Prince O3 racquets come in colors such as red, blue and silver, but this year they have a new tint of bronze. Prince O3 Engineered Technology is the winner of the Bronze Industrial Design Excellence Award (IDEA) in the Consumer Products category, recognizing it as an outstanding consumer product design for 2006.

“The IDEA Award is given to products that show exceptional design and engineering, and it is a privilege for our company to have been honored with this outstanding award. At Prince, we live an ongoing commitment to give consumers an exceptional tennis experience through advanced technology and engineering,” said George Napier, chairman and chief executive officer of Prince. “Our focus is to bring products to market that improve play; to be the benchmark for fresh thinking and innovation-and ultimately to set the bar for the industry.”

Decisions for the 2006 (IDEA) were based upon design innovation, benefit to the user, benefit to the business, ecological responsibility and aesthetics and appeal.

The IDEA competition, sponsored by BusinessWeek and the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA), awarded a total of 499 entries this year. A complete list and analysis of each recipient will be included in the upcoming edition of BusinessWeek due out June 30 and in IDSA’s quarterly magazine Innovation.

“Consumers expect new products and services to not only serve their needs, but to delight them,” said IDEA Jury Chair Chris Conley. “The 2006 IDEA winners represent the best of global product design and the best people and firms working to realize design’s potential in everyday life.”