Each year, IBO recognizes innovative and functional industrial design of analytical instruments, laboratory equipment (see page 6) and portable instrumentation (see page 7). The IBO Design Awards are based on the physical appearance and aesthetics of the product, not on technical performance or use. To qualify, the product must have begun shipping between August 1, 2015 and July 31, 2016.

Although performance and usability are often the ultimate purchase requirement for any product, visual appearance and physical features are key to influencing not only the purchasing decision, but also brand and product perception. Using industrial design, an instrument’s ease of use, technical capabilities and functionality can be communicated before the user even touches it. The industrial design also impacts how the user operates and interacts with the instrument; in the best case, creating a meaningful and memorable experience. In this way, industrial design is integral to simple operation, easy maintenance and increased productivity.

The winners of IBO’s 2016 Design Awards for analytical instrument industrial design showcase a modern, minimalist approach. Their shapes and styles attract users with smooth finishes, rounded corners, compact footprints and notable color schemes. Each winner is unique in its respective technology category, differentiating itself through its industrial design, which in turn contributes to its usability.

Gold Award

The 2016 winner of the IBO Gold Award for Industrial Design for analytical instruments is NanoLive’s 3D Cell Explorer. Using holography and rotational scanning to measure refractive index distribution within cells, the system captures real time, label-free 3-D live cell images and provides detailed analysis. The 3D Cell Explorer measures 13.8 x 17.7 x 7.9 in (35 x 45 x 20 cm) and weighs 26.5 lb (12 kg). It is priced at €19,900 ($22,111 = €0.90 = $1).

The 3D Cell Explorer’s balance of straight lines and curves presents a refined appearance. Rounded corners and soft edges, as well as a compact footprint present an approachable and friendly appearance. Familiar yet distinctive, the system’s unique profile and balance of traditional microscopy features with a novel shape are indicative of the product’s unique technology. The compact footprint, minimal touch points and open platform indicate ease of use.

Key to the system’s design is the use of an aluminum unibody internal structure, a first for a microscope, according to Lisa Pollaro, PhD, Communication manager at NanoLive. As she noted, such a structure adds stability, both internally and externally, to the lightweight system. “All internal optic components are embedded into this unibody, and this assures optimal results even in difficult imaging conditions (not stable surfaces, for example, conference tables).” The design also made manufacturing easier. “The introduction of the unibody concept helped us to limit to a minimum the number of components needed in the microscope, and to facilitate to a maximum its production and assembly.”

According to NanoLive, the product was designed to be small, intuitive and affordable. “The mission was to have a stable (resistant to vibrations), small, light, portable and accessible microscope intuitive to use for students and researchers, and compatible with industrial machineries,” said Dr. Pollaro. “Of course, a simple and good looking design also has its importance.” The product’s industry design was codeveloped by Jean-Francois Chevalier and inspired by the Arc de Triomphe.

Prototype systems were much larger and had no space to insert the sample. “I believe those were the biggest challenges: making it smaller and lighter, and changing the physical components of the system to have a larger sample stage with more space to interact with the sample (which allows as well for the insertion of an incubation system),” stated Dr. Pollaro. The large sample stage also allows users ample room to interact with the sample.

Silver Award

The 2016 Silver Award winner of the IBO Design Awards for analytical instruments is SCIEX’s M3 MicroLC System, a micro-scale LC system for biopharmaceutical applications, with pressures up to 10,000 psi. The system updates the standard industrial design of LC systems to emphasize approachability and simplicity with a unified presence, as opposed to the stacked module “look” of other HPLCs. The valves and autosampler are fully integrated, and sloping lines create a sleek outline and well-defined touch points. The system measures 22.8 x 33.5 x 27.6 in (58 x 85 x 70 cm) and weighs 110 lb (50 kg). Pricing is $85,000. SCIEX worked with Whipsaw Industrial Design on the system’s industrial design.

Describing the product’s development, Gavin Fischer, PhD, senior director of SCIEX’s Liquid Chromatography Business, told IBO, “The M3 spent a year and a half in development, with the majority of that time being geared towards simplification of the design. All of the changes were geared towards simplification of the user experience.” The M3’s target market of routine LC users dictated certain design choices. “Ease of use was the absolute highest priority. That covers both how the users perceive the system and how they interact with it,” he explained. “If the system looks intimidating, then the users will perceive it that way which affects the overall usability.”

Usability is inherent in the clean exterior. “We wanted to simplify the plumbing and set up for the system, as that is an area that frequently confuses users. To do that, we chose to put it all in one box and do a lot of the plumbing behind the scenes,” explained Dr. Fischer. “This greatly speeds the initial set up of the instrument and eases the transfer from one mass spec to another.”

Industrial design challenges included the autosampler’s doors. “They have several serious functions to perform (insulation, easy to open and able to be opened by the robot arm) that put a lot of constraints on them,” explained Dr. Fischer. “The second area of focus was around the valves, and how to make them easy to use yet functional.” Commenting on the importance of the industrial design to the M3’s marketing, he noted, “We have led our discussion and positioning of the M3 with the ‘ease-of-use’ message that the industrial design was critical in driving.”

Bronze Award

The 2016 IBO Bronze Award for industrial design goes to QIAGEN’s GeneReader NGS System. The System measures 36.5 x 24.6 x 23.4 in (92.5 x 62.3 x 59.4 cm) and weighs 220.5 lb (100 kg). Its industrial design matches many of the design hallmarks of QIAGEN’s other lab instruments, from the silver and blue colors to the clean exterior. In this way, the design communicates the product’s message of being part of a complete NGS workflow, which also includes the QIAcube and GeneRead QIAcube. The compact size and balanced lines create a streamlined appearance, emphasizing ease of use. In creating easy access, the bottom blue section flips up to allow sample insertion, the right top section lifts up, while the lower right “reagent drawer” pulls out. “We offer the industry’s very first fully integrated system that allows any laboratory interested in cancer clinical research to adopt NGS without a lot of resources or specialized expertise,” stated Yi Kong, director, Oncology Franchise Commercial Management Next Generation Sequencing at QIAGEN.