Industrial Designers Society of America:

The Armour Bra by Under Armour wins IDSA IDEA award

Press

The Armour Bra by Under Armour, designed in partnership with Smart Design, was selected to receive a Bronze award from the IDSA’s International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA®) 2013 competition—a celebration of design excellence in products, sustainability, interaction design, packaging, strategy, research and concepts. The awards are handed out each year at the IDEA ceremony at the IDSA’s International Conference in late summer.

“We were excited to partner with Under Armour to help support their mission to make all athletes better. Through strategy and design, we have helped them expand this promise by building a more meaningful connection with female athletes. We designed the Armour Bra to meet specific criteria: excellent support, superior performance, exceptional comfort, and genuine, emotional appeal,” says Tucker Fort, a partner at Smart Design who led the team.

As many as 7 out of 10 women wear the wrong bra size, especially in the sports bra category. Most labels have an S, M, L, XL system that homogenizes women’s unique needs at each size. Taking a cue from traditional bras that are sized for ribcage and cup size, The Armour Bra by Under Armour embraces the differences in women’s bodies. 34A and 38DD are designed differently but come together through a cohesive, strategic brand system. The look-and-feel of the Armour Bra communication is bold, iconic and reflects the tone of the bra: fierce and feminine.

Jason Berns, Director of Open Innovation at Under Armour describes the team’s approach. “The Armour Bra as a concept needed to be really special.  We had been discussing an Armour Bra for some time. In order to make it a reality, we realized that we not only needed great performance but great insights on how women purchase, and engage with, their sports bras.This approach allowed us to create a halo experience for the brand extending from point of sale to use in the field.”

The results are speaking for themselves. The Armour Bra is the #1 UA bra in revenue last year and is in the top 10 of all women’s’ product in revenues last year for UA.

The Armour Bra Product Details

  • The Armour Bra allows movement without feeling restricted. The racer back design and superstretch technology give her freedom to move, so she can focus on her workout.
  • Athletes’ bodies sweat in predictable areas. A strategic venting system and power-mesh ventilation on the back wick sweat and keep her cool and dry.
  • New seamless bonding technology was used to create soft edges inside of the Armour Bra around the neck, armhole and hook & eye closure system giving her support without the chafing.
  • The Armour Bra has removable cups that mold to her body for a custom fit. The cups are perforated for performance while providing support and modesty where she needs it.

Images courtesy of Under Armour

Sep 2013