The award ceremony was held on the opening day with John Koo, CEO of LG Electronics; Chang Che-shik, minister of commerce, industry and energy; and Augusto Morello, president of ICSID, attending.

LG Electronics has organized and held the event biannually since 1991 to encourage young designers and stimulate the global industrial design field. It is the only Korean company to organize an international design competition on such scale.

This year's theme was "Bridging the Digital with the Human - User First Design," with a total of 1,962 works from 56 countries presented in the categories of Home Network and Mobile Network.

The received works were evaluated by 30 Korean university professors and design specialists in July. Of the 289 pieces of work that passed the preliminaries, 39 made it to the final selection. In the final rounds, eight experts in the industrial design field, including Betty Baugh, president of the Industrial Designers Society of America; and Christian Klingspor, vice president of Sweden-based Electrolux; selected eight winners and 31 runners-up.

The grand prix winner, who was awarded $20,000, was Rodney Mackrell from New Zealand for his Cellular Remote. The pocket-sized gadget not only works as a cellular phone but as a remote control connected to a computer at home. The most interesting feature of the Cellular Remote is the flexible material of the monitor, using electronic ink technology. The monitor is wrapped around the phone, then fastened down by the stylus. When controlling the computer by remote, the user pulls out the stylus, and the monitor unfolds. The screen displays the same interface as the computer at home, and the user can use the Internet to reach the computer. The product emphasizes portability.

The gold prize went to Sung Jung-gi and Kim Sae-jung of Korea for their Digital Display Wall. The creators felt that the contraptions of today had become too complicated by fusing too many functions into one product. Their Digital Display Wall has made it easier to use by starting with one main function, then letting the users style the product with what they need. The panel is made up of basic units, which are the connecting points that supply electricity and transfer information and data. The panel acts as the home server, which saves the downloaded information of each product connected.

Cameras, speakers, MP3s, recorders and screens can be connected to the product. As they are connected, they are automatically charged.

The Bathroom Radio by John David Ramsden of United Kingdom won one of the silver prizes. To make time spent in the bathroom more enjoyable, a digital radio can be installed. Different channels can be inputted in the chrome balls. When a ball is inserted in the ceramic cone, the cone lights up and the radio is turned on. To turn it off, one takes the chrome ball out by lowering the cone. The channels can be changed on the ceramic plate.

One of the bronze prizes went to Ken Chi from Australia for his Portable Music Instrument and Network - a digital portable music instrument using Doze, a system that digitizes various sources of music - and Eko, a digital data player. The gadget is made of speakers for indoor, outdoor and portable use.

The Good Design Festival 2001 was also held from Oct. 7 to 12. LG Electronics' booth was set up under the theme "Digital Design Gallery."

"The booth gives the graceful and classical image of an art gallery, expressing the dreams and will of LG Electronics to become a digital leader in the 21st century," said a company spokesperson. "We are presenting a new lifestyle using digital technology."