Yongin Special City's Developed Public Design Wins Main Prize at 'IF Design Award 2025'

[Suwon Ilbo=Choi Ki-ho Reporter] Yongin Special City announced on the 13th that the design of its self-developed life-saving ring (Turning Easy Cue) won the main prize in the product design concept category at the 'IF Design Award 2025'.

The IF Design Award is a global design competition held in Germany and is ranked as one of the world's three major design awards alongside Germany's 'Red Dot Award' and the United States' IDEA (International Design Excellence Award). The awards ceremony for IF Design Award 2025 is scheduled to be held in Berlin, Germany on April 28.

Awards are given across nine categories including product, communication, user experience, service design, and architecture, evaluating the distinctiveness, excellence, and functionality of designs. This year, over 10,000 entries were submitted from more than 70 countries, recording the highest number of submissions.

The life-saving ring design submitted by the city this time received positive evaluation for focusing on improving the complex usage method of existing life rings and reducing the time needed for life rescue operations.

In particular, the design is characterized by intuitive usage methods and the ability to rescue people with minimal force. The design uses icons to indicate usage methods so anyone can easily understand how to use it, and it applies 'universal design' that allows rescue operations with just one-quarter of the force previously required when using conventional life rings.

The city developed this design through the 'Public Design Adding to Daily Life Safety Project' last year. It was intended to ensure the safety of citizens visiting stream walking paths and waterfront parks by establishing and applying standard design guidelines for disaster safety facilities and emergency evacuation guidance signs.

The city has continued this project since 2023, and this year plans to develop 'cognitive health design' that takes into account elderly citizens' cognitive, sensory, and physical characteristics.

Yongin Special City Mayor Lee Sang-il said, "I am pleased that the public design developed by the city has been recognized for its excellence at a world-class design competition," and added, "Going forward, we will continue to develop various designs to transform urban spaces into safe and attractive areas."