LG Hits 100 Design Awards as Smart Tech Demand Grows in East Africa

As demand for energy-efficient and smart-home technologies grows rapidly in markets such as Nairobi, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam and South Sudan, LG Electronics continues to set pace in innovation. In Kenya, projections show that smart home appliances will penetrate 5.9% of Kenyan households by 2029, up from 2.8% in 2025

LG, which holds a leading share of the country’s home electronics market[2], further strengthened its position in 2025 by earning 100 international design awards, including recognitions from the Red Dot Design Award, iF Design Award, and International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), affirming its commitment to delivering future-ready solutions that resonate with modern lifestyles.

This year, the company added to its remarkable performance at the 2025 Red Dot Design Award by securing 12 honors in the Brands & Communication Design category. These awards highlight the exceptional UX design of LG ThinQ, the company’s smart home platform widely adopted in Kenyan households, and its webOS smart TV platform. LG was also recognized for the FURON symbol, created to communicate the warmth and care embodied in LG’s “empathetic intelligence” approach.

The Red Dot Design Award acknowledges excellence in Product Design, Design Concept and Brands & Communication Design. The latter category highlights innovations that deliver high convenience and efficiency, qualities that are particularly valued in fast-growing East African urban centers, where consumers increasingly seek intuitive and sustainable technology.

Earlier in the year, LG received the prestigious Best of the Best recognition in Red Dot’s Product Design and Design Concept categories. The company earned 35 Product Design awards for a broad range of home and lifestyle products including refrigerators, washing machines, TVs, air conditioners, air purifiers, audio systems, monitors and commercial robots, many of which are popular in East Africa for their reliability and energy-saving features. LG’s in-house venture, My Taste Company, also secured a Best of the Best award for DUOBO, a capsule coffee machine designed for personalized brewing, which Kenya’s thriving coffee culture will find appealing.

At the IDEA Awards, organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America, LG earned 16 additional honors, including recognition for one of its most groundbreaking products: the LG SIGNATURE OLED T. As the world’s first transparent and truly wireless OLED TV, it allows users to shift between transparent and opaque modes at the touch of a button. The OLED T has now been celebrated by Red Dot, iF and IDEA, solidifying its status as a future-defining innovation.

Other IDEA-winning products include the LG SIGNATURE refrigerator with Smart InstaView™, LG ARTCOOL air conditioner, LG StanbyME 2, and the FURON symbol.

In April, LG claimed 36 awards at the iF Design Award 2025, including a Gold Award, across Product Design, Communication, UX, UI and Packaging. Standout winners, such as the LG ThinQ ON AI home hub and LG QNED TV, reflect the company’s dedication to developing home technologies that suit diverse lifestyles.

Additional recognitions went to the friendly LG ThinQ Character and LG Iconography (UI), praised for improving communication and simplifying the user experience.

Driven by its global vision of a Better Life for All, LG continues to shape design that is inclusive, intuitive and practical. Through deep research into consumer behavior, including emerging needs in Kenya and East Africa, LG integrates design and technology to deliver experiences that are meaningful across cultures and markets.

“Through our commitment to lifestyle-driven design and innovation, we will continue to deliver solutions that enhance user convenience and resonate with customers at an emotional level,” said Chung Wook-jun, head of the Corporate Design Center at LG Electronics.