Osmo Recognized by Fast Company’s 2018 Innovation by Design Awards

Osmo, the award-winning system that sparked a New Play Movement of seamless digital and hands-on play and learning, today announces its recognition by Fast Company’s highly regarded Innovation by Design Awards. Innovation by Design is the only competition to honor creative work at the intersection of design, business and innovation. 

Since its founding five short years ago, Osmo has been embraced by one-third of elementary schools and over half a million families in the U.S. Mindracers, Osmo’s 10th title in its universe of tangible play, received an honorable mention for its intuitive design that smoothly bridges the worlds of physical and digital with beloved Hot Wheels cars and on-screen gameplay. 

“Compelling design is critical to our play and learning experiences,” explained Pramod Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Osmo. “Understanding that beautifully crafted experiences keep kids engaged, learning and most importantly having fun, we are honored to be named to Fast Company’s annual list, and eager to bring more innovative designs that keep hands-on play exciting and captivating.” 

Leading racers through various worlds and tracks, Mindracers combines the kinesthetic appeal and strategy of card games, the adrenaline of racing games and the tactile, transcending vibrancy and visuals of Hot Wheels cars. Breathing new life into a 50-year-old classic toy, Mindracers blends the excitement of physical Hot Wheels with the magic of the digital world.  

Here’s a video of the Mindracers experience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTMhP0wvdA   

“The future of design is about more than coddling users,” says Stephanie Mehta, editor-in-chief of Fast Company. “It’s about giving them power over their technology.”

Winners, finalists and honorable mentions are featured online and in the October issue of Fast Company magazine, on newsstands September 18th. Winners will also be recognized at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival at a special celebration on October 23, 2018.

Fast Company editors and writers spend a year researching and reviewing applicants for the awards. This year, winners and honorees were selected in the following categories: Apps and Games; Experimental; Fashion and Beauty; General Excellence; Graphic Design and Data Visualization; Health; Products; Retail Environments; Social Good; Spaces, Places, and Cities; Students; Timeless Design; User Experience; Web Design; and Workplace. Fast Company is also recognizing Google as the title’s first-ever Design Company of the Year.

This news comes on the heels of the launch Osmo’s latest title, Super Studio, featuring Disney’s Mickey & Friends, Princesses and Incredibles. Last year, Osmo was honored by Fast Company as among the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Education. Mindracers has also been recognized by the Parent’s Choice Awards this year.  

Osmo’s universe of 11 experiences are sold in Apple Stores worldwide, along with Best Buy and Target. This New Play Movement encapsulates fun and learning, teaching everything from computer science to drawing and animation, to entrepreneurship, storytelling, physics and more. 

To see the complete list go to: https://www.fastcompany.com/innovation-by-design/2018

To learn more about Osmo, visit playosmo.com.

About Osmo
Osmo is building a universe of hands-on play experiences that nourish the minds of children by unleashing the power of imagination in the digital world through augmented reality and artificial intelligence.

Founded in 2013 by ex-Google engineers Pramod Sharma and Jerome Scholler, the company’s New Play Movement fuses digital gameplay and physical interaction to create fun and nutritious play experiences designed for both boys and girls. Its universe spans nine titles, including Coding Awbie, Monster and Masterpiece, which respectively teach computer science, creativity and drawing. 

Osmo has created first of its kind experiences with companies like Mattel and Disney and received numerous awards and accolades, including Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Education 2017, Time Magazine’s Best Inventions 2014 and Parent’s Choice Magazine’s Gold Award, 2016. Originally created for iPad, Osmo’s universe of nutritious hands-on play is also available on iPhone and now the Amazon Fire. 

Osmo is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Join the New Play Movement at PlayOsmo.com. 

Contact Information

Sean Yokomizo

Account Manager

VSC for Osmo

media@playosmo.com