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Continuum Wins Two Prestigious IDEA Awards

                                  
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Continuum Wins Two Prestigious IDEA Awards
Brings Home Gold and Bronze Awards for Compelling Research, Innovative Product Design
 
NEWTON, Mass., July 29, 2009 – Continuum, a global innovation and design consultancy, today announced that it has won recognition from one of the design industry’s most prestigious awards programs, the IDEA Awards. The IDEA Awards are presented annually by IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) and are sponsored by BusinessWeek, with selections made by an international jury of professional designers and academics.
 
Taking a coveted gold in the category of research is Continuum’s Colorblind research, which put the consumer side of environmental sustainability or “green” under the microscope, and uncovered some surprising findings about why and how they make green choices. Continuum also won a bronze for redesigning the Amplifit3 interactive hearing assessment tool, which is currently in use throughout Europe, in order to make it more appealing to consumers and easier to use for hearing assessment professionals.
 
“The Continuum team is honored to win two IDEA Awards for our work in both research and design,” said Harry West, CEO for Continuum. “We’re focused on uncovering the right ideas that will make substantial impact for our clients and the world at large. Whether it be making hearing assessments more effective or helping our clients better understand consumers’ ‘green’ attitudes and decision-making processes, our goal is thoughtful innovation that serves a meaningful and practical purpose.”
 
Continuum’s Colorblind research
With a mission to better understanding how people in the U.S. think about and react to green products and sustainability, Continuum with the help of Communispace, set out to conduct research that would help its clients develop green products and services that consumers actually want. After 21 thorough in-home interviews and with more than 6,800 online participants across the country, Continuum’s research revealed that consumers make green choices primarily to benefit themselves and their families rather than making a conscious green decision to benefit the environment. The study also revealed that when it comes to being green, consumers focus more on trash and recycling rather than on more impactful areas such as food and general consumption. Additionally, consumers are most environmentally conscious regarding choices they can see and therefore are most concerned about what products are made of, how products are used and where products will go after they are used. The results of this project have become a core part of Continuum’s toolbox, and are used to integrate sustainability into their practice. Whether through innovation, strategy or product refinement, Continuum is using this Colorblind study to help clients develop solutions that are both green and valued.
 
 
 
About the Amplifit3 hearing assessment products
Continuum’s Milan office set out to redesign the Amplifit3 interactive hearing assessment tool for Amplifon’s European locations in order to make the service more engaging for customers and easier to use by acousticians. It was also chartered with integrating this new Amplifit3 solution into and reinforcing the brand identity of the company’s redesigned retail strategy. As a result of research, user values, and sound experts’ opinions, Continuum in full collaboration with Amplifon corporate marketing, IT, construction and training departments, developed a system that included new software, controlled hardware and an environment to house the Amplifit3 system. The new system is based on an emotional and more personalized user interface to connect with consumers, a more realistic output based on redefined scientific content, maximum flexibility, and true ease of use. As a result of Continuum’s solution for Amplifon, Amplifit3 is an important step forward in the diagnosis of hearing difficulties and the selection of the most appropriate hearing aid solution.
 
About IDEA, IDSA and Industrial Designers
The IDEA program fosters business and public understanding about the impact of industrial design excellence on the quality of life and the economy. Stay tuned to www.idsa.org/idea for information about the IDEA® program. IDEA 2009 is co-sponsored by BusinessWeek, Target, Autodesk and IDSA. IDSA is the voice of industrial design, committed to advancing the profession through education, information, community and advocacy. Industrial designers determine the form, use features and interaction qualities of manufactured products, packaging and digital media systems. They study people at work, at home and in motion to create satisfying experiences with products from the kitchen and the office to the hospital and the warehouse, shaping these to fit their customers and to make effective use of industrial processes. In this way, industrial designers have a quiet but profound presence in almost everything people encounter during the day.
 
About Continuum
Continuum is a global innovation and design consultancy that helps turn ideas into realities. Through exhaustive investigation and user research, Continuum undertakes a deeply immersive role in a client’s businesses to formulate design and brand strategies that are both fiscally sound and consumer relevant. Since 1983, Continuum has created meaningful design for companies worldwide including American Express, Andersen Windows, Procter & Gamble, BMW, Master Lock, Moen, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson. Continuum has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Milan, Seoul and Shanghai. For more information, visit www.dcontinuum.com.
 
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Media Contact:
Jill Monahan
Tier One Partners
P: 484.244.5300