Hankook Tire Wins Two Awards at the 2026 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA)

- Upcycling project re:move and future mobility concept tire WheelBot2 each receive an award
- Demonstrates design competitiveness with IDEA recognition, following wins at this year’s Red Dot, A’ Design and Green Good Design Awards
- Reinforces Hankook’s premium brand positioning with recognition for its sustainability and future mobility design capabilities

Seoul, Korea, September 30, 2026 — A leading global tire company Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) was recognized as a Finalist for two entries at the 2026 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA), organized by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).

The International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) are recognized as one of the world’s three major design awards, alongside Germany’s Red Dot Design Award and iF Design Award. Winners are selected across more than 20 categories based on a comprehensive evaluation of criteria including design innovation, user experience, and social responsibility.

Hankook Tire received Finalist honors in two categories this year: the Social Impact Design category for its upcycling project, re:move, and the Concepts & Speculative Design category for WheelBot2, a spherical modular robotic wheel system. Recognition across both categories further demonstrates Hankook Tire’s design competitiveness while reinforcing the premium positioning of its unified global brand, Hankook.

re:move is an upcycling project that transforms bladders, the inflatable molds used during the tire curing process, into valuable new resources. Jointly developed with DISCO Lab (Design Innovation for Sustainable Circularity Lab) at Seoul National University, the award-winning Bladder Upcycling Series comprises furniture, bricks and lifestyle goods made from bladder materials. The Kinetic Wall, a structure assembled from the upcycled bricks, symbolizes Hankook Tire’s vision for a sustainable future.

The project has now earned recognition at four prestigious global design awards this year, adding the IDEA Finalist honor to its accolades at the Red Dot Design Award, where it received a Winner distinction, the A’ Design Award, where it won Gold, and the Green Good Design Award.

WheelBot2 is a modular robotic wheel system capable of three-axis movement and 360-degree omnidirectional motion through built-in and crab-walk drive motors. It can be precisely controlled even in confined spaces and along complex routes. The concept was highly recognized for presenting new mobility possibilities for the era of smart cities and autonomous driving by overcoming the physical limitations of conventional mobility systems.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire has earned global recognition for its design capabilities by achieving success across all three of the world’s major design awards. More recently, the company has further strengthened its design competitiveness by expanding the scope of innovation into future mobility and sustainable design.