The Compasso d’Oro Award is the world’s most authoritative prize in design, established in 1954 and awarded on the basis of a long and careful process of surveying design and entrepreneurial excellence and a selection by the permanent Design Observatory of the ADI (Association for Industrial Design), whose commission is made up of experts, designers, critics, historians and specialised journalists.
The Compasso d’Oro Award was established in Milan in 1954 by the Italian designer Gio Ponti, with the aim of highlighting Italian excellence and the quality of the country’s design. While in the early years when it was established, it was housed in the Rinascente department store in Milan, since 2020 it has been in the ADI Design Museum in Milan, where all the winning designs from previous editions are also on display.
The nominated products become part of the ADI Design Index, the yearbook dedicated to award nominees: a selection of the best design per category that represents a certificate of prestige and visibility.
This year’s shortlist for the Compasso d’Oro Award also included D-One.
D-One is a lightweight, washable, flexible and breathable waistcoat with a unique design that integrates high-tech components into the fabric: thanks to a touch interface, it calls for help for the user who, by simply bringing his hand to his heart, activates a call to three pre-selected numbers and sends an SMS with geolocation. All this, D-One also does automatically when it senses that the user has fallen and may need assistance.
Having been among the candidates for the Compasso d’Oro Award is synonymous with advanced, culturally aware, ethically responsible design towards society and the environment; all characteristics in line with the philosophy of D-Air lab.