The German Design Council was founded as an initiative of the German Federal Parliament in 1953 to meet the growing need of the business world for information about design. Today, the German Design Council is one of the world's leading centers for communication and know-how transfer in the design field. With competitions, exhibitions, conferences, consulting, research and publications, it offers insightful perspectives for representatives of business and design disciplines. The Design Award of the Federal Republic of Germany is the country‘s highest distinction in the field of design. It is known as the “Prize of Prizes”. The reason: no other design award sets such strict criteria on entries. Thus, a company can only enter the competition for the Design Award if its product has already been awarded a national or international design prize. Another precondition for entry is that companies must have been nominated by the Ministries and Senators of the Federal States or by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology.