ILLUMAGEAR, whose mission is to illuminate people working in high-risk environments, making them safer, today announced that it has been awarded the prestigious Core77 Design Award for Professional Equipment for The Halo Light™.

Recognizing excellence in all areas of design enterprise, the Core77 Design Awards celebrates the richness of the design profession and the brilliance of its practitioners.

Selected by Core77’s panel of industrial design experts, the competition’s jurors cited the following as primary attributes in recognizing The Halo Light:

• The product is spot-on; it is clever and simple and solves a real need.
• The way this idea is executed is brilliant - its high level of functionality and straightforward interface allows it to easily integrate into the daily routine of a worker.
• Though simple, the final solution takes into consideration various usage scenarios. Where some may have stopped at the iconic halo of light this entrant continues to add various lighting modes to suit the task at hand.

"It was immediate consensus from all of us jurors, and it was the only thing that we came to immediate consensus on....,” said Kiersten Muenchinger, University of Oregon, Director and Associate Professor of the university’s Product Design Program. “There were a lot of strong entries, but this was absolutely... it was fast - we all knew that this was the winner."

The Halo Light, designed in conjunction with Seattle-based Pensar Development, is a 360-degree LED light ring that attaches to any hard hat and produces a halo of light around the wearer, enabling him or her to see and be seen in all directions at all times. There are four modes — Halo, Hi-Alert, Task and Dim — for use in a variety of work environments. A rechargeable battery that clips to a belt or pocket is tethered to the Halo via a flexible cable with a safety release connection. The Halo Light is a Personal Active Safety System™, going above and beyond existing reflective (passive) solutions. It enables workers to both see and be seen.

Judges, or jurors, for the competition included:

• Sohrab Vossoughim Jury Captain, Ziba, Founder, President and Chief Creative Director
• Kiersten Muenchinger, University of Oregon, Director & Associate Professor - Product Design Program
• Jamian Cobbett, Nike, Director of Design, Digital Sport
• Stevan Wittenbrock, SoMA, Founder and President

ABOUT THE CORE77 DESIGN AWARDS

Recognizing excellence in all areas of design enterprise, the Core77 Design Awards celebrates the richness of the design profession and its practitioners. For the fourth year, 17 categories of entry are presented, providing designers a unique opportunity to communicate the intent, rigor and passion behind their efforts. From client work to self-initiated projects, entrepreneurial to pro-bono engagements, a wide diversity of design enterprise are embraced: commercial, cultural, social, environmental, or discursive. The Core77 Design Awards welcome projects in all these spheres and honor the time, effort and quality of the endeavors, no matter their provenance.

ABOUT CORE77

Since 1995, Core77 has served a devoted global audience of designers ranging from students through seasoned professionals. Core77 publishes articles, discussion forums, and an extensive event calendar in addition to hosting portfolios, job listings, and a database of design firms, schools, vendors and services. Core77 also provides a gathering point for designers and enthusiasts alike by producing design competitions, lecture series, parties, and exhibitions.

About Pensar Development

Begun in 2001, Pensar Development is an integrated team of designers and engineers that have helped some of the most successful companies in the world transform ideas into meaningful products. Whether they are guiding a start-up company through the product development process or handling the complete development effort for a Fortune 500 company, Pensar partners with clients to design compelling product experiences.

About ILLUMAGEAR
ILLUMAGEAR is a Seattle-based company focused on improving individual safety in risky environments. Founded in 2012 by Max Baker and Andrew Royal, ILLUMAGEAR’s mission is to illuminate people working in high-risk environments, making them safer and more prepared. ILLUMAGEAR builds personal active safety systems (tools, equipment, and software solutions) that lower the risk for people operating under hazardous circumstances. ILLUMAGEAR is focused on promoting real improvement in worker safety and bringing innovative products to market that define a new category of safety gear.

For more information, visit http://www.illumagear.com/.