Samsung Electronics announced Friday that it won consecutive awards at the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2026 and the Red Dot Design Award 2026, both recognizing its human-centered design philosophy.
At IDEA 2026, Samsung Electronics took home a total of 45 awards — one Impact Award, nine bronze awards and 35 honorable mentions.
Organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) since 1980, IDEA evaluates entries on design innovation, user experience and social contribution.
The Impact Award, newly introduced this year, is given alongside other prizes to recognize designs with particular strengths in sustainability. Samsung Electronics received the honor for its home appliance accessibility design, which accommodates users' varying physical characteristics — including differences in vision, hearing, mobility and cognition — to make home appliances easier and more convenient for everyone to use.
Features include an easy-use mode that enlarges on-screen text, provides voice guidance and simplifies complex functions, as well as an auto door-open function that lets users who have difficulty opening doors by hand do so with a light touch or a voice command.
The bronze awards went to the premium air purifier Infinite AI Air Purifier and the Micro RGB brand identity, among others. Also recognized were the Samsung Mobile Origami Package, a concept for next-generation smartphone packaging; Portable Memory, a premium portable storage device; and AIDC (AI Design Companion), an AI-based advanced design solution.
In the Brand & Communication Design category of the Red Dot Design Award 2026, Samsung Electronics won 12 awards in total, including one Best of the Best.
The Red Dot Design Award was established in 1955 by the Design Centre North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. It is one of the world's most prestigious design honors, presented across three categories: product design, design concept, and brand and communication design.
The Best of the Best went to the Privacy Display, a feature introduced for the first time on the Galaxy S26 Ultra. The Privacy Display prevents personal information on screen from being visible to others in crowded spaces. The user viewing the screen head-on sees a clear image, while the content becomes difficult to make out when viewed from the side at an angle.
Eleven additional brand and communication design entries that enhance quality of life through personalized user experiences received the Winner award.
The Winner awards went to the visual branding for The Movingstyle, a portable screen; Vision AI Companion, which delivers a convenient viewing experience; and the 2026 Milan Design Week exhibition "Design is an Expression of Love."
Samsung Electronics is expanding the role of design through personalized experiences and sustainable design, communicating the value of its products and brand in new ways across all business areas — including mobile, TV and home appliances — and advancing design across a wide range of touchpoints in everyday life.
"Design has the power to connect ideas to people and transform them into meaningful experiences," said Mauro Porchini, chief design officer and president of Samsung Electronics' DX Division. "Grounded in a deep understanding of people, Samsung Electronics will continue to discover new possibilities in everyday life and create experiences for a better life and future."
jeongwan@heraldcorp.com
