MAKO-Design CNCT Wins the 2021 LICC Product Design Award

Congratulations to the MAKO team for winning the 2021 LICC product design award for our client’s CNCT! In the past year, our client’s CNCT won numerous accolades for its useful functionality and sharp design. Indeed, this custom-made cooler for Tesla vehicles received huge praise from social media personalities and professional designers alike. 

In 2021, the CNCT received a nomination for the Creativepool product design award and took home silver in the Muse design competition. Earlier in January, MAKO’s team received the honor of winning the prestigious Good Design award and bronze in the IDA product design award as well.

In addition, the CNCT received high praise from folks from InsideEVs, one of the biggest EV communities in the world, and Tesla Owners Online, a Tesla community that boasts over 70,000 followers on YouTube and runs an online forum with over 40,000 members.

About the LICC

What’s unique about the 2021 LICC product design award is that they encourage and award fresh and progressive ideas, rather than designs that conform to the status quo. As a result, they receive a breadth of project submissions of exciting and the most cutting-edge designs our industry has to offer.

Their jury scores each entry based on originality, function, and innovation. It’s a blind test as well, meaning they don’t know the company or the name of the artist when they’re judging each piece.

LICC Product Design Award Criteria: Originality

Many coolers on the market are meant to look robust, rugged, and designed for the outdoors. The CNCT is rugged, robust, and yet, designed to match the sleek and smooth exterior of Tesla vehicles. MAKO was able to help achieve this thanks to the rotomolding process. Short for rotational molding, the process of gently rotating and heating plastic to hollow it out and create a thick, even, and seamless interior. Within the thick walls of the CNCT are 2 lbs of commercial-grade, rigid-density, closed-cell polyurethane foam. This is how we achieved a smooth and sleek exterior without compromising on durability or insulation. 

LICC Product Design Award Criteria: Function

While Tesla’s are very pretty to look at, they’re really meant for driving. Similarly, although CNCT is certainly a sleek cooler, it’s really meant for keeping your favorite foods cold and fresh. Up to 48 hours to be exact. And don’t let the shape fool you. It’s a spacious cooler that can fit 24 beers with enough space for ice of course. The top is fully removable and doubles as a serving tray too. And hidden under the lid is a magnetically attached bottle opener. You know, just in case you ever forget yours.

LICC Product Design Award Criteria: Innovation

The biggest innovation about the CNCT is the handles. Which also happens to be every reviewer’s favorite part of this cooler. Inspired by Tesla Model 3 and Y door handles, these striking, metallic handles contrast beautifully with the Tesla red finish. With a simple press, the handles eject, almost magically, from the top side of the cooler. When you’re ready to store the cooler, simply push the handles back down to lock them in place. So when they’re not in use, they sit perfectly flush with the cooler.

The CNCT also fits perfectly in both the trunk and the frunk of the Model S, X, and Y, and the trunk of the Model 3. So you have the peace of mind that the CNCT will fit in your car, no matter what Tesla model you have.

About: MAKO Design + Invent is the original firm providing world-class consumer product development services tailored to startups, small manufacturers, and inventors. Simply put, we are the leading one-stop-shop for developing your physical product from idea to store shelves, all in a high-quality, cost-effective, and timely manner. We operate as one powerhouse 30-person product design team spread across 4 offices to serve you (Austin, Miami, San Francisco, & Toronto). We have full-stack in-house industrial design, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, patent referral, prototyping, and manufacturing services. To assist our startup and inventor clients, in addition to above, we help with business strategy, product strategy, marketing, and sales/distribution for all consumer product categories. Also, our founder Kevin Mako hosts The Product Startup Podcast, the industry's leading hardware podcast. Check it out for tips, interviews, and best practices for hardware startups, inventors, and product developers. Click HERE to learn more about MAKO Design + Invent!