The PQ Cube pneumatic pressure sensor and the moneo Track & Trace software from ifm have been awarded at the iF Design Award 2025. For the company, it is the next success in a series of design competitions over many years.

Since 1954, the iF Design Award has been presented annually by the International Forum Design. Originally limited to product design, the international competition now includes nine disciplines, including packaging design, branding and communication design, service, system and process design, architecture and interior design, as well as user experience (UX), user interface (UI) and concepts. From the 11,000 submissions from 66 countries, an international team of 131 jury members selected the best products. With the PQ Cube pressure sensor and the moneo Track & Trace software, two products from the Essen-based automation company ifm will be honored this year.

Intuitive product tracking

With the moneo Track & Trace software, ifm supplies software for product tracking that convinced the jury in the category Interfaces for Digital Media in the User Interface discipline. The solution relies on so-called "virtual stations" that map the real industrial environment. This includes simple drag-and-drop elements, clear visual representations and a design adapted to the needs of users. "moneo Track & Trace makes it very easy for users to set up a tracking application within a very short time and without programming knowledge. The award confirms this quality and is also the result of the continuous consideration of user feedback from field tests as well as internal and external user acceptance tests," explains Jan Wagener, Product Manager at ifm.

Pressure sensor with compact design

The PQ Cube pneumatic pressure sensor impresses above all with its compact design. It is equipped with a robust measuring cell, two possible process connections, IP65 certification, selectable M12 or M8 connectors and a TFT color display. The display visualises the process values and shows them graphically in relation to the set switching points. A multilingual installation guide guides users step by step through the initial commissioning, while the new profile settings keep the menu navigation familiar and user-friendly. The award at the iF Design Award is not the first award for the PQ Cube: Last year, ifm already received the Red Dot Design Award for the compact pressure sensor.

Team performance leads to the goal

For ifm, it is especially the cooperation in the team that distinguishes the design. "Despite some hurdles and challenges, we did not let that stop us from developing an ifm product that offers a balanced interplay of reliability, quality and usability," explains Martin Schmidt, Senior Industrial Designer and Usability Engineer at ifm.

With these two awards, ifm is also consolidating its position in the international iF Design Ranking, which lists the most successful companies and designs of the past five years. ifm is one of the top 10 companies in Europe in the "Industry" category.