Tricycle Nominated for INDEX: Award

Chattanooga, Tenn., April 4--SIM from Tricycle technology has been nominated for an INDEX: 2005 award by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). INDEX: is a world event for design and innovation that takes place every four years in Copenhagen. The theme of the 2005 competition is "design to improve life." Winners in each category receive 100,000 euros. Tricycle’s technology was nominated for its ability to reduce the negative environmental impact of carpet manufacturing, cut product sample costs and reduce time to market. The nomination follows previous awards, including an IIDEX/NeoCon Canada Gold Award for Sustainable Design, and NeoCon Gold Award for Technology. Research for SIM from Tricycle began in 1999 in England, with commercial applications beginning in 2000. The technology is currently in its fourth generation. Flooring manufacturers send out more than 700,000 carpet samples each year to attract business, at a combined cost of more than $1 billion. The majority of these samples are used only briefly, then find their way to landfill. Tricycle’s technology digitally tufts carpet, combining yarn color, manufacturing machine data and a design pattern file to create a simulation that is color accurate and visually textured. In 2004, SIM from Tricycle kept more than 20,000 pounds of carpet out of landfill, saved manufacturers more than $1 million and reduced turnaround time on product sampling to 24 hours. SIM from Tricycle is currently in use at Interface, Bentley Prince Street, Shaw, Lees Carpets and other innovative carpet brands. The nomination also recognizes Tricycle for improving the lives of architects and interior designers, because the simulation is easy to recycle, archive and use for client presentations. In a survey conducted at the NeoCon World’s Trade Fair, 74% of architects and designers say that SIM from Tricycle is the only alternative to physical samples that they want to use, seeing it as a way to narrow down product choices in the early round of their product selection process. "INDEX: is a global competition for design that addresses critical social needs," says AIGA executive director Ric Grefe. "Each organization can nominate only one project in a country. AIGA, as the arbiter of U.S. projects, forwarded Tricycle’s work on SIM technology as an exemplar of socially responsible design, representing the best of U.S. design." "We are pleased to have been nominated for our simulation technology," says Tricycle chief branding officer Michael Hendrix, "and even more so that the nomination came through the AIGA. Our Chattanooga chapter is less than six months old and we are proud of the recognition it brings to our region and the design profession. This nomination would not have been possible wihtout the support of the national office and a strong local design community." About the AIGA The AIGA is America’s oldest and largest membership association for communication design. With more than 16,000 members and 50 chapters, the AIGA offers idea exchange, research and educational opportunities, and advances the understanding of the value of design for business. About Tricycle, Inc. Tricycle, Inc. is an international, privately held corporation offering technology products and services to the manufacturers of contract interiors. Tricycle’s trademarks include Cre8tiv and Apso, a software developer that has been providing carpet and textile designers with innovative products since 1983. For more information, visit www.tricycleinc.com. To view Tricycle’s nomination on the INDEX: site, visit www.index2005.dk/Members/beshisaba/workObject.

Print the Article