The T3 Awards 2022 has been the biggest ever, and this year we've introduced a completely brand new category of awards called Design Icons.
We created the Design Icons awards as we wanted to really hang a lantern on the tech and products that we feel is really changing the game through innovative, next-generation design.
As such, right here we celebrate 12 of the most forward-thinking design products we've tested and seen this year, from futuristic new electric cars, to amazing game-changing ovens and onto pioneering bike accessories and clothing.
These are the T3 Awards 2022 Design Icons.
Design Icon – Auto
Mercedes-Benz EQXX
It’s no exaggeration to say that the Mercedes-Benz EQXX gives us a glimpse of the future of motoring: it can drive an incredible 1000km on a single charge, thanks to both its ultra-efficient hardware and its next-gen aerodynamics. There are even solar panels on the roof to boost range! Add in all the luxury and style that you would expect from Mercedes-Benz, and it’s a hugely appealing, forward-looking car that will be looked back on in hundreds of years as a trailblazer of the new electric age.
Design Icon – Fitness
Peloton Guide
The Peloton Guide is the brand's first product focusing on strength training, and it's also the smallest and most accessibly-priced unit Peloton has to offer. The Guide incorporates a motion-tracking camera that recognises and evaluates your movements using a machine-learning algorithm so you can work out at home and feel like you're in a gym without physically having to be there – truly a glimpse into the future of home workouts! This is why the Peloton Guide is the winner of the Design Icon, Fitness award at the T3 Awards 2022!
Design Icon – Kitchen
SMEG Galileo Omnichef
As the name suggests, Smeg’s Omnichef is the oven that does it all. It combines traditional convection, steam and microwave cooking, using one, two or all three at once or in sequence, to give the optimum combination of speed, succulence, colour and texture to your foods.
Whether you use your own recipes or one of the hundreds of pre-sets, the Omnichef, 100% designed in Italia, gives great results. If that’s not sufficient, a range of smart accessories turn it into an air fryer, pizza oven and even an indoor barbecue!
You can learn more about the Galileo Omnichef on SMEG's official website. (opens in new tab)
Design Icon – Luxury
Bang & Olufsen Beolab 28
The Beolab 28 speakers from Bang & Olufsen are a true luxury – they give you (no exaggeration) cinema-quality audio at home and are the brand's "most advanced" wireless speakers to date. Even before you turn these speakers on and start playing something, you can tell that they’re a work of audio engineering art, and only for audiophiles with the finest taste. The Beolab 28 cab be placed on the floor or hung on your wall, and come in multiple finishes with optional speaker covers, but whatever specification you go for, you can rest assured they are the ultimate in luxury design.
Wellness Design Icon: QuietOn 3 sleep earbuds
QuietOn 3 sleep earbuds
The QuietOn 3 sleep earbuds only do one thing, but they do it exceptionally well. In a market that's packed with advanced sleep trackers that'll score your snooze quality and fancy sleep headphones designed to pipe soothing sounds into your brain as you try to drop off, the QuietOn 3 buds offer something essentially unique: active noise cancellation for side sleepers. These little in-ears are designed to mute the low-frequency sounds that are typically to blame for disturbed slumber (talkative neighbours, rumbling traffic, early-morning roadworks, snoring sleep-mates) and, as our QuietOn 3 sleep earbuds review reveals, they manage it perfectly. The slimline design stays firmly in place all night and doesn't feel like its trying to burrow its way into your brain if you like to lie on your side. A very long-lasting battery and faff-free, functional design secure these as our Wellness Design Icon for 2022. Sure, they don't come cheap, but who can put a price on a great night's sleep?
Outdoors Design Icon: Fjällräven/Specialized 'The Great Nearby'
Fjällräven/Specialized 'The Great Nearby'
Our Outdoors Design Icon Award for 2022 goes to the Fjällräven/Specialized 'The Great Nearby' collection, which includes a range of bike accessories and clothing for anyone who fancies a spot of pedal-powered adventuring in their local area or slightly further afield. The Swedish backpack brand and high-end bike company have pooled their expertise to deliver a collection that's a perfect blend of hipster-cool styling and functional design. The F/S range rejects the slick and serious cyclist aesthetic in favour of something a little more playful, in a variety of mustard, burgundy and khaki shades. From bright, bucket-like panniers with slot-in packpacks for occasional urban cyclists who want a practical way to upgrade their bike for more low-key exploring, to velcro-on storage options for wannabe bikepackers, this collab includes plenty of options that make hopping on your bike that much simpler and more appealing. Check out the collection here. (opens in new tab)
Design Icon – Smart Home
Hive Thermostat Mini
The winner of this year's Best Smart Energy Product award also bags the inaugural Design Icon – Smart Home award, which is testament to not just this thermostat's performance but also its killer looks and styling, too.
The original Hive Thermostat was a great device but was quite bulky and its interface not as intuitive as it could of been, but in the Thermostat Mini Hive took everything that was great about the original device and then shrank it and simplified its interface.
The result is a slim, sleek and stylish smart thermostat that is a pleasure to use and makes monitoring your energy usage easy. It's an iconic design and deserves recognition. Congratulations to Hive!
Design Icon – Style
Canada Goose Crofton Jacket
Ultra-lightweight but durable and warm, the impressive Canada Goose Crofton Jacket is a garment that’s both gorgeous in its aesthetics and endlessly practical in its functionality. Not only is it supremely comfortable and easy to carry around (it even packs down into a handy bundle), it comes with five handy pockets and is available in a choice of six different colours as well. It's a jacket you will reach for all year round from a brand that has come to dominate the high-end outerwear market.
Design Icon – Tech
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Many manufacturers year on year deliver products that look, well, rather a lot like last year's models. Samsung, however, has elevated its 2022 flagship phone, the Galaxy S22 Ultra, to new heights by exploring the rear camera design and delivering a striking rear that's unlike the behemoth camera enclosures that you'll find on most of its competition. The way each lens protrudes, separated from the next, gives a striking visual that's like nothing else on the market. But that's not all: an array of delightful colour options, a curved-edge screen that stands out above and beyond the standard S22 models' flat panels, and an integrated S Pen stylus that's so neatly tucked away into the body that you can forget all about it when it's not in use - a great trait of top design. In a world where most handsets look like copies of one another, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is instantly recognisable, a wonder to look at, a marvel to use - and a clear tech design icon winner.
Design Icon – Travel
Cybex Anoris T
There aren’t many ways you can innovate with a car seat, right? Wrong! The Cyber Anoris T is ergonomically designed to protect children as they grow from around 15 months to six years or so, but the true innovation here is that it is the first child's car seat to come with an integrated airbag for extra peace of mind. There’s also additional side impact protection for guarding the child’s head and neck in a crash. The result? The Anoris T has set a new benchmark as the safest seat ever tested by independent bodies (ADAC, Stiwa, ÖAMTC and TCS).
Design Icon – TV & Audio
Philips OLED+986
What's perhaps most impressive about Philips' OLED+986 is that it's a success in both TV and audio terms, rather than just one or other. This TV with integrated Bowers & Wilkins soundbar is a truly striking piece of design, which looks iconic when it's switched off - and even more awe-inspiring when you fire it up to be dazzled by the Ambilight backlighting. Those rear-positioned LEDs illuminate the surrounding walls, as if the picture is dancing beyond the edges of the frame, drawing your attention to the image and excellent Dolby Atmos audio capabilities. There's no compromise to image quality, thanks to a superb OLED panel that's expertly integrated into the design, as if floating above the soundbar. It's an ideal centrepiece for any living room - and a true design icon in this category, not just another boring black box.
Rado True Square Over The Abyss
Even in a field as crowded as the premium watch market, the Rado True Square Over The Abyss stands out. Made from high-tech ceramic, sapphire crystal and titanium materials, it has a look that feels classic, modern and iconic all at the same time. Meanwhile, the ingenious watch face combines your local time with multiple other time zones. Rado really is synonymous with contemporary design and this collaboration with New Delhi artist duo Thukral and Tagra keeps the Swiss brand at the forefront.
