SONNENGLAS® wins iF Design Award 2023 in the Lighting category
*The SONNENGLAS® product line Generation 6 receives one of the most prestigious international design awards for innovative functionality, aesthetics, sustainability, and social commitment.*
Curtains up, spotlight on, and drumroll: We are delighted to announce that SONNENGLAS® has won the coveted iF Design Award 2023 in the Lighting category!
The iF Design Award is one of the most prestigious international design awards and is given every year by an independent jury of international experts. The winners are evaluated using a point system based on the criteria of differentiation, idea, form, function, and impact.
The new SONNENGLAS® SOMO Solar Module Generation 6
Winning in all these categories is a special honor for us because our products are the result of our passion for design and sustainability. Our products should not only look beautiful and function reliably, but also have a positive impact on the environment. It is important for us to offer our customers high-quality and sustainable products that are also aesthetically appealing. We believe that design plays an important role in making products more usable in everyday life and thus having a positive impact on the environment.
The new SONNENGLAS® SOMO Solar Module Generation 6
It shines with up to 100 lumens of brightness, five times brighter than before, with up to 100 hours of light: our new SONNENGLAS® SOMO Solar Module Generation 6. The warm white (3000 K) LEDs are continuously dimmable and create a pleasant ambient light depending on the level, but can also replace a lamp at full brightness. The SOMO can now be used independently of the glass and fits into any pocket. In addition, it can now be charged via a modern USB-C port. The SOMO is of course compatible with all previous SONNENGLAS® lanterns and is now available separately in the Classic and Mini versions in the shop.
Good design creates a positive impact
We achieved the highest score in the Impact category, which is particularly gratifying for us. Considering production in the design process at SONNENGLAS® is unique. Our design philosophy includes that the production of a product is an integral part of the design process. This means that production was designed with fair working conditions for workers and is implemented in our own fair-trade project in South Africa. The benefit of a product thus extends to the value its production offers. Good design creates a positive impact – not only for the end-user but also for the people who produce it.
By expanding fair trade to the development, design, and distribution of electronic sustainable items, we as a company are taking a leading role in fair trade.
The SONNENGLAS® SOMO Solar Module is a safe, electricity-independent, and reliable source of light in townships. Photo: Jodi Windvogel/Cape Town
"We are proud to have once again created an innovative fair trade product with the SONNENGLAS Generation 6, which has been awarded a prestigious design prize. This allows us to emphasize once again that fair trade products can be both technically innovative and pioneering," said Stefan Neubig, founder and CEO of SONNENGLAS®.
We would like to thank the SONNENGLAS® engineering team and Studio Scazziga in Zurich, who developed the innovative design of the SONNENGLAS® SOMO solar modules in international collaboration, as well as our manufacturing team in Johannesburg. We would also like to express our gratitude to our customers, who inspire and motivate us to develop even better products.
*Author: Julia Akra-Laurien
