennium Award, which is presented annually by the institution to a foreign national who has made a major contribution to the professional areas of engineering or product design.

Professor Hubka helped to establish the long-running series of International Conference of Engineering Design (ICED) conferences, run through WDK, an organisation he founded for the purpose of advancing knowledge in engineering design.

In 2001, Prof Hubka became the first honorary member of the Design Society, the organisation which has taken over the WDK and ICED conferences.

The Hornsby Cup, presented by the institution for the best article published in its journal Engineering Designer, was awarded to Prof Peter Hills for his "Pity the end user" series of articles published by the institution throughout 2002.

Honorary Past President, Prof Merrick Taylor OBE, received the Founders Award, presented to individuals for their distinguished services to the institution, and Medals of Appreciation for outstanding contributions to the work of the IED were awarded to Geoff Allison, Albert Attwood, Dr Jonathan Borg and Mike Smetham.

• Institution of Engineering Designers: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Engineeringtalk email newsletter
• Engineeringtalk Home Page

Search the Pro-Talk network of sites

Put your news on Engineeringtalk  |   Advertise  |   Get the free Engineeringtalk newsletter  |   Engineeringtalk Home
About Engineeringtalk  |   Copyright © 2000-2008 Pro-Talk Ltd, UK