TOMRA’s Common User Interface (CUI), designed by TOMRA Sorting Solutions (TOMRA) and Design Partners, received this year´s International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) at a gala ceremony in Seattle, US, on the 22nd August. The IDEA is one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions, already in its 35th year and is organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA). From more than 1,700 products entered IDEA 2015 28 Gold, 53 Silver and 83 Bronze winners across 20 categories were selected.

TOMRA’s CUI has been recognized with silver in the category “Digital Design”. Judging criteria were such as innovation, benefit to the user, responsibility, visual appeal and appropriate aesthetics. The CUI is designed for the user to make sorting adjustments flexible and enabling user friendly control.

“To receive a silver award in such a prestigious competition is a fantastic endorsement of the quality of design that goes into TOMRA sorters and elevates the value of our products to customers. The TOMRA CUI is a new and innovative user interface design that makes TOMRA sorters more accessible, and easier to use and operate. The benefit of this new user interface is that our customers will get better control and performance from their sorter and ultimately enhance their productivity,” says John McGloughlin, Head of Innovation, Strategy and Design at TOMRA Sorting Food.

The CUI has already been implemented in TOMRA’s recycling series FINDER, in the Field Potato Sorter (FPS) and Halo, both sensor-based sorters for the food industry, as well as in the mining system COM Tertiary EM and will be expanded in the rest of the product lines.

Design Partners CEO, Brian Stephens, commented on the recent award: “Great design builds brands in a meaningful way by enhancing the lives of consumers and driving commercial success. The diversity and status of these awards acknowledge the creative and technical excellence required to create this value for different industries.”

For more information about the IDEA award: www.idsa.org/awards/idea/digital-design/tomra-cui