KRONBERG, Germany, June 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

New Generation of Design Talent Takes a Step Closer to International Showcase

Braun, a member of the P&G family of brands (NYSE:PG), today announces that the first jury session for "BraunPrize 2012 - Genius design for a better everyday" is now complete. In its 18^th year, the BraunPrize has attracted a record breaking number of entries for the highly regarded international design competition. A notable 2,399 entrants from 73 countries submitted original design concepts for consideration. As part of Braun's mission to make industrial design more widely accessible, 2012 marks the first time that the competition has ever been opened for submissions beyond the traditional design student audience to design professionals and enthusiasts - almost 25% of the 2012 entries were submitted by these new entrants. This growth reflects the trend of past years for increasing participation and international reach, as well as a widening appeal of the BraunPrize and creative design in general.

The increase in participation may also be a result of some extensive changes to this year's BraunPrize. It features the new theme "Genius design for a better everyday" emphasizing the importance of industrial design and innovative, well designed products that improve everyday life for consumers around the world. As a testimony to the increased importance of sustainable development particularly in industrial design, Braun also established the all new BraunPrize Sustainability Award recognising design projects with a particularly strong focus on sustainable solutions for everyday life. Furthermore, national awards were added to increase the relevance of this world-renowned design competition for the respective national design communities. Finally, P&G clearly supported Braun's decision to raise the total prize money significantly to $100,000 (USD) demonstrating the importance of industrial design not only for Braun, but also for the entire company.

Given the new scope of the BraunPrize in 2012, the eminent judging panel faced a real challenge in selecting the outstanding projects that will progress as global finalists to the final round of evaluation at the BraunPrize Forum on September 26, 2012. The BraunPrize jury - consisting of Professor Oliver Grabes as jury chairman and Head of Design at Braun, Dr. Dirk Freund as Head of R&D at Braun, and the globally renowned design experts Naoto Fukasawa, Jane Fulton Suri and Professor Anne Bergner - also had to decide on the global Sustainability Award winner as well as the respective national award winners. On June 6 after three intensive days full of reviews and discussions, Professor Oliver Grabes concluded: "The BraunPrize aim has always been to find and promote new design talent who would continue to challenge the norms and forge exciting design innovations. In 2012, with the inclusion of design professionals and enthusiasts from outside an academic context, we are not just nurturing talent, but also opening up the accessibility of design to more people around the world. The jury is energised by the remarkable growth and quality of submissions for this year's BraunPrize and the real passion and vision demonstrated by all of the entrants to create exceptional solutions to everyday challenges."

2012 also marks two decades of support and endorsement for the BraunPrize by icsid, the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. In accordance with the icsid endorsement, possibly the most relevant seal of quality for design competitions, every single submission to the BraunPrize 2012 has been individually reviewed by the design experts of the jury. Also icsid clearly appreciates the uniquely "democratic" voting process for the global BraunPrize winner, since the BraunPrize Forum as the voting body will assemble approximately 100 international design experts on September 26, 2012, in Kronberg, prior to revealing and celebrating all of the global and national winners at the illustrious BraunPrize Ceremony the same evening. For further information on the BraunPrize please visit http://www.braunprize.com.

Notes to editors:

About the BraunPrize

Established in 1968, the BraunPrize was Germany's first international competition to promote the work of young designers, highlight the importance of industrial design and promote innovative product ideas across the world. Please visit http://www.braunprize.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the BraunPrize.

About Braun

Braun, a subsidiary of Procter & Gamble founded in Germany in 1921, manufactures a wide variety of small domestic appliances that marry innovation, reliability and creative design. These range from electric shavers and beauty products to hair care appliances. Braun products enjoy worldwide distribution. Please visit http://www.braun.com for the latest news and in-depth information about the Braun brand.

About Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG)

P&G touches and improves the lives of about 4.4 billion people around the world with its portfolio of trusted, quality brands. The Company's leadership brands include Pampers®, Tide®, Ariel®, Always®, Whisper®, Pantene®, Mach3®, Bounty®, Dawn®, Fairy®, Gain®, Charmin®, Downy®, Lenor®, Iams®, Crest®, Oral-B®, Duracell®, Olay®, Head & Shoulders®, Wella®, Gillette®, Braun®, Fusion®, Ace®, Febreze®, and Ambi Pur®. With operations in about 80 countries, P&G brands are available in more than 180 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and in-depth information about P&G and its brands.

SOURCE BraunPrize