Press Release
Planck Creator Ssd Mobile Phone Storage by Benson Kl Chiu Receives the Silver A' Design Award in Digital and Electronic Device Design
Benson Kl Chiu recognized for digital and electronic device design by the international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has announced that Planck Creator Ssd Mobile Phone Storage by Benson Kl Chiu has been granted the Silver A' Design Award in the Digital and Electronic Device Design category. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who scored anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Silver A' Design Award Means
The Silver A' Design Award celebrates top-tier designs that embody excellence and innovation. This award acknowledges creations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also highly functional, reflecting the designer's deep understanding and skill. Silver A' Design Award recipients are recognized for their contribution to raising industry standards and advancing the practice of design. Their work often incorporates original innovations and elicits a strong emotional response, making a notable impact on the improvement of everyday life.
More About Planck Creator Ssd Mobile Phone Storage
Planck Creator SSD is a portable solid state drive made for mobile filmmakers. The drive records Apple ProRes and Log video at up to 4K and 120 frames per second directly from a phone. A recycled aluminium heatsink inside the slim enclosure manages heat and supports a sustained write speed of 500 to 550 megabytes per second. A perpendicular USB-C connector lets the drive sit flush with a phone case and keeps the back of the phone clear for gimbal clamps and magnetic accessories. The body measures 50.5 by 17 by 7.3 millimetres, weighs 10 grams and holds up to 2 terabytes.
Award Record
This recognition makes Benson Kl Chiu a winner of 1 A' Design Award.
About the A' Digital and Electronic Device Design Award
The A' Consumer Electronics Design Award is an international design competition recognizing good consumer electronics designs by leading brands worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to consumer electronics designers, consumer electronics brands, consumer electronics manufacturers and electronic product manufacturers from all countries. Typical entries include smartphones, laptops, televisions, cameras, headphones and smartwatches. The awarded consumer electronics designs are published at https://desingers.org/design-category/consumer-electronics
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://desingers.org/182349
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182349
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182349
- Laureate Profile: https://desingers.org/d/380780
- Further Information from the Laureate: https://planckgear.com/products/planck-ssd
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Planck Creator Ssd Mobile Phone Storage
- Function
- Mobile Phone Storage
- Category
- Digital and Electronic Device Design
- Discipline
- Industrial Design
- Industry
- Electronics & Appliances
- Colors
- Snow, Sienna, Rosy Brown, Dark Slate Gray and Saddle Brown
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Benson Kl Chiu
- Recognition
- Silver A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182349
Credits
- Team
- Armand van Oord
- Image Credits
- Armand van Oord
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- Planck CreatorSSD is the world’s first phone-first high-performance SSD for mobile creators. It sustains Apple ProRes/Log recording up to 4K/120fps. Reliable, drop-frame-free capture without need for bulky rigs. The perpendicular USB-C allows the ssd to sit flush with your phone case and keeps the phone back clear for gimbal clamps or magnetic accessories. The ultra-slim form factor disappears in the experience. Up to 2TB in a form smaller, and weighing only 10g its lighter than an AirPods.
- Inspiration
- To record ProRes Log and 4K/120 on mobile, creators need an external SSD—but most drives are computer-first: bulky, cable-heavy, requiring mounts and cages, and many can’t sustain the high write speeds for long takes, risking dropped frames. CreatorSSD is phone-first: compact, clamp-clear, and engineered for sustained capture so creators can record confidently and move faster from shoot to edit to publish.
- Research
- To deliver the perfect product for our demanding user, we had to understand how to design and engineer to prevent drop frames, which are the main concern for creators. The answer lied in visualizing (sustainable) write speeds. Learning how to adjust key performance drivers for improvements and building a reliable testing framework validating write speeds were well above 440MB/s was the foundation required to fuel not only development but also manufacturing. Resulting in innovating the manufacturing and quality control processes.
- Challenge
- The creative challenge was minimal footprint with maximum performance. Design pushed for the thinnest possible body where engineering needed enough heat-sink mass to support sustained speed. We had to keep the back of the phone clear for real mobile rigs and gimbal clamps, while staying sleek and unobtrusive. The only way to resolve these competing needs was trial-and-error testing, iterating thermal behavior, thickness, and stability until performance and aesthetics aligned.
- Realization and Technology
- The true performance of the CreatorSSD was unlocked by integrating a proper functioning (recycled) aluminium heatsink within its slim enclosure. Allowing the right amount of heat dissipation for optimized thermal management and controller level tuning empowered the sustainable endurance write speed of 500-550MB/s, well above the 440MB/s required for 4K/120fps LOG recording. Manufactured with advanced automation on production lines such as CNC Glue machines, Calibrated pressure jigs and screw robots allowed high accuracy assembly with a 100% sustainable write speed test.
- Operation and Interaction
- CreatorSSD records straight to the drive – no apps, no setup, fully compatible with your existing workflow. Unplug, then plug into your computer and edit from the same media – no complex transfers and waiting needed. Teams can shoot while others edit; solo shooters move from shot to rough cut faster. The ultra-compact body and perpendicular USB-C keep cables tidy and gimbal clamps clear for smooth handheld motion. Tuned for sustained writes, it stays steady on long ProRes/Log takes up to 4K/120 where supported.
- Project Duration and Location
- Started April 2024 in HK, mass production in Sep 2025 in China, first prototype was in CES 2025, kicstrarter in March 2025. Won CES innovation 2026
- Specifications
- 50.5mm x 17mm x 7.3mm
- Keywords
- SSD, Mobile SSD, Mobile Storage, Mobile Photography, Mobile Filmmaking, Content Creation
