Design thinking is an essential element of Vitéz Kürtős
The 20th Budapest Design Week traditionally kicked off with the Hungarian Design Awards and the Design Management Award ceremony, where Vitéz Kürtős had the honor of being among the awardees!
Vitéz Kürtős received the special award of the Herendi Porcelain Manufactory Zrt. as a special award winner of the 15th Design Management Award in 2023!
For over ten years, the Hungarian Design Council has recognized organizations that excel in applying a design management approach. These organizations strive for continuous innovation and outstanding quality by utilizing design management tools in creating their strategies, operational processes, and developing their products and services, while also considering aspects of social responsibility and sustainability.
As an umbrella brand, VITÉZ strategically values and integrates the “design thinking” approach throughout its entire business operation. Our goal is to create positive emotions in our customers by striving to create experiences, keeping in mind social responsibility and sustainability, and all these values are part of the Vitéz Kürtős corporate culture.
Awardees of the Hungarian Design Award and Design Management Award
As the founders of the Vitéz Kürtős brand, our goal from the beginning has been to stand out with our brand, and the best tool for this is design-based thinking. When creating our visual identity, developing our brands, and designing our stores, we strive to incorporate several art forms into the design, building on their values and visual appeal. We often turn to the works of painters, goldsmiths, textile artists, calligraphers, ceramists, sculptors, and applied artists. None of our projects start without the involvement of experts: design consultants, architects, interior designers. We always use our own photographs and work with official photographers, whether for building photography, product photography (often with a food stylist), or event photography and videography.
How is the design approach present in the activities of Vitéz Kürtős?
The design approach is present in our everyday life: in our products, stores, office, and on our website. The Vitéz Kürtős products under the VITÉZ umbrella brand, the Édes Mackó chimney cake desserts, and the chimney cake baking and grill products under the Vitéz Gastro brand, as well as their packaging, are the result of meticulous design.
Our company is one of the best in the chimney cake making profession. We design and develop most of the tools needed for our activities, be it the chimney cake oven, the wooden house, stand required for outdoor events, or the tools used: knockers, dippers, cutters, and various holders. When selecting other tools, quality design is also important to fit the Vitéz Kürtős image; we don't just buy them, we customize them to our own style.
Our design approach is also evident in the packaging of our products – for presenting and transporting our chimney cakes and desserts, we design special packaging, branded stickers, and boxes. For example, the Kürtős Fondue tray, the 4-piece Kürtős Pack, the Mini Kürtős Box, or the Kürtős Cake box. The external design of supplementary products like the Bake'n'roll Mini Kürtős Grill (our own designed product) or the packaging of Bükkfaszén products not only boast aesthetic appeal but also embody practicality.
The entire activity of Vitéz Kürtős is defined by a sense of beauty and a design approach, starting from work clothes to the design of the back office and showroom, or even the selection of gifts for annual employee rewards – for example, a unique, personalized belt buckle made by a goldsmith – design management accompanies every moment of our work.
Mini Kürtősbox · Kürtős Cake packaging
At Vitéz Kürtős, we deeply believe that striving for goodness and beauty always pays off, and this is largely why we have had a competitive advantage in the industry for 20 years. Not only because what is beautiful attracts people, but also because our activity is fundamentally built on a visual experience – our stores are designed so that all steps of chimney cake making can be followed, and fresh yeast dough turns into golden brown chimney cake before people's eyes. Thus, incorporating aesthetics and design into our daily lives has become part of our corporate culture, as our choice of tools, the interior we work in, and our packaging, which is how the customer encounters our products, can only enhance the customer experience. Last but not least, our design approach helps ensure the value retention of our tools, utensils, and furniture, steering us towards sustainability.
Thank you to the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, Hungarian Design Council for the award and the recognition that comes with it!
Exhibition of organizations recognized with the Design Management Award - BDW 2023 can be viewed at the Museum of Ethnography from October 6-15!