Drops® won the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2026.
If you're a drummer, you may not know Red Dot. If you're an industrial designer, you almost certainly do.
Founded in Germany, the Red Dot Design Award is one of the world's most established international design competitions. Its Product Design category recognizes innovative products from around the world, judged by an international jury of design experts. The Red Dot label is widely regarded as a benchmark in industrial design.
So yes, we were thrilled to get this news.
More than an award for Tandem
Having a piece of drum gear recognized in a global industrial design competition puts drumming into a much broader design conversation.
We intend to keep drums on the global design stage.
The 2026 Red Dot winners include the Apple Watch Series 11. Previous winners include the Nest Thermostat and the Porsche 911 Carrera.
Why did Drops win?
The jury recognized the elegant use of materials to solve a problem: replacing a disposable solution with a durable one, and improving the end result in the process.
As a small independent drum company from Northern California, we are proud to earn this kind of recognition outside our industry.
And to our backers, customers and supporters around the world: this is for you too. You put Tandem on the map in the first place.
Red Dot Award: Product Design 2026
You can get Drops for your own collection here in the store.