Winner of IDEA Peoples Choice Award 2014
The research and design of AVON’s new SCBA was recognized with a GOLD Industrial Designers Society of America, International Design Excellence Award (IDEA). Started in 1980, the IDEA program fosters business and public understanding regarding the impact of industrial design excellence and represents one of the most coveted and prestigious design industry awards.
Formation worked with AVON Protection’s product managers, engineers and marketing specialists to research and design the new DELTAIR Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (S.C.B.A.). The development of the Deltair system was planned to coincide with the introduction of new regulations governing firefighter SCBAs. The goal of the project was to use the new regulations, along with input from end users to develop the world’s best breathing system for firefighters.
SCBAs are used in extremely harsh conditions by professionals under tremendous physical and mental stress. The life-sustaining nature of the product and its extreme use context presented the development team with many challenges. Most significant was the fact that no one on the design team had or could ever have first-hand experience using a SCBA in a real world, life-threatening situation. Because of this, the development of the Deltair system was conceived as a co-design project involving seasoned firefighters.
