The Blundstone 980 Underground Mining Boot won Best in Category at the 2015 Good Design Awards (Product Design - Commercial and Industrial) as well as the prestigious Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (Powerhouse Museum) Design Award 2015 for excellence in Australian product design.
The awards are Australia's oldest and most prestigious for design and innovation. The Judges commented: "The Blundstone 980 Underground Mining Boot represents a true understanding of the end user. This is true design excellence in every regard and a showcase of what good design can bring to a very challenging project with tough customers. The Blundstone Mining Boot is a beautifully resolved product that has clearly gone through a professional design process."
Since 1992, the Powerhouse Museum has recognised excellence in Australian product design with its own Design Award and Selection as part of the annual Australian Good Design Awards. The Museum displays the winning products in the Success and Innovation gallery for one year. Some of these products and relevant design models and documents are added to the Museum's permanent collection of Australian industrial design.
The Museum's selection is made from the annual Good Design Awards finalists and the selection criteria include good design, innovation and the significance of a product to Australia's material culture. Products must demonstrate innovation in design, technology or materials that are of real benefit to users. They must also show potential to become important in the lives of Australians, be significant to Australian industry or provide an opportunity for Australian design to be recognised in the global marketplace.
The Powerhouse Museum Design Award is given to a product that has potential to make a significant improvement to the quality of health, wellbeing or the environment. It recognises the important role for design in harnessing the challenges of science and technology to make a positive impact on our lives.
The winners were announced at the Good Design Awards Gala evening on May 29 in Sydney.