Sarasota firm was the brains behind worldwide product design award winner

A Sarasota-based design firm is celebrating a red dot. 

While not the direct winner of the 2023 Red Dot award, the company, Robrady, was behind the design that won the award. A partnership with Texas-based AYRO Inc., an electric delivery vehicle manufacturer, landed the 2023 title for product design on the 2023 AYRO Vanish vehicle. 

“ROBRADY takes great pride in collaborating with visionary teams such as AYRO to foster innovation and category leadership,” Rob Brady of Robrady design says in a press release. “We are committed to supporting environmentally smart projects that push the boundaries of what is possible.”

A product design and development studio, Robrady design provides product solutions for a range of companies, from start-ups to Fortune 100. 

“As the CEO & Design Director of ROBRADY design, I am particularly pleased with our work with AYRO,” Brady says. “We embraced the company’s SchlägerNull approach and leveraged our innovative design process to incorporate sustainability in every aspect of the vehicle design.”

The Red Dot Award is a recognition of the best product designs across the world that’s presented each year. This year, products were evaluated across 51 categories. A 43-member jury then assessed design entries based on good design, their socio-cultural character, technical focus area and design expertise. 

“We are honored to have received this award as it validates our efforts in bringing to market a low-speed electric vehicle (LSEV) unlike any other available today,” Tom Wittenschlaeger, CEO at AYRO, says in a statement. 

The 2023 AYRO Vanish, a utility LSEV, was created through the SchlägerNull approach, which is a design philosophy that allows the vehicle to exist without altering a physical space — a concept that’s described as going beyond environmentally friendly. 

The vehicle features customizable bed configurations, low thermal signature, large contact patch soft tires, and technologies that eliminate toxins from steering and control systems with a range of over 50 miles on a single charge.

The vehicle went up against roughly 20,000 entries from 60 countries. The award dates back to 1955, but didn’t receive its name and brand until the 90s.