Milton Glaser, the celebrated graphic designer who created the world-famous ‘I LOVE NY’ rebus, once said: ‘There are three responses to a piece of design – yes, no and WOW! Wow is the one to aim for.’ And ‘Wow!’ was precisely the response to the Continental Hybrid HS5 and Hybrid HD5 tyres at this year’s Red Dot Award.
The two commercial vehicle tyres fought off stiff competition to win the Product Design category in this annual competition for product and industrial design, brand and communication design, and design concepts.
“We are particularly delighted to receive the award for the first two models in our new generation of tyres,” says Hinnerk Kaiser, Head of Product Development Bus and Truck Tyres at Continental. “It is an endorsement of the quality and strength of our development work, which involved bringing together concept and mileage with design and performance.”
The new Continental Hybrid family of Generation 5 tyres have been developed for the rigorous demands of daily operation in the transport and logistics industry. They cope effortlessly with frequent acceleration, braking, manoeuvring and cornering on a variety of road surfaces, while offering high mileages, excellent durability and optimum traction. The tyres also help to bring down a truck’s fuel consumption effectively and minimise fleet costs thanks to their lowered rolling resistance.
“Tyre design plays a key role here in a number of ways,” explains tyre expert Kaiser. “It reinforces brand identity by emphasising innovative strength and technological sophistication.”
The design of both winning tyres, particularly of the tread, clearly highlights the operating principles at play. And tyre design is of crucial importance for ensuring our products are clearly distinguishable from those of other brands. “When developing the Generation 5 tyres, we were looking to bring a logical evolution of the long series of successful Conti Hybrid truck tyres onto the market, with its innovations easily identifiable,” adds Kaiser. “We also had to come up with an appropriate design language that would indicate the tyre’s use in freight haulage.”
The hexagonal hatching effect on the tyre sidewall links it to the segment covered by the Conti Hybrid Generation 5 series. This has a particularly strong brand-enhancing effect when the tyres are fitted on the vehicle. In addition, new application icons combine with the product name to illustrate the tyre’s suitability for different road conditions. It all adds up to a thoroughly successful development concept that gets the vote of professionals on both a functional and design level.
