ASTRO Studios Wins `Design of the Decade' Awards From World's Most Prestigious Design Competition; Small, Upstart Firm Shows How Innovative Design Impacts The Marketplace.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 22, 1999--

ASTRO Design Studios, a leading-edge product and brand image design firm, captured top honors from the international "Designs of the Decade: Best in Business 1990-1999 Awards" competition, sponsored by "Business Week" and run by the Industrial Designers Society of America.

The small Palo Alto, Calif.-based consultancy won recognition at the global competition by receiving one of just 12 Gold Awards for its part in designing the Nike Triax Sports Watches. In addition, ASTRO took one of only 12 Bronze Awards for its design of the Kensington Smart Socket Surge Protector. The familiar oval-shaped sports watch is featured on the cover of the Nov. 29 issue of "Business Week" under the headline, "Best Selling Products of the Decade." The issue was distributed Nov. 19.

"These awards are the design industry's equivalent of the `Oscars,' so we're clearly very honored to receive this recognition, both for our own creative teams and the clients with whom we've partnered to make these products so successful in their different markets," said Brett Lovelady, president and founder of ASTRO. "These examples demonstrate how the right design can create real value for business."

Lovelady, ASTRO Studio Director Kyle Swen, and ASTRO Design Director Robert Bruce were recognized at a black-tie gala Nov. 19 held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., along with other award recipients.

Award sponsors said the end-of-the-millennium competition was unique because it required quantitative proof that a product's design had a positive impact on the client company's bottom line, such as improvements in market share, brand strength and corporate image. Criteria for selecting winners included the design's impact on profits, margins, stock price, return on investment, and major cost savings.

Juror Luis Pedraza, IDSA, Product Genesis, wrote of Nike's Triax Sports Watch: "An exciting blend of materials, colors, ergonomics and features have made this sports watch a coveted everyday mens-wear item. A brilliant example of how expertise and creative design can diversify a company's product line."

In describing the impact of the watch design on the marketplace, "Business Week" wrote: "Nike expanded its sports performance brand into a new area through great product design. Along the way, it actually improved the sport of running. The Triax watch is easy to read while jogging, thanks to an oversize display. Nike launched it in November, 1998, and sold $120 million in 18 months." Added Juror Noel Zeller, IDSA, Zelco Industries: "Ergonomics were a major consideration in the design process of this intuitive sports watch."

Of the Bronze Award for the Kensington SmartSocket, Juror Stefano Marzano, IDSA, Philips Design, wrote: "This is a very good example of how design can influence the strategy and direction of a company." "Business Week" explained: "One of design's strengths is to transform a low-priced commodity product into a premium product. The Smartsocket line of surge protectors adds data to phone-line protection and color-codes the sockets. Launched in 1995, the SmartSockets brand line has expanded to four other products," and helped to drive Kensington's 500 percent growth.

A total of 36 awards were bestowed on companies and consultancies worldwide for market-leading designs the past decade for a wide spectrum of products, including a car, chair, kitchen appliance, toy, staple gun and radio. "It's not just the product," said Jury Chair Charles Jones, director of global product design at Whirlpool Corp. "The winners unlocked the code of integrating design into the context of the whole business architecture."

In addition to the Nov. 29, "Business Week" issue, the winning designs can be viewed and downloaded online at IDSA's web site, www.idsa.org.

Formed in 1994, ASTRO is a technology-driven, design-centric group of multi-talented individuals who conceive and develop new market ideas, products and brands that enhance consumer lifestyles. Core venture design specialties include industrial design, graphic design and brand image creation. Major clients include NIKE, Cisco, Motorola, Compaq, Roces, Apple, Daewoo and Kensington. ASTRO recently has won numerous product design awards, including from I.D., I.D.S.A. and Business Week magazines.

ASTRO's web site, currently a work-in-progress, can be viewed at www.astrodesign.com.