CHICAGO — The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design has selected products from Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., Federal Corp., Kumho Tire Co. Inc. and Yokohama Rubber Co. Ltd. for "Good Design" awards for design excellence.
The Chicago Museum, in cooperation with the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies, selects dozens of products in 30 categories for the Good Design award, which recognizes "cutting-edge" industrial, product and graphic designs produced around the world.
The award is based on a range of criteria such as innovative design, new technologies, form, materials, construction, concept, function, utility, energy efficiency and sensitivity to the environment.
The Cooper products to win are its Evolution M/T mud tire for North America and Discoverer ATT all-terrain tire for Asia.
"Earning Good Design awards is testament to Cooper's product design capabilities," according to Andrea Berryman, director – product management for North America, who called the Evolution M/T an "extremely durable, high performing mud tire worthy of this recognition."
The Discoverer ATT is a cross between a classic SUV tire and an all-terrain tire, according to Sue Zhu, product director, Cooper Tire Asia, featuring an innovative groove shape and corrugated sipes for a quieter ride.
Federal Corp. was awarded Good Design awards for its Evoluzion F60 ultra-high-performance and Xplora R/T on-/off-road light truck/SUV tires.
The Evoluzion F60 was singled out for its claw-pattern tread and "silica-infused" tread compounds. Developed with aesthetics and functionality, the tire's claw patterns not only constitute the look of tiger claws, but also offer precise handling on wet roads, Federal said.
The Xplora R/T provides a balance of on-/off-road performance characteristics for durability, off-road traction, diminished noise on-road and "incredible" styling and stance.
Kumho earned Good Design awards for three tires — the Ecsta PA51 all-season, Majesty 9 Solus TA91 passenger and WinterCraft Wi51 winter tires.
The Ecsta PA51 features an asymmetrical tread pattern that disperses water in four different directions for greater efficiency, and differing groove depths that translate into reduced noise and improved grip. The tire's sidewall features a graphic of a checkered flag.
The Majesty 9 is an upgraded version of the Majesty Solus that features sidewalls decorated with a hologram that changes form, depending on the angle of the light, while the tread carries an eye-pleasing repeating design of geometric patterns and curves, Kumho said.
The WinterCraft Wi51 features a directional tread pattern and chopped aramid fiber in the tread compound to improve snow/ice traction.
Yokohama earned Good Design awards for a pair of Geolandar SUV/crossover tires — the extreme all-terrain Geolandar X-AT extreme all-terrain and X-CV performance SUV/crossover lines.
Winning two Good Design awards is a "great honor and another testament to our new product development," according to Andrew Briggs, Yokohama's vice president of marketing and product management, now noted the X-AT was named "Best New Tire" and earned two Global Media Awards at the 2019 SEMA Show. The X-CV was a 2019 SEMA New Product runner-up.
The X-AT is designed for pickup trucks, Jeeps and SUVs and features a dual-sidewall design, which allows consumers to choose the appearance they like the best, and comes in 27 sizes covering 15- to 22-inch rim diameters.
The X-CV is being promoted as a "luxury meets performance" tire for long-lasting, all-season traction and braking for owners of luxury SUVs and crossovers.