AW Design Forum: Icon Aircraft banks on design and performance

Icon Aircraft is hard evidence that design can be a difference maker.

The startup company plans to launch the Icon A5 amphibious aircraft by late 2011, and its eye-catching design and versatility--it can bank on water and fly--has created a stir among enthusiasts of all stripes.

Its philosophy is simple: "Is it badass? Then it can be Icon," cofounder Steen Strand said on Thursday at the AW Design Forum.

While producing personal aircraft may afford the company a bit more latitude than making mainstream cars, Strand said his company still uses the auto business as a benchmark.

"We view the auto industry in setting the bar for design in the auto industry and recreation," he said.

Icon has 370 planes ordered and $50 million in backorders. It also estimates one-third of its customers aren't even pilots--a credit to its design, Strand believes.

By Greg Migliore