DESIGNSTUFF’s VANA Dish Brush Wins Red Dot Award for Product Design

The VANA Dish Brush by DESIGNSTUFF has officially received a 2026 Red Dot Award for Product Design, recognising the product’s considered approach to hygiene, ergonomics, durability, and everyday kitchen functionality.

Founded in Germany in 1955, the Red Dot Design Award is one of the world’s most internationally recognised industrial design competitions. Each year, an independent jury of design experts evaluates thousands of submissions from around the world, assessing everything from usability and innovation to ecological compatibility and product longevity.

For the DESIGNSTUFF team, the recognition validates something they believed from the beginning: even the most overlooked household tools deserve thoughtful design.

Rethinking One of the Most Disposable Objects in the Kitchen

The VANA Dish Brush began with a simple observation. Most conventional dish brushes are treated as temporary tools, designed with multiple plastic components, hidden seams, glued joints, and short replacement cycles.

Over time, these design decisions create common frustrations:

• trapped food residue and moisture
• bacteria build-up
• slippery handling during scrubbing
• unnecessary plastic waste from frequent disposal

Rather than redesigning the appearance alone, the team focused on improving how a dish brush actually performs in everyday use.

The result is a kitchen cleaning tool designed to feel more durable, hygienic, and functional over time.

A 20-Prototype Development Process

The VANA Dish Brush was developed through approximately 20 iterative 3D-printed prototypes, with extensive testing across handle shape, grip stability, bristle density, cleaning performance, and sink-side usability.

Each prototype was trialled in real kitchen environments, allowing the team to refine the balance between comfort, pressure control, flexibility, and cleaning effectiveness.

The final design combines multiple cleaning functions into a single streamlined form while removing the weak points commonly found in traditional dish brushes.

Why the Red Dot Jury Recognised the VANA Dish Brush

Several key design decisions contributed to the award recognition.

Monolithic Silicone Construction

The VANA Dish Brush is formed from a single mould of non-porous, food-safe silicone. By removing glued joins and separate plastic components, the brush eliminates areas where moisture, bacteria, and mould commonly accumulate.

The seamless construction also improves durability and allows the brush to rinse clean more effectively after use.

Ergonomic Grip Stability

Traditional cylindrical dish brush handles often rotate or slip under pressure, particularly in wet or soapy conditions.

To address this, the VANA was developed with a flat geometric handle engineered to resist rotational torque during scrubbing. The result is greater grip stability and improved control when cleaning heavier cookware or baked-on residue.

Dual-Function Cleaning

The brush combines flexible silicone bristles for general washing with an integrated scraping edge designed to loosen stubborn food build-up.

This dual-purpose approach reduces the need for additional sink-side tools while maintaining a compact footprint within the kitchen.

Designed for Long-Term Everyday Use

Beyond aesthetics, the VANA Dish Brush reflects a broader shift toward longer-lasting household products designed to reduce unnecessary waste and replacement cycles.

The premium silicone construction is dishwasher safe, heat resistant, and designed to maintain performance over extended daily use.

“For us as a team at DESIGNSTUFF, winning a Red Dot Award is an incredible validation of the time, testing, and refinement that went into this product,” said the DESIGNSTUFF team.

“We wanted to rethink a tool most people consider disposable and create something that genuinely performs better in everyday life while lasting significantly longer.”

Award-Winning Design for the Everyday Kitchen

The Red Dot Award recognises products that successfully combine innovation, usability, functionality, and responsible design thinking.

For DESIGNSTUFF, the recognition reinforces an ongoing commitment to creating everyday household objects that are practical, durable, and intentionally designed for modern living.

The VANA Dish Brush is available now via DESIGNSTUFF.