Planet Innovation’s Melbourne office was taken over by camera crews when we hosted the judging sessions for Australia By Design: Innovations, a TV series starting on Channel 10 this Sunday.
Co-founder and Co-CEO Sam Lanyon is a judge on the program, which brings good design to a wider audience by showcasing breakthrough product innovations.
Joining Sam on the judging panel are Dr Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia; Terri Winter, Founder of retail store Top3 by Design; Peter Freedman, Founder and Chairman of RØDE Microphones and the Freedman Group; Vince Frost, Founder and Executive Creative Director of design agency Frost* Collective; Edward Koury, Founder and Managing Director of industrial design agency Form Designs; and Robert Tiller, founder and CEO of product design company Tiller Design.
Following extensive product research and location visits by the program’s hosts, the judging sessions were conducted over two long days in our Box Hill office. Fueled by coffee and pastries from our local café, the judges reviewed and assessed 60 Australian-designed product innovations.
The first six episodes of the program will each feature 10 products, with the best progressing to the final episode countdown of the top 10 designs drawn from the series.
Sam said the range of products was incredibly diverse: “I was very impressed by breadth of innovations on display – everything from household items to sporting equipment, cars to medical devices.
“It’s fantastic to see such innovative products being developed and brought to market in Australia.”
CEO of Good Design Australia, Dr Brandon Gien, said with the proliferation of reality, cooking and home renovation programs on TV, it was great to have a program to showcase the great products being designed in Australia.
“We need to celebrate our design and innovation heroes just as much as we do our sporting (and cooking) ones and this show does just that in spades,” Brandon said.
Australia By Design: Innovations, produced by MWC Media, will be broadcast on Channel 10 at 3pm every Sunday, from November 11 to December 30. Episodes will also be available to view on demand online at 10 Play.
Get a feel for what to expect on the show, by watching this recap of Series 1 (also featuring Sam as a judge).