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D&AD NESTA Product Design and Innovation Awards Winners 2002.2003

08/07/2003

"The briefs were incredibly challenging, yet the winners expressed creativity that made the judges sit up and notice."

It was a great year for students from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design who claimed four of the nine prizes. The overall winner, however, was Nolan Chandler from Hertfordshire University who received £5,000 worth of product development support and will be fast-tracked into the NESTA Invention and Innovation programme, which helps get new ideas for products and services off the ground. Responding to the Design Council brief, Nolan's innovative EZ Feed baby-food packaging cleverly incorporates a spoon for feeding on the move.

In addition, the three category winners each received £1,000, a D&AD Student Pencil and are invited to a consultation day with experts to advise on developing their concepts. The five shortlisted also received £1,000 prize money and a D&AD Student Pencil. All of the shortlisted work is showcased in the D&AD Student Annual, designed by Browns, London.

The 2002/2003 briefs were launched in March 2002 and entrants had a year to complete their work. Attracting over 100 entries, the briefs covered very topical subjects. The twelve judges including Astrid Zala at Jam, Dick Powell at Seymour Powell and Ingrid Baron at IDEO, were delighted to see exciting new approaches and well developed solutions to complex issues.

Lord Puttnam, Chair of NESTA says, "The D&AD NESTA Product Design & Innovation Awards are a unique launch pad for young talent. The briefs were incredibly challenging, yet the winners expressed creativity that made the judges sit up and notice. NESTA is delighted to be able to help Nolan's ingenious product for the busy parent get nearer to market."

D&AD Education Chairman Dick Powell of Seymour Powell says, "The emphasis on idea and innovation makes the D&AD NESTA Product Design & Innovation Award really stand out. It was a stimulating experience to judge and a testimony to the quality of the work that it caused such tremendous debate. The core idea of the winning work, EZ Feed is clever yet simple, I am looking forward to seeing how it develops as a product."

The Winners

Brief 1. Making interacting with digital TV easier for everyone set by ITC

Category Winner: The customisable remote control MIMO by Sarah McCauley and Lisa Tse from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, incorporates a user interface that delivers digital technology through analogue properties. By plugging in channel modules, users can create a tangible composition, which visually communicates their individual viewing habits.

Shortlisted: The judges felt this book design with touch screen by Ed Stanton from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design was a simple solution that would help new audiences understand interactive TV. The navigation through turning the pages of the book was particularly pleasing.

Shortlisted: Alex Shapowal from Napier University created a link network, which provides a consistent user interface for all home entertainment devices. This utilizes as yet undeveloped technology to separate the system and into two streams of information one on the screen and one on the control. The link network uses a 'zoomable' interface (2UI) and gesture recognition to navigate through the system.

Brief 2. Handheld objects to help people wake up and go to sleep, set by IDEO

Category Winner: Daniel Liden at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design surprised and impressed the judges with a very conceptual and human response to the brief. A message set in a picture frame simply reads, "Everything will be Alright".

Shortlisted: Sleep Feet by Anna McManus from Napier University, is a colourful sock design for children that incorporates reflexology to massage key pressure points to aid relaxation.

Shortlisted: While they felt that the aesthetics needed further consideration, the judges were impressed by the concept of the Dream Machine by Daniel Bessex from University of Glamorgan. Designed to stimulate the senses and working with natural biorhythms the clock injects, light, sound and smell into the environment and can be set to induce sleep and to help awaken.

Brief 3. Developing products for parents and children, set by the Design Council

Overall Winner: The judges felt that EZ Feed baby food packaging designed by Nolan Chandler from Hertfordshire University, was ready and worthy of development and so selected this product to be fast-tracked into the NESTA Invention and Innovation programme. For parents on the move, the packaging cleverly incorporates a spoon into a squeezy food pack.

Category Winner: Sam's Door Mat by Adrien Rovero of Ecole Cantonale D'Art de Lausanne turns a daily duty into a game. It is a floor puzzle with pieces of 'door mat' that can slide into place using your feet - thus encouraging children to wipe their feet before entering the house.

Shortlisted: Omni Bag by Maya Ishizaki from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design is a shoulder bag that doubles up as a baby carrier. The baby straddles the bag and the design incorporates a seatbelt to secure the baby onto the carriers' hip. The judges initially queried the safety of the design, but were impressed at the level of research and testing that had been carried out to support this.

The Judges:

Katrina Koffler, Design Council

Ingrid Baron, IDEO

Matt Marsh, Independent Design Consultant

Astrid Zala, Jam Design & Communication

David Hamilton, Priestman Goode

Irene McAra-McWilliam, Royal College of Art

Dick Powell, Seymour Powell (D&AD Education Chairman)

Jonathan Knight, Fraser Designers

Michelle Childs, Consumers' Association

Jeremy Myerson, HHRC

Jonathan Freeman, ITC

Hugo Manassei, NESTA

2003/2004 Briefs

Three challenging new briefs for this award have been set by The European Space Agency, Conran & Partners and The Design Council in conjunction with an advisory panel of leading industry figures. The deadline for entries is 26 March 2004 and the winners will be announced in July 2004. The call for entries pack can be downloaded at www.dandad.org.

Brief 1. From Outer Space to Inner Space - implications for innovative storage design

Brief 2. To design a range of 'Global Food Concept' cutlery

Brief 3. Sustainable Design - Decreasing environmental impact & increasing business potential

D&AD (British Design & Art Direction) is a professional association and charity that represents the UK's design and advertising communities. We invest over £1.5 million each year on running a range of innovative programmes that seek to identify talented graduates, support colleges and develop and train young creatives. For more information on D&AD visit the website www.dandad.org