YKK Corporation (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Hiroaki Otani; hereafter, YKK) is pleased to announce that the company has won the Good Design Best 100 Award in the Good Design Award 2018 sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion for the QuickFree® zipper developed by YKK. This follows the Prime Minister’s Award (Grand Prize) that YKK received last month at the 12th Kids Design Awards.
QuickFree® is a zipper that was designed to be easy for children to open and close on their own, with enhanced usability for adults getting children dressed and for the elderly. The company changed the slider (the part to which the pull tab is attached) to improve visibility and increased the pin insertion area to help avoid misalignments. Additionally, the slider disengages cleanly when subjected to a certain amount of sideways force, enabling the zipper to be opened even without lowering the slider. The zipper, which went on sale in 2017, prioritizes safety and security with its ability to reduce the forces imparted to a child when his or her clothing becomes caught on playground equipment. Moreover, the quick release function enables clothes to be quickly removed, making the zipper useful for the sports garment apparel and outdoor markets.
Assessment of the Japan Institute of Design Promotion
While not dramatically changing the traditional zipper appearance, the "release function" that reduces the occurrence of clothes-snagging accidents, and the improvements that make the zipper easier to initially connect―something that everyone has experienced trouble with―were both points that were highly rated. Zippers are deeply embedded in our daily lives, so any evolutionary improvement made to them brings great benefit. We look forward to seeing what can be done with not only clothes, but also new products that use its features.
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YKK will remain committed to the development and proposal of new fastening products.
*A QuickFree® product video can be seen at the following URL:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwKm68-BC9E
1 Of all the Good Design Award 2018 winners, the hundred designs that received particularly high evaluations from the judging panel are selected as Good Design Best 100 winners.
2 Based on the company's lock strength testing.