Brilliant design: The LEONHARD KURZ and Swarovski Mobility HMI panel wins renowned ABC Award

Fürth/Germany July 15, 2022: LEONHARD KURZ is delighted to receive the renowned ABC Award for an impressive third time. At this year’s edition of the Automotive Brand Contest, the Smart Crystal Panel was awarded a “Special Mention” for the vehicle interior in the ‘Mobility & Innovation - Smart & Digital’ category. The innovative human-machine interface panel (HMI panel) was created in cooperation with Swarovski Mobility and the KURZ subsidiaries BURG DESIGN and PolyIC, and was presented for the first time at CES 2022.

Unique designs at their best

The Smart Crystal Panel impresses with its luxurious design and unique finishing: Solid, premium Swarovski crystals are integrated into the component, impressing at first glance with their depth effect and multiple reflections. Backlighting creates a special lighting ambience in the cockpit - and holographic effects can be achieved by impressing pictograms. However, the functionality of the HMI panel is what provides the real wow effect. The pretreated crystals can be operated via touch thanks to integrated PolyTC® sensors.

Another highlight is the elegant surface of the panel: Thanks to the combination of gravure and silk-screen printing, countless design variations can be implemented, including day-night design, metallizations, and real carbon looks. The various light and color designs can be changed using the touch control function integrated into the decor. Three demonstrating devices have already been presented at CES, showing the range of possibilities: From the cool and elegant Light Mode to a sporty design in classic black with smoked glass-look crystals, and the luxurious Lounge Mode with shimmering gold effects.

Design concept for the vehicle of tomorrow

“The mobility of the future is sustainable, smart, networked, and allows design to merge with functionality. Megatrends such as electromobility and autonomous driving will play a decisive role in the coming years and shape the vehicle interior,” explains Jörg Stierand, Divisional Sales Director Automotive at KURZ. “Design continues to gain in importance, and the vehicle interior is increasingly transformed into a second living space, where an extravagant, customizable look is just as important as smart functionalities. We are one step ahead of this development and offer our customers added value by developing innovative concepts according to state-of-the-art technology standards. Thanks to advanced indium metallization, our HMI panel is radar-wave-permeable and supports 5G applications. Of course, we are all the more pleased that the international experts from the Automotive Brand Contest have also honored our achievement.”

Bundled competence for real added value

With LEONHARD KURZ, Swarovski Mobility, BURG DESIGN, and PolyIC, four absolute experts in their respective fields are involved in the development of the award-winning panel. Thanks to its well-founded expertise in plastic decoration, KURZ creates impressive, backlit surfaces - and enriches them with unique finishing effects such as Shy Tech Design together with its subsidiary BURG DESIGN. PolyIC’s innovative sensors, which are invisible to the human eye, enable the integration of intelligent functions. Swarovski, on the other hand, brings years of expertise in dealing with crystal as a recyclable material and the production of high-quality, precisely ground crystals, which transform every component into a real highlight.

About the ABC Award

The Automotive Brand Contest is a globally unique design and industry competition that covers the entire world of mobility. Independent experts honor outstanding product and communication designs from all mobile areas at these international awards initiated by the German Design Council. The focus is on the holistic, consistent staging of a brand across all media and products. The Automotive Brand Contest offers companies in the automotive industry and their partners in the supplier industry as well as in design and brand communication, a high-profile platform on which they can compare and position themselves internationally with their services.