TUDelft School for Industrial Design Engineering senior lecturer, Arjen Jansen, presented the globally recognised DAME Design Awards 2024 to the TeamO Offshore 150N Hi-Lift Lifejacket & Harness in front of a large audience of leading marine professionals at the METSTRADE where the awards jury also identified eight category winners, nine Special Mentions and named two Environmental DAME Design Awards winners.

TeamO has dared to think differently with its Hi-Lift 150N lifejacket, which features a twisted bladder design that moves most of the wasted buoyancy above the waterline of a conventional design to an inflated pillow on the users back. This directly lifts the upper torso out of the water and keeps the nose and mouth higher. The wide set front of the jacket provides stability in the water and controls the orientation of the face and body in line with ISO Standards. The performance increase of the 150N Hi-Lift now outperforms the ISO standard for a 275N lifejacket. The re-distribution of the bladder volume also allows the product to be slimmer when packed, making it much more likely to be worn when on, and near, the water. The Jury also noted a significant number of other excellent design features in this product and commended it for being such a strong step forward in a vital long-standing element of leisure marine equipment.

Andre Hoek, chair of the DAME Design Awards jury, stated: “It was very encouraging to see such a strong field of entries spanning the whole of the leisure marine sector, with products for people and the smallest boats right up to high-end superyacht equipment. In addition to genuine breakthrough launches, the Jury was equally pleased to see many products where designers have iteratively improved the user experience and exploited latest technologies to meet emerging demands. Smart design unlocks the door to a fully sustainable approach, in manufacturing, recyclability, longevity, usability and serviceability.

“Our focus was inevitably drawn towards the high number of entries driven by developing technologies that will serve the marine industry’s future needs in areas such as electrification and networking. But in a close-run finish, it was an excellent new development in safety that was unanimously named outright winner of this year’s awards. A perfect reminder of how we can never stop improving product categories that have been an essential part of boating for decades.

This year the DAME Design Awards Jury inspected 114 entries from 28 countries. It nominated a total of 58 products for inclusion in the DAME Design Awards showcase which were then entered in the final rounds of judging. The Jury identified a winner for each of the eight DAME Design Awards categories. From these an overall DAME Design Awards winner was chosen. The Jury also identified nine Special Mentions (commended runner-up entries) and named two Environmental DAME Design Awards winners.

See www.damedesignawards.com for more information and the full Jury report.