Press Release
Vector Scissors by Tamas Fekete Is Granted the Silver A' Design Award in Art and Stationery Supplies Design
Tamas Fekete acknowledged for art and stationery supplies design by the international grand jury of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 18, 2025 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Vector Scissors by Tamas Fekete, designed for Openend Design Ltd., has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Art and Stationery Supplies Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2024 - 2025 A' Design Award & Competition and was decided through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who evaluated anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
About the Silver A' Design Award
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
Regarding Vector Scissors
Vector Scissors combine the guiding precision of a paper guillotine with the versatility of handheld scissors. The handle can be pressed against the edge of a table, stabilizing both the hand and the blades. This allows for a controlled, linear cutting motion using the table as a guide, ensuring straight cuts with ease. Extensive research into scissor mechanics, blade orientation, and ergonomics led to a refined design that enhances precision without altering traditional functionality.
About Tamas Fekete
Tamás Fekete is an industrial designer and the founder and creative director of Openend Studio, a product design studio based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Over more than 13 years, he has developed physical products across sporting goods, soft goods, consumer electronics, and lighting, working with brands including Nikon, Logitech, JBL, and Lenovo. His practice covers the full development process, from concept through prototyping to manufacturing, combining material research and design semiotics to help founders and companies bring products from idea to production. His work has received multiple international design awards.
Award Record
Tamas Fekete is a winner of 3 A' Design Awards, including this recognition. All of the awards belong to the 2024 - 2025 edition of the A' Design Award & Competition.
About the A' Art and Stationery Supplies Design Award
The A' Art Supplies Design Award is an international industrial design competition recognizing best art supplies by leading brands and manufacturers worldwide. The competition is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to art supplies designers, stationery designers, industrial design studios and art supplies brands from all countries. Entries typically include brushes, paints, sketchbooks, pencils, pastels and easels. Awarded art supply designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/art-supplies
About A' Design Award & Competition
A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade organized annually since 2008. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The A' Design Award has a philanthropic mission to advance society through good design by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Entries are peer reviewed and anonymously evaluated by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. The A' Design Prize granted to eligible laureates includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, the upload of a work and the preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. Further information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/170558
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/170558
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!170558
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/353541
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://bit.ly/Vector-Scissors
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Vector Scissors
- Function
- Scissors
- Category
- Art and Stationery Supplies Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Packaging & Retail and Arts
- Colors
- Black, Dark Slate Gray, Light Gray, Silver and Gray
- Images
- 5
- Client
- Openend Design Ltd.
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Tamas Fekete
- Country
- Netherlands
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2024 - 2025
- Design ID
- #170558
Credits
- Image Credits
- 3D Rendering Tamás Fekete, Vector Scissors 1, 2025; 3D Rendering Tamás Fekete, Vector Scissors 2, 2025; 3D Rendering Tamás Fekete, Vector Scissors 3, 2025; 3D Rendering Tamás Fekete, Vector Scissors 4, 2025; 3D Rendering Tamás Fekete, Vector Scissors 5, 2025
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Vector Scissors introduce a unique blade and handle design that helps users achieve precise, straight cuts more easily. By pressing the ergonomic handle against the edge of a table, both the blades and the user's hand are stabilized. This allows the user to keep the blades fixed while sliding them forward during cutting. The table edge serves as a natural guide, ensuring a straight and controlled cut with minimal effort.
- Inspiration
- The concept emerged from an in-depth exploration of cutting tools, addressing the common challenge of achieving precise, straight cuts with traditional scissors. Inspired by the mechanics of paper guillotines, which use a fixed edge as a guide, the design translates this principle into a handheld tool. Research into various cutting methods and ergonomic studies informed the development, ensuring stability, control, and intuitive use.
- Research
- The research aimed to enhance scissor precision while preserving the versatility of traditional designs. Through user interviews and focus groups, several common challenges were identified, most notably the difficulty of cutting straight lines accurately. Users frequently expressed frustration at the lack of tools that allow for precise, straight cuts without needing a ruler or external guide. Many described the process of cutting straight lines freehand using scissors are difficult and time-consuming, especially for repetitive tasks.
- Challenge
- One of the biggest challenges was determining the optimal handle and blade orientation to enable precise straight-line cutting. This required extensive trial and error, with multiple design iterations to refine the right orientation of the blade and the handle. Achieving a balance between functionality and ergonomics was critical, as the form had to strictly follow both. The process involved continuous testing and adjustments to ensure intuitive usability while maintaining the versatility of traditional scissors.
- Realization and Technology
- The development involved multiple physical prototype iterations, including 3D-printed prototypes and clay-sculpted ergonomic handle models. The handle was sculpted and refined by hand, then laser-scanned and reverse-engineered for digital replication. Early production used silicone-molded resin-cast handles with surface treatments for durability, while the latest generation is produced using additive manufacturing, with the option to expand to injection molding as well. The stainless steel blades are precision laser-cut, hardened, and hand-sharpened by a third-generation scissors craftsman in Hungary.
- Operation and Interaction
- Vector functions like any traditional pair of scissors but offers an additional guided cutting method for improved precision. When used normally, it performs like standard scissors for everyday cutting tasks. For guided straight cuts, users can press the handle against the edge of a table, stabilizing both their hand and the blades. This allows the scissors to slide forward in a straight path, using the table edge as a guide, making precise cuts effortless along the entire length of the table.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in June 2013 in Budapest and was completed in its initial form in 2014 in Budapest. It was exhibited in the Hungarian Design Award concept category in Budapest (2014) and later showcased at the Semmelweis Museum the same year. From 2016 to 2017, it was part of the Shaping Hungary - Design in the 21st Century exhibition across various locations in Europe. The latest design update started in 2024 in Rotterdam, and was completed in January 2025 in Rotterdam.
- Specifications
- Product Dimensions: Width: 225mm x Depth: 40mm x Height: 90mm
- Keywords
- scissors, precision cutting, ergonomic handle, straight-cut scissors, guided cutting, innovative cutting tool, paper cutting, crafting scissors, fabric cutting, blade design
