After a brief pause for some caffeine intake, we continue with the rest of our gems from the four-day New Designers show… Time to set things off with a bang.
Humerah Ghori, UCLAN
Humerah Ghori’s vision of a new rifle for 2012 Olympic clay pigeon shooting
The renders look great and the model on the stand was rather exciting to spot, but it’s the overall confidence of a graduate to go all out and design a firearm for her graduate project that wins my vote. One of several projects inspired by the forthcoming 2012 London Olympic Games, Humerah’s shotgun identifies issues with the sport’s current equipment and attempts to address them. By solving issues in relation to recoil, balance, weight distribution and adjustability – all factors that can seriously affect performance – the product is designed from the ground up for the modern sport and steers away from traditional design.
huzzle17@hotmail.com
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Jason Plumb, Nottingham Trent
High-end audio for your desktop, Jason Plumb’s speakers look and sound excellent
Jason’s Enhance PC speakers are designed to accompany high end computers and complement the user’s workspace. Consisting of organically shaped, teak bodies and acrylic horn they stand out from most speakers on the market. Despite being aesthetically driven, the design shows a lot of attention to the product’s engineering and possible manufacture from renewable sources.
jason.plumb@live.co.uk
Martin Jordan, Huddersfield
No more finger-splintering blows to your digits using Martin Jordan’s device
Designed to hold a nail before impaling it into a surface, this DIY dream for those lacking the necessary coordination can hold nails up to 15-80mm. Aimed at the DIY market with a cheap price, the aim of the project was building safety into a design. What caught our eye was Martin’s superb visual presentation – proving that a slick rendering can help sell a product.
mj2701@me.com
Sarah Burleigh, Brighton
Cloaking a lifesaving device in a more plesant aesthetic, Sarah Burleigh’s concept hopes to make emergency alarms more wearable for the elderly
Encompassing an automatic fall detection system for the elderly, Sarah’s placed the usual ‘push button’ within a watch, as opposed to the usual visually-garish necklace. By 2025 the number of over 60s will outnumber the amount of people under the age of 14. The product automatically detects a fall through the use of algorithms, if an abnormality is registered the watch will then vibrate to inform the wearer that a call for help will go out, this also gives the user chance to cancel the call by pushing the red button if for instance they had dropped the watch on the floor.
sandancer01@hotmail.com
Fred Ingleby, Loughborough
Redefining the process of letter writing, Fred Ingleby’s project hopes to capture some of the romance of receiving handwritten letters for future generations
Using optical technology developed by Anoto, Cadmus allows parents to write letters in long hand, using real ink and paper, and have them delivered to their children at school, instantly.
Each of Fred’s pens has its own associated e-mail address to which it sends its letters, with the e-mail address corresponding to a printer and folder within a school that a parent’s child is attending. By letting the user write in ink and having a real letter delivered, Cadmus aims to retain all the key experiences and emotions associated with traditional letter writing – meaning an analogue product that’s still viable in a digital age.
fred_ingleby@zoho.com
James Yates, Bournemouth
Ready to hit the beach, James Yates’ portable beach grandstand is an ideal spectator viewpoint
Recognising that for most sports on open water spectators are usually far away from the action with a poor view of the action. Taking sports such as surfing as an example, John has devised a moveable stand that gives the beach-bound an elevated view of the action; it can move with the action or sun, and has plenty of room for corporate sponsorship.
yatesj@hotmail.co.uk
Daniel Batchelor, Bournemouth
Daniel Batchelor aims to rid the world of damp feet and all the misery that accompanies them
I swim a lot and can only dream of the day when this product reaches the ancient changing rooms of my local pool. Taking a NHS report about the spread of feet-based diseases, the idea is to offer a convenient and easy to use piece of changing room kit to thoroughly dry the user’s feet before they leave the changing room.
dbatchelor17@hotmail.co.uk
Barty Rowland-Orme, Brighton
Barty Rowland-Orme hopes to offer a better compact urban gardening experience
Having the luxury of being able to grow your own fresh produce is a commodity that few of us have, especially in the city. Barty’s UrbanGreens product is a self contained, hydroponic growing aid designed for inner city use. A compactly designed grow box allows cultivation of a wide selection of vegetation within minimal space. By using a hydroponics systems it allows plants be grown closer together while generating faster growing times and greater yield. It can be attached to various balconies and walls, and makes use of already widely available hose connections.
barty.rowland@gmail.com
Craig Noble, Nothumbria [Product Design]
Making archery more accessible, Craig Noble has designed an adjustable bracket for bows, that can be locked into position
Craig’s Sure Shot archery aid for people with physical impairments helps people with muscular degenerative conditions or amputated limbs to take part in the sport of archery without supervisory care. Ultimately providing a greater sense of independence, it’s designed to fit any recurve bow with standard stabiliser attachments so that no modifications of the bow are required. As with the majority of Northumbria University’s Product Design course, it showed a healthy amount of FEA testing, as well as being proven for manufacture.
craignoble2006@aol.com
Alex Cotterill-Drew, Derby
Alex Cotterill-Drew’s fully adjustable, ergonomic work desk, complete with backlighting for drafting plans, or fan cooling for your laptop computer
It’s almost as if Alex was designing for designers, but his work desk is a perfect example of great functionality, testing and materials that all work well together. The ERGO premium desk was inspired by the pain and fatigue caused by improper workstations that plague many offices, as well as the requirements for extra cooling power as the faithful laptop becomes the workplace tool of choice.
acdproducts@gmail.com
Greg Cruse, Bournemouth
A perfect pint from Greg Cruse, that also helps to cut down on the waiting time
In an effort to cut down on queues at the bar Greg’s design has an automated pint pourer that not only gives the barman hands-free time away from the pump to speed up service, but also gives you a more consistent beverage. Greg has put in a ton of work into the computational timing, angles and movement – as well as designing an incredible point-of-sale aesthetic. Cheers!
Stay tuned-in tomorrow for DEVELOP3D’s top five picks from New Designers 2011
