Konica Minolta Wins Good Design Award 2019 for Four Products

Company Honored by the JDP for Two Color MFP Series, Portable Spectrophotometer and Tokyo Planetarium


Ramsey, NJ, Nov. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. is pleased to announce Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) has been awarded the Good Design Award 2019 by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion (JDP) for the four of its products.

The Good Design Award is a comprehensive design commendation program implemented by the JDP with a view to highlighting and commending outstanding designs around us in the pursuit of prosperous lives and industrial and social development. The program has a history spanning approximately 60 years, initially implemented in 1957 by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (present-day Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) under the name Good Design Selection System, which was more widely known as the G Mark System.

“We are so pleased to be honored with the Good Design Award for these distinct areas of our business,” said Kay Fernandez, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc. “As a company, we collectively strive to keep design at the center of every effort, to create experiences tailored to each audience we serve. These accolades demonstrate our agility as a company to innovate across departments, divisions and brands.”

The following products were honored with a Good Design Award. 

bizhub C360i/C300i/C250i, A3 color MFP series

This next-generation A3 color MFP series was launched as the bizhub i-series to help corporate customers digitally transform the workplace and support IT services in the office. With its intuitive and ease-of-use operation panel, and the ability to support more advanced IT security, the series helps customers change their work style and enhance the efficiency of IT the environment.

Comments from the JDP Screening Committee: In renewing the entire range of its MFPs, Konica Minolta has adhered to its design identity of INFO-Palette and succeeded in further refining the concept. The operation panel with a minimum set of keys makes the series more compatible with mobile devices, while improving operability through the user experience, user interface and universal design. As a result, the company has made this series more efficient and easier to use, while reinforcing its design identity. In addition, the neat arrangement of the LED indicator lamp and authentication section, and the improvements made to every detail of the exterior appearance, also earned high scores from the jury.

bizhub C4050i/C3350i/C3320i/C4000i/C3300i, A4 color MFP series

This A4 color MFP series was developed as the bizhub i-series by changing the entire range of predecessor MFP models. The series features an intuitive and ease-of-use operation panel, and enhanced cloud connectivity that facilitates access to advanced IT services.

Comments from the JDP Screening Committee: Characteristically, this series builds on and further refines the design identity of INFO-Palette that underlies the entire range of Konica Minolta’s MFPs. While each model of the series has a large operation panel of the same size as that of the A3 MFP, its beautiful slim body allows installation in limited spaces for diverse workstyles, which has gained high marks from the jury. Like its A3 version, the operation panel with a minimum set of keys makes the series more compatible with mobile devices, while improving operability through the user experience, user interface and universal design, thus increasing the reliability of this series.

CM-26dG, a spectrophotometer

Despite its light weight of only 660g and compact body, the CM-26dG can measure color and gloss at the same time. It is used mainly at production sites that manufacture interior parts for automobiles and exterior parts for smartphones and tablets, helping to increase efficiency and reduce manpower in measuring huge numbers of samples, thereby enabling corporate customers to drastically streamline the inspection process.

Comments from the JDP Screening Committee: The CM-26dG can measure color and gloss at the same time. The built-in integrating sphere of 54mm in diameter and finder, as well as the forward-sloping shape, allow users to measure in spaces inaccessible with conventional products, such as the gap between the front window and dashboard of a car. Its center-of-gravity position and grip’s shape enable users, both male and female, to hold the product effortlessly, which, coupled with the sleek user interface design, have been highly praised by the jury.

Konica Minolta Planetaria Tokyo

Konica Minolta Planetaria Tokyo has Japan’s first twin domed permanent facilities, Planetarium Dome Theater and Multipurpose Digital Dome Theater, where visitors can enjoy a brand-new experience of viewing the starry skies. There are also a virtual reality attraction, café and gift shop, which together constitute an exciting entertainment space.

Comments from the JDP Screening Committee: Planetariums, if used merely for projecting the starry skies, will not be able to survive. To break the stereotypical image of a planetarium, Konica Minolta has opened Planetaria, which offers a more engaging experience to visitors through events, such as live concerts and interactive shows, encouraging visitor participation. While the first Planetaria was opened in Yurakucho (Tokyo), the Planetaria program can be applied to planetariums in rural areas that are at risk of closing. If such rural planetariums are renovated as Planetaria-type facilities, each with its own distinctive local characteristics, they may be able to help solve local problems.

About Konica Minolta Business Solutions, U.S.A., Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. is reshaping and revolutionizing the Workplace of the Future™ with its expansive smart office product portfolio from IT Services (All Covered), ECM, Managed Print Services and industrial and commercial print solutions. Konica Minolta has been recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for twelve consecutive years, and is proud to be ranked on the Forbes 2017 America's Best Employers list. The World Technology Awards recently named the company a finalist in the IT Software category. Konica Minolta, Inc. has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for eight consecutive years. It partners with its clients to give shape to ideas and work to bring value to our society. For more information, please visit us online and follow Konica Minolta on Facebook, YouTube, Linked In and Twitter.

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Konica Minolta’s bizhub C360i/C300i/C250i, A3 color MFP series has won a 2019 Good Design Award. Earlier this year, the series was also recognized with a Better Buys Editor’s Choice Award in the MFP category for 3Q 2019. Konica Minolta’s bizhub C4050i/C3350i/C3320i/C4000i/C3300i, A4 color MFP series has won a 2019 Good Design Award.

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