The best-designed products of 2017

That can mean presenting a new, more efficient way to cook dinner or changing the way parents interact with a sick child.

In that spirit, the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) picked 77 finalists for its 2017 International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) earlier this year.

The distinction was given to designers and concepts that achieved excellence in product design in 2017. Of the finalists, 25 were given "gold honors" and the remaining 52 were given silver.

Here are some of the best designs from around the world this year.

GOLD: The VECTRA WB360 3D Whole Body Imaging System is the first machine capable of producing a 360-degree picture of the human body. It has 92 cameras to capture the body's shape and skin conditions — useful information for surgeons and dermatologists.

SILVER: Real Rain uses the same amount of water as a traditional shower, but mimics actual rain with droplets and irregular spacing between bursts of water.

GOLD: Q-Collar helps athletes prone to brain injury, such as football or soccer players, minimize their risk. The collar gently tightens around the neck to reduce the brain's tendency to slosh inside the skull.

SILVER: Polaroid Snap Touch cameras blend the company's original retro feel with a much smaller, digital footprint.

GOLD: The Surface Studio from Microsoft is the company's first desktop PC. It's designed to give creative types, like designers and architects, maximum control over their projects.

GOLD: Microsoft HoloLens is the first holographic device to be self-contained and unplugged from any remote computer. It uses projected images to immerse the wearer in an augmented reality.

SILVER: Tupperware's MicroPro Grill lets users bake, grill, and sauté foods directly inside the microwave. Heating technology inside the grill turns microwaves into direct or convection heat.

SILVER: InnoSpire Go is an electronic nebulizer that simplifies how people of all ages take their medication. It offers quick treatment — around four minutes — and its long battery life allows for up to 30 uses between charges.

GOLD: Google Home is the personal assistant unveiled as a counter to Amazon's Echo. The bases are customizable and the device responds intuitively to most commands.

GOLD: Samsung's FlexWash and FlexDry washer-dryer combo handle multiple kinds of laundry loads at once. Both feature a front and top load to keep items separate.

SILVER: The Ember mug gives coffee drinkers ultimate control by letting them determine the exact temperature of their beverage.

SILVER: Google's Chromebook Plus Pro has a sleek, fan-less design that accommodates users' preferences to use tablets or computers. It comes with a stylus attached to the side of the device.

SILVER: Intended to bring parents closer to their hospitalized children, Blink sends colored signals over the 3G network from one orb to another. Parents can send their love wordlessly if physical contact is rare.

SILVER: Automist Smartscan is a smarter sprinkler system that uses 90% less water to extinguish fires. The device detects extreme rises in temperature, scans the room for the source, and releases a wall of misted water to put out the fire without damaging property.

SILVER: ASISTM: A Healthcare System for Seniors in Assisted Living is a concept for helping seniors in nursing homes live more safely. It contains sensors in a floor mat that pick up vitals on weight and balance, while the toilet back improves posture.

SILVER: LG's airport cleaning robot dutifully crawls along terminal floors to pick up debris. A fleet of robots can be controlled remotely from an app.

SILVER: People with autism can experience impairments in their speech, hearing, and visual systems. "An Empathy Bridge for Autism" uses Google Cardboard to give people without autism a sense of what life is like for those who have it, in order to build compassion.

GOLD: The Unit Helmet System is a multi-purpose helmet that includes a face visor, head lamp, and ear protection for loud noises. Each element connects with a magnetic snap.

SILVER: Tascent InSight One is a system airports can use to scan travelers' irises and faces as they pass through security. The concept relies on identity data kept in the cloud to issue a "Pass" or "No Pass" signal.

SILVER: Samsung's Q9500 floor air conditioner rethinks traditional A/C units by constantly changing the direction of the air flow. It's an effort to blanket the room in a comfortable temperature, rather than blast a column of cold wind in one spot.

SILVER: PlayPallets are portable kits made from shipping pallets that can be easily constructed into basketball hoops or soccer nets for kids in long-term refugee camps.