The awards, founded in 1953 by the iF International Forum Design, were designed to shed light on the ‘brilliance of German design’ and are now described as ‘bridging the gap between design and industry.’

Seven categories make up the awards – product, packaging, communication, interior architecture, professional concept, service design, and UX & architecture. The awards act as a seal of trust for users, consumers and businesses.

The winning product delivers the same service as a Sharp multifunction printer but additionally utilises built-in OCR capability to cover files into editable Microsoft Office files, making digitising, storing, and sharing information easy.

Designed with increased productivity and space efficiency in mind, the photocopier fits comfortably on, or next to a desk and is capable of scanning speeds of duplex 110 images per minute.

Since July 2017, UK supplier of office technology, Midshire Business Systems, has been a subsidiary of Sharp Electronics Europe.

Commenting on the achievement, Midshire’s managing director, Julian Stafford says: “Sharp are really coming through with some next generation products, they’re leading the way and I’m so proud that Midshire are a part of it. This award is a real testament to what Sharp can offer.”

Deciding the winners was a panel of 67 design experts who debated over a three-day jury session in Hamberg, Germany. Out of 6,375 entries from 52 nations, 1,190 winners were chosen.

The winning products will be displayed from March 16th to July 14th at the iF Design Exhibition in Hamberg and can also be viewed on the iF World Design Guide.

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