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New Designers Review
Designer picked out a few particularly clever ideas from this year's New Designers show
This feature appears in the September 09 issue of Designer. To see the feature as it appeared in the magazine click the BACK ISSUES button and read the online edition of Designer.
Now in its 24th year, New Designers has become a dependable –yet far from predictable – fixture on the design calendar. With some 4,000 newly-qualified designers from across 20 design disciplines taking part, the exhibition provides a snapshot of the standard of emerging design talent in the UK.
Originally starting out life in 1985 as Young Designers at the RIBA, the first show featured 150 individual designers. In 1988, the event joined forces with the ‘Graduate Designers for Industry' event that had started up two years earlier and New Designers took up its annual residency at the Business Design Centre in London.
This year, Designer was once again a media partner for the event and attended part 2 of proceedings which saw work exhibited in furniture, product design, architecture and more. So, we thought it only right to show off some of the most interesting of the designs that were on display.
P-P-P-POUR OUT A PENGUIN
The Penguin is a new design of kettle that challenges the way users interact with the product. At the heart of Nick Johnson's design is the premise that it is not the technology used in existing kettles that is inefficient, but the way people use them.
The way the water is filled is what really holds the key. Rather than looking through a window on the side of the kettle, the user looks directly into the water chamber and reads the water level against a scale on the inside wall. Water level indication is improved by a variable sized scale. This is produced by the angled base of the kettle, which creates a ‘cone' like effect when filling under the tap. Larger gaps at the bottom of the scale make measuring smaller volumes of water easier.
The body of the design also incorporates thermochromic pigments. These cause The Penguin to change from white to red as the water inside heats up, indicating to the user when the kettle has boiled.
The Penguin also features a ‘beak' spout, with the lid protruding over the spout to prevent the inefficient practice of filling directly down the spout.
Nick Johnson:
mn06nj@leeds.ac.uk
HIVE AND SEEK
The Hive storage system, designed by Loughborough University studentRachael Bull,combines the functionality of furniture and the portability of luggage, enabling the user to leave belongings inside whilst moving.
The Hive can also be reconfigured to fit a variety of room shapes and sizes and disassembles into manageable loads that can be carried by one person and transported in a small vehicle.
Rachael Bull:
ENJOY A CUPPA WITHOUT THE CONSCIENCE
Designed by University of Huddersfield student Matthew Harris, the Induction Kettle is a radical new energy saving water heating device. It uses a completely new element designed to heat water more quickly and efficiently than current electric kettles, using less energy.
Similar in size to current electric kettles, a variety of heat resistant plastics encase a fully removable stainless steel element.
The contemporary, sleek, minimalist black case is enhanced by a wooden handle and base displaying the connection between mankind and nature. The average house hold emits 73kg of CO2 per year just by using an electric kettle. Thats 22kg more than a dish washer and almost as much as an electric oven! (based on average usage in the UK).
The Induction Kettle allows for faster boiling, using less energy than conventional electric kettles. As the element is heated by the non contact process of induction it can be fully removed from the kettle with ease making cleaning much simpler, a cleaner kettle means cleaner water.
The contrast between the high gloss plastic and the zebrano wood aims to demonstrate the link between mankind and nature - emphasising the environmental origins of the project.
Matthew Harris:
matt@hamdesign.co.uk
www.hamdesign.co.uk
COLD STORAGE
Samuel Thompson presented his 'Eco3' fridge at New Designers, designed as an aid to the positioning and correct temperature storage of food in the fridge.
The Eco 3 compartmentalises items, which are stored at specific temperatures. This is achieved through a rear air chamber which maintains the lowest temperature, from which valves open to take air into the various sections, each controlled by a thermostat. This means, for example, that the butter will be spreadable, and the beer ice cold!
Thompson says that his design offers a number of advantages over existing refrigerator designs but chiefly that it enables the user to view the contents of the refrigerator without wasting all the cool air while they are looking, and to be able to access just part of it to reduce cool air wastage that would occur when the whole door is opened.
Samuel Thompson:
sammy20@talktalk.net
JOINED-UP SINKING
For those with a more compact lifestyle, Plymouth University student Alex Hort's Sync utilises existing plumbing and free space below the sink of flat or hotel bathroom.
By means of a cold wash and low spin speed the combined washer, dryer and sink creates less noise and saves power.
Alex Hort:
www.alexhort.com
BLIND AMBITION
A unique twist on the traditional venetian blind, ‘Contour' has been designed by Kingston University graduate Helena Karelson.
Made from sycamore veneer, the blinds were the result of Karelson's fascination with the distortion of light and shadow. It is a modular design comprised of seven slats and leaving no waste post manufacture.
Premiered at this year's D&AD New Blood exhibition, it won the prestigious Best New Blood award. A range of ‘Contour' binds will be shown at ‘Design Less Ordinary' exhibition at the Brick Lane Gallery (23rd-27th September) during the London Design Festival.
Helena Karelson:
helenakarelson.com
THE ANTELOPE RETURNS
The Antelope 2 has been designed by Kingston University graduate Tom Brett in collaboration with Race Furniture as a modern interpretation of Ernest Race's iconic 1951 café chair.
Like the original, Antelope 2 uses a wire frame and plywood seat. The form of the chair draws on that of the original, as the shape of the inclusive armrests are taken directly from the seat supports on Race's design. The ball feet are also kept though updated with a more conical form made from Corian.
The new chair improves on the original design in a number of ways however, offering a clean modern aesthetic, increased comfort and weather resistance thanks to the Becker Belmadur plywood moldings for the seat and back. In addition, Antelope 2 is lighter and stacks better than the original chair.
The chair is available in 2 variations, as standard with a wire frame back or the more comfortable plywood back.
Tom Brett:
www.tomandbendesign.co.uk
SOLAR SO GOOD
David Coakley's solar oven concept was originally made from post-manufacture and consumer waste in The Gambia, West Africa. The design shown at New Designers was reconstructed with modifications in his university workshop, applying the same basic materials.
The solar oven is not a new ecological concept but Coakley's design is unique to the market and has been produced for less than 300 Gambian delasi (£9) reusing unwanted materials. All the material used was obtained in The Gambia in the local villages and markets, both encouraging sustainability and aiding the local economy.
The young designer from Leeds Metropolitan University was prompted to develop the idea after seeing existing solar ovens in the country which used less appropriate imported materials and cost anything up to £130.
David Coakley:
david-coakley@hotmail.co.uk
LIGHT RELIEF
Leeds Metropolitan University design student Leanne Newiss created a light fitting that can be customized by the user. This personalized light could be reconfigured whenever the bulb needed changing or when the owner moved home and can be fully disassembled for transportation purposes.
Newiss also presented ‘Ctrl Key', a piece of office ‘break-out' furniture aimed at sufferers of internet addiction. By making the seat in front of the screen a little less comfortable than the others, it encourages the user to take a less hands-on approach to internet usage and, in theory, allowing greater social interaction instead.
Leanne Newiss:
leanne_newiss@hotmail.com
