Innovative Bee Hive wins Good Design award for 2016

When we looked at some of the contenders for this year’s Good Design awards recently this one didn’t crack a mention, but wow, what a great idea – a Bee Hive that bottles the honey without ever opening the hive!

The product of a little Aussie start-up in Byron Bay, the Flow Hive has taken the world by storm and was tonight awarded the top prize at the prestigious Good Design Awards.

Dating back to the ’50’s, the awards have unearthed some globally recognised design and innovation talent over the years.  Last year, the top gong went to the Tesla Model S.

But I’ve got to say, this is an absolute cracker – or perhaps bottler would be a better Aussie slang:)

The Flow Hive delivers honey on-tap, directly from inside the beehive, without the need to crack the hive open.  It has, and will, change the way honey is collected – all around the world.

Flow Hive delivers honey on tap – directly from a beehive – without the need to crack open the hive. It’s an invention that has literally changed forever the way honey is collected – and is now being used all over the world.

The award was presented in Sydney tonight at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney coinciding with the launch of Vivid Sydney.

Commenting on this year’s overall winner, Flow Hive, Dr Brandon Gien, CEO of Good Design Australia said: “Good Design has always been about ideas whose time has come – a showcase of the multitude of ways that design creates value, commercial and social in ways that matter today.

“Flow Hive is still about how design changes the landscape, but it’s a grassroots example. It’s about the new value eco-system that starts with an idea in a backyard, literally, that creates its own opportunity through crowdfunding because of its ability to capture peoples’ imagination. 

“It’s not perfectly resolved from an industrial design point of view. It’s not sleek. There are rough edges. But it’s an ingenious improvement on an ancient human craft. And it shows that design – as a process of solving problems that matter to people – has never been more accessible,” he said.

In the Automotive category, “Automotive & Transport” the award went to the stunning new Mazda MX-5

Here are all the winners:

GOOD DESIGN AWARD OF THE YEAR – Flow Hive

GOOD DESIGN AWARD FOR SUSTAINABILITY – Nev House

BEST OVERALL

• PRODUCT DESIGN – Gavi & Geri
• SERVICE DESIGN – Design In Schools – Design Education Through Practice
• DIGITAL DESIGN – Acorns App
• COMMUNICATION DESIGN – NO BEST OVERALL
• ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN – Kensington Street
• BUSINESS MODEL DESIGN – PLUS
• SOCIAL INNOVATION – Lucky Iron Fish

BEST IN CATEGORY

PRODUCT DESIGN

• Domestic Appliances – Braun Series 3
• Consumer Electronics – Microsoft HoloLens
• Automotive & Transport – Mazda MX-5
• Commercial & Industrial – A–Series Barbecue Bench
• Medical & Scientific – Gavi & Geri
• Hardware & Building – Caroma Cleanflush Toilet Range
• Furniture & Lighting – Cult Bower Collection
• Sport & Lifestyle – Knog’s Oi Bell
• Housewares, Fashion & Objects – Space Grill Global

SERVICE DESIGN

• Education Services – Design in Schools
• Commercial Services – RxMedChart

DIGITAL DESIGN

• Web Design & Development – Arts Access Victoria
• App Design – Acorns App
• Interface Design – Tableau
• Game Design & Animation – ELEMENTS

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN 

• Commercial & Residential Architecture – NEVHOUSE
• Interior Design – 30 Adelaide Street
• Urban Design & Public Spaces – Kensington Street

BUSINESS MODEL DESIGN – PLUS

SOCIAL INNOVATION – Lucky Iron Fish

Design Technology Award – Air O Pan for Sunbeam

Design Sustainability Award – Botany for Sunbeam Australia

Design Innovation Award – Speaksee

Young Australian Design Award of the Year – Vita Haemodialysis Machine

Other awards:

• Safe Work Australia Award for Good Design – Makinex Construction Products
• CSIRO – The Seabin Project
• Patron’s Prize for Australian Design – The Safety Compass
• 202020 – The Goods Line
• DIA – Cobalt Niche Design
• MAAS – The Sydney Water Re Use Project