Microsoft Surface Studio and Xbox One S win gold, bronze IDSA awards for design

Two of Microsoft’s consumer products have won awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America (otherwise known as the IDSA) for design. The Surface Studio picks up a gold award, and the Xbox One S picks up a bronze award from the membership-based not-for-profit organization.

In their decision, the IDSA cites the way in which the Surface Studio transforms the way people create. The organization also mentions how the Surface Studio redesigns the vision of an all-in-one computer.

Surface Studio is an all-in-one computer that transforms the way people create and produce. Built with creatives in mind, it redefines the ideology of an all-in-one computer that adjusts to the tasks at hand. Surface Studio is equipped with the thinnest in-class display mounted on a zero-gravity hinge, making it seem like a floating sheet of pixels. This simple gesture allows continuous workflow, switching from work mode to drafting to upright orientations with just one finger.

Next up, with the Xbox One S, the IDSA cites the smaller size of the home console in their reasoning for a bronze award. Also mentioned is support for 4K HD Blu-ray video and streaming and high-dynamic-range imaging.

The Xbox One S is the latest version of the Xbox game console. It’s capable of 4K HD Blu-ray video and streaming and high-dynamic-range imaging. It’s 40 percent smaller than its predecessor, the Xbox One. Additional features include an integrated IR blaster, an internal power supply and up to 2 terabytes of internal storage.

Microsoft also won a gold award in the Consumer Technology category for HoloLens, “This mixed reality is enabling new ways to create, communicate, work and play,” wrote the IDSA. Lastly, in the Digital Interaction category, the company received another gold award for the Surface Dial, with the IDSA remarking, “it offers a new way to interact with technology and create in a natural, immersive way.”