Grape Lab, a social enterprise supported by SK Innovation, has won Product Design Award at iF (international Forum) Design Award 2021 with its sustainable design.

This year’s ‘iF Design Award’ was marked by a fierce competition among around 10,000 entries from 52 countries across the globe. The winners were selected after going through comprehensive reviews in terms of design differentiation and influence in the nine disciplines, including ▲product, ▲package, ▲communication, ▲concept, ▲interior, ▲architecture, ▲service design, ▲User Experience (UX), and ▲User interface (UI).

▲ Grape Lab’s products are introduced on the official website of iF Design Award 2021 (https://bit.ly/3uMsiAS)

Grape Lab’s winning product this award is ‘g.flow,’ a signature product of the social enterprise. It is the world’s lightest and highly portable laptop stand as it is equivalent to the weight of a single sheet of paper (45g). This product is solely made up of a sheet of 100% eco-friendly, recycled paper without any chemical adhesives or coatings and is the outcome of the grape lab’s unique origami technique that delicately considers a user’s typing angles, and sightlines towards the screen, etc. It is the one and only design product of its kind in the world and has acquired registered design patents not just in Korea but also in the U.S., Europe, China, and Japan.

▲The world’s lightest laptop stand made from tree-free recycled paper, ‘g.flow’

What distinguishes Grape Lab from others is not only its practical designs and eco-friendly approach but also its practice of zero adhesives and coating agents. Furthermore, it realizes social values by creating jobs for the less privileged, as with the hiring of a designer with developmental disability and more. These endeavors have been recognized and well-received by 98 jurors consisting of experts from 20 different countries, and consequently, the enterprise gained the honor of winning the award for Product Design.

▲ Artist Kim Hyun-woo (left) and Artist Bae Kyoung-wook (right) participated in the art edition of ‘g.flow’ – Image Source (http://bit.ly/36Vw4N5)

The significance of Grape Lab’s winning the award lies in the fact that it broke the stereotype that products that seek environmental and social values may somewhat lag behind other commercial products in terms of design and product quality.

Last year, Grape Lab participated in the London Design Festival (LDF) 2020, organized online in light of the prolonged Covid-19 and proved its product and design excellence to global customers.

▲ Grape Lab’s products were introduced on the official website of London Design Festival 2020 (http:⁄⁄bit.ly⁄3msoPnG)

In addition, the company also attended the National Stationery Show (NSS) in 2018 and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest trade fair for books, in 2019, receiving great applause for product quality and designs. In 2019, the company drew an enthusiastic response from overseas, as shown in its huge success in Kickstarter, the leading crowdfunding site in the U.S., where the company exceeded its funding goal by four times.

▲ Grape Lab attended the National Stationery Show (NSS) in 2018 (left) and the Frankfurt Book Fair (right) in October 2019