Bernd Kussmaul produces Red Dot: Best of the Best Trophy
With the illuminated medals for the 2019 World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart, Bernd Kussmaul has created a global innovation. This made the design scene sit up and take notice, and this led to contact with those responsible for the Red Dot Design Awards, the world’s most renowned design prize. For the tenth anniversary of the Red Dot Trophy, the manufacturer from Weinstadt in Baden-Württemberg took over the implementation of this trophy for the first time, thus continuing the work of designer Günter Wermekes.
Photocredit: Red Dot
It was a special moment when the trophy for the best in the design world was presented for the first time in 2013. The “Red Dot: Best of the Best Trophy” was designed and implemented to date by the award-winning goldsmith and designer Günter Wermekes. After exactly ten years, production passed into the hands of Bernd Kussmaul GmbH from Weinstadt. And here almost everything is made by hand: the assembly of eleven stainless steel rods on a manually blasted base, plus a plaque for the name of the award winners and the logo of the Red Dot Design Award. “We were very happy when Red Dot approached us,” says Bernd Kussmaul, managing director and owner of the factory of the same name. “The award is highly respected in the design industry. We bring a high level of expertise from the automotive sector when it comes to design.” The medium-sized family business is familiar with materials and surfaces and has been a contact for special requests in the premium and luxury segment for almost 25 years.
Photocredit: Steffen Jahn / Photocredit: Red Dot
Günter Wermekes developed the material for the Red Dot Trophy in close collaboration with Professor Dr. Peter Zec, CEO and initiator of Red Dot, deliberately chose it: The stainless steel element creates a direct connection to the location of the Red Dot Design Museum on the grounds of the Zollverein World Heritage Site in Essen.
“We award the Red Dot Trophy to the best of the best in the international design world. We have also set this standard for ourselves when it comes to producing the trophy,” says Siegfried Schneider, Chief Marketing Officer of Red Dot. “That’s why it’s important to only work with the best in the industry when implementing it. We are thrilled to have Bernd Kussmaul on the team this year.”
Photocredit: Stefanie Siegel / Photocredit: Steffen Jahn
He transferred Günter Wermekes’ hand drawings into digital 3D data sets and has already successfully delivered all of the trophies this year. We are talking about at least 200 pieces per year. Over 100 are basically for the main events in Germany, 60 are going to the Red Dot Award: Design Concept awards ceremony in Singapore and dozens are being ordered individually by winners.
Günter Wermekes looks back positively on this project, as it was a success story for him. “We pooled all our strengths to be able to submit a design according to our ideas. We managed a precision landing and the acceptance was an accolade for us,” remembers the designer. “I still like to think about when we presented an oversized version of the trophy to the audience for the first time ten years ago. I’m happy to pass the baton on to Bernd Kussmaul.”
The trophy, which at 35 cm is the same size as the Oscar, is now known worldwide. It is highly sought after by designers and is featured in award-winning large and small studios, companies, universities and agencies worldwide. In June 2024, the winners of the “Red Dot: Best of the Best” will once again be awarded a trophy made by Bernd Kussmaul.
Photocredit: Red Dot
