Our Way Design Academy Eindhoven; Transformation and Distribution Centre for Abandoned Household Items, Joost Gehem; In Vena Verbum, Tiddo Bakker

With mases of exhibitions to choose from, ARTS THREAD homes in on the student and graduate events on show starting this Saturday at Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Our reporter Like van Wijck will be out and about in the city to tell us what’s happening.

The key event is, as always, the Graduation Show at the Design Academy Eindhoven (DAE). Entitled Our Way, it is again curated by Ilse Crawford and showcases the work of 153 recent Bachelor and Master graduates from the academy, with exhibition design by Piet Hein Eek and Petra Janssen. The exhibition has seven themes Human, Nature, Nurture, Consious, City, Delight and Useful. Entry is 10 euros, but only 5 euros or free for students.

Modebelofte 2011; Mattia Akkermans

ID'11: Master graduates - De blijde gebeurtenis, Jeanine Kierkels; Morphing cutlery, Jeffrey Braun

With ID’11 being in the Central Station area, we move over to the Strijp area and the exhibition venue Klokgebouw where we find AKV|St.Joost who present a selection of work by recent graduates including Idris van Heffen (Animation), Helen Smits (Graphic Design), Moon Brouwer (Graphic Design) and Tim Cromvoirt (Interaction Design).

ABKMaastricht: Gravity Collection, Clara Scharping; Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, Iris Verstappen

The Art of Production, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam

Soft Edges: On Tension, Eva Malschaert; Furniture, Hannah Sabapathy

Look out also at the Strijp for Fashion breaks Boundaries, a presentation by the ROC Eindhoven School for Fashion of graduation projects by the fourth-year students of Fashion Technology and Fashion Design.

Master and apprentice, SintLucas

Dutch Design Week runs from October 22 to 30 2011.

Image credits: DAE left to right: Copyright: Design Academy Eindhoven, Art Direction: Petra Janssen, Photographs: (Joost Govers).

Graduation Show 11: Design Academy Eindhoven
Modebelofte 2011
ID’11: Department of Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology
AKV|St.Joost
Graduates 2011 ABKMaastricht Jewellery & Product Design
The Art of Production, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam
Soft Edges
Fashion breaks Boundaries: ROC Eindhoven School for Fashion
Master and Apprentice: SintLucas

Tim Pryde; DON-8r, Tim Pryde

Tim Pryde’s DON-8r robot proved a huge hit at New Designers this July and we are thrilled to see the University of Dundee graduate as one of the ten designers selected for Designersblock from the ARTS THREAD site. With less than a week to go, we caught up with Tim to hear all the latest news on the robot charity worker.

ARTS THREAD: What will you be showing at Designersblock?

Tim Pryde: I will be exhibiting my charity aiding robot, DON-8r. Each coin donated to DON-8r not only helps activate it for a short length of time but also goes towards supporting an affiliated charity. I hope to use the exhibition as an opportunity for DON-8r to raise money for The Pluto Appeal.

ARTS THREAD: Your ‘DON-8r’ project gained quite a lot of international attention since your degree show, what’s the current status of this project?

TP: I have recently been exhibiting DON-8r in Aarhus, Denmark as part of the NEXT technology exhibition and festival. This gave me the opportunity for DON-8r to appear live on national Danish TV!

I have also received interest from charities including The Science Museum for exhibitions later in the year. DON-8r is still only a one-off prototype model, however I plan to seek funding to further the design and produce more.

ARTS THREAD: You seem to have a love for robotics – where did this passion first spawn from?

TP: As I child I played a lot with LEGO, often making robots using their ‘Mindstorms’ kit. I loved how robots could perform such specifically intricate tasks, however I was never really drawn towards the notion of creating highly autonomous and intelligent robots.

Kacie Kinzer’s Tweenbots are a great example of what I find interesting with robotics – they are robots but very much human reliant ones. This dependency on human interaction from an object is what inspired DON-8r – I felt that it very much related to the dependencies charities also have from human support.

DON-8r, Tim Pryde

AT: Your work touches on engaging the public, via gamification, is this something you would like to explore further?

TP: My DON-8r project, in particular, began with research, culminating in a dissertation exploring the potential for learning through video games and gamification. This led through a few projects into how I could use game dynamics as a means to support a good cause.

What I have come to learn is that gamification is something which is widely touted by many who don’t quite understand good games. (Margaret Robertson of Hide&Seek game design studio has a great post on what she calls ‘pointification’ which pretty much sums up my gripes with gamification).

My interest in gamification is to look at it as a process rather than an outcome – the outcome should be something fun and engaging, inspired by games but not necessarily a game. I am very keen to further explore this area as a means to explore how we interact with products, objects and digital technologies.

ARTS THREAD: What else are you currently working on?

TP: Currently I am working at Mint Digital, designing physical objects that help to enhance our interaction with the internet and other digital technologies.

View Tim’s ARTS THREAD portfolio.

Visit Designersblock for free.

Designersblock at the London Design Festival runs from September 22-25 2011 at Farmiloe Building, Clerkenwell, London website.

Innovation Design Engineering/ Chenwei Wang, My Family Signature

Innovation Design Engineering (IDE) is a joint product design, experimentation and enterprise course run in unison at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. A highly complex and demanding course, IDE students require a vast knowledge of industrial design, manufacturing, mechanical engineering and product sustainability. This year, the course produced two Helen Hamlyn award winners – Patrick Hyland and Samuel Jewell – both of which were given the Age UK Award for Inclusive Design.

Chenwei Wang, My Family Signature

One of our favourites was Chenwei Wang’s ‘My Family Signature’, a readable graphic code which identifies individuals based on their unique family history.

Chenwei says: “As a society, we use documents like birth certificates, marriage contracts and wills to prove our existence and connect us with our families. This new pattern system enables individuals to review their family history and their own position within it via a personal stamp, which also acts as a key that opens their profile, family tree and important documents held in the database.”

Sam Jewell, AudioWeb

Sam Jewell’s award winning ‘AudioWeb’ project explores ways in which visually impaired people can fully experience the internet.

Sam explains: “‘AudioWeb’ seeks to make their experience of the Internet as easy, fun and meaningful as it is for the sighted. Using the richness of sound to change speed, pitch, voice, accent and tone, and using 3D surround sound, we can transform the computer interface completely. This project is inspired by the blind, but can be enjoyed by all.”

Mohammed Daud, Stephoe

Mohammed Daud travelled to rural Pakistan to conduct his research for the ‘Stephoe’ project.

“I found that farmers depend heavily on hoes to weed and maintain their crops,” says Mohammed. “This is a much-dreaded activity as it leads to severe back problems, and yet the tool remains ancient and unchanged. I have designed an innovative device, the ‘Stephoe’, which adapts the existing hoe but revolutionises its use. It is a simple, effective and disruptive innovation.”

Yuan-Chun Lin, Beyond Umbrella

If there’s one thing which every Brit requires, it’s an umbrella! But, as we all know, they’re not the sturdiest or most reliable contraptions. Yuan-Chun Lin has addressed this issue by designing a repairable and recyclable umbrella. Every section can easily be repaired, extending the umbrella’s life.

Yuan-Chen says: “This project is about delivering users a new experience on rainy days, through innovative design and systems thinking. It not only focuses on solving existing problems while trying to change users’ behaviour, but also on creating a disruptive market innovation.”

Peter Kuschnigg, A Running Shoe

Following in the steps of the barefoot running trend, Peter Kushnigg has created a trainer which actively recognizes the runner’s pattern of movement.

Peter explains: “Derived through experimental and sustainable thinking, the product reinvents the construction methods of current running shoes by reducing materials, eliminating adhesives and providing a modular platform for easy recyclability. Inspired by my background in the prosthetic industry, I hope the product shows my deep respect for the elegance and complexity of the human body.”

Marjan Angoshtari, Fingertips

Marjan Angoshtari was another graduate who, like Sam Jewell, showcased a design which assisted the visually impaired.

“This project revolutionises the shopping experience for the blind in later life,” explains Marian. “By taking advantage of existing and emerging technologies, to help them live a healthier and more independent life, making it practical and enjoyable for this part of society once again.”

Patrick Hyland, Synergise

Patrick Hyland focused on one of the most common problems faced by wheelchair users for his award winning ‘Synergise’ design.

“Angled or cambered surfaces affect wheelchair propulsion, as the wheelchair veers towards the lower surface, and the user has to brake on one side and propel on the other,” Patrick explains. “This affects momentum, increases friction and leads to higher energy consumption. ‘Synergise’ allows wheelchair users to negotiate angled surfaces with reduced friction and increased efficiency over endurance.”

RCA Innovation Design Engineering
Chenwei Wang
Sam Jewell
Mohammed Daud
Yuan-Chun Lin: yuan-chun.lin@network.rca.ac.uk
Peter Kuschnigg
Marjan Angoshtari
Patrick Hyland

Hywel Rhobet Vaughan, UWE Bristol

We take a look at some of the most innovative product designs on offer in our final installment on New Designers 2011.

Hywel Rhobet Vaughan, an industrial designer from the University of the West of England, showcased his innovative and environmentally conscious design ‘Plot’. From Wales, Hywel’s impetus came from the finding that ‘the Welsh Government is looking to plant 100,000 hectares of trees over 20 years’ and this device encourages the planting of new trees by providing the user with faster, cheaper and easier way to imput all the data required to apply for woodland grants.

Hywel says: ‘To make this process easier, the woodland plotter combines GPS technology and user-entered meta data about what is being recorded; all connecting to the woodland charity MyForest online system. This allows users to record all of the information needed, in situ, then upload it straight into a woodland management system. No tape measures, no graph paper, no fuss.’

Michael Jones, University of Leeds

University of Leeds graduate Michael Jones was showing Joey:) – a device for carrying babies and small children to different units within a hospital for non-urgent treatment that can be installed in a car, so freeing up ambulences and saving the hospital money and resources.

Jennie Morley, Loughborough University; Tim Pryde, Duncan of Jordanstone Collge of Art and Design, University of Dundee

Jennie Morley from Loughborough University came to New Designers with her device Moulu, a domestic coffee roasting and grinding machine. Offering the consumer a weekly/monthy supply of ethically-sourced beans allows Jennie to market Moulu as an upmarket branded product.

Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee’s Tim Pryde tugged our heartstrings with his adorable coin-operated charity robot DON-8r. Each donation received powers DON-8r for a short time, making it a fun and innovative way for charities to interact and engage with members of the public.

Stuart Baker, Ravensbourne

Stuart Baker from Ravensbourne has designed a clever gadget for around the home. The Mult-Tool is ‘an electrical appliance that lives in the kitchen. It has a number of interchangeable heads that allow it to perform a range of tasks. These include small D.I.Y jobs as well as other rotary based task such as whisking and blending.’

Anoush Mortazavi, Sheffield Hallam University; Anna Milner, Northumbria University

Anoush Mortazavi of Sheffield Hallam University created Innowave, a high quality microwave oven designed for space saving kitchens. The ‘Innowave’ slides effortlessly from a standard drawer slot, freeing up space for other tasks. Northumbria University’s Anna Milner showed us her cordless hair and face drier Feder. Designed for professional men aged 18+, ‘Feder’ uses the latest battery technology to provide the user with five minutes of instant drying.

Darren Lewis, Middlesex University

Middlesex University graduate Darren Lewis brought his Babel Create to the show. Babel Create ‘is a low-cost hardware based tool to allow people to prototype their own ideas (hacks) involving the Microsoft Kinect as a sensor with ease, making it possible to create a functioning project in a very short space of time. It is easy to program the use of a simple sensor such as an infra-red sensor. Babel Create makes it just as easy to use the Kinect in this way. This low-cost prototyping tool brings Kinect hacking to a much wider and more creative audience.

‘Arduino is the market leader in low-cost prototyping platforms and an Arduino shield provides an extra function for the Arduino board. Through further development Babel Create will take the form of an Arduino shield. The target market groups will be artists, designers, students, technology enthusiasts, roboticists, researchers, Arduino users and hobbyists.’

Hywel Rhobet Vaughan
Michael Jones
Jennie Morley: morley.jennie@gmail.com
Tim Pryde
Stuart Baker
Anoush Mortazavi: anoushmortazavi@gmail.com
Anna Milner
Darren Lewis

ModularesLicht, Robert Hoffmann; Unconscious #1, Younghee Hong

Tomorrow sees the presentation of the TALENTE awards in Munich, prizes given for the best work in show from 96 young craft designers from 28 countries, chosen from over 500 students and graduates from leading colleges around the world.

The show highlights work in 14 different crafts, such as woodworking, textiles, metalworking, ceramics, paper and glass. A key criteria in the choice of the pieces on show is how closely the designers are concerned with both tradition and modern production processes, with an emphasis on exploring new materials, looking for sustainability and being inspired by nature.

Robert Hoffmann’s ModularesLicht are ‘adjustable lights made of aluminium and steel. The three light designs can be changed through turning and tilting of the surfaces. The variability of the modules enables surprisingly new light-room-constellations. When the cuboids are prised open, they blur the borders between product and sculpture.’

Younghee Hong is one of many jewellers who are using natural elements, found objets and humble materials. Younghee Hong (USA/South Korea) creates pieces, such as the brooch above made from old cable ties.

Knotted neckpiece, Eleanor Bolton; Vita, Florian Saul

Berlin-based Florian Saul is exhibiting the Vita dining table. Vita is ‘designed for six to eight people working and dining. Vita (Latin for life) is light and unobtrusive. The flat, round bevel on the bottom of the table suggests this is and is especially thin and light. The delicate substructure is very open plan and provides a great deal of legroom. Due to its light weight, the table can be moved easily if necessary to the side and allows flexible use of space.

Bye Bye Bulb, Daniel Michel; Buoy system for combatting oilslicks, Boris Innecken

German designer Daniel Michel is showcasing his Bye Bye Bulb made from anodized aluminum, powder coated steel, fabric covered cable, 10 Watt LED and a power supply unit. ‘This light is a conceptual object and a creative comment on the prohibition and the disappearance of the classic light bulb. It is equipped with a heat sink for a 10 Watt High Power LED that looks like an ordinary bulb socket.’

‘The lamp shade without the fabric covering is also a reference to the stereotypical lamps of the past. Bye Bye Bulb makes an apparently paradox statement of the sorrow about the bulb disappearance and the confidence concerning new illuminants like LED.’

A system for effectively combatting oilslicks has been created by Boris Innecken from Germany. ‘After an oil spill average, the command for maritime emergencies has to act very quickly. Consequently the buoy is dropped right onto the oilslick. After hitting the oil surface a cartridge inflates a radially symmetric system of tubes under water. A finely woven net – stretched up by the tubes – floats up. Its lipophilic surface bonds the oil without chemicals. The tubes are strengthened by an annular strap. Almost every ship is able to retrieve the buoy and the net including the oil. GPS and radar reflectors on the buoy allow for easy locating. Seabirds are kept off by ultrasonic sound.’

Data lamp, YeaYea; Poppies, Egle Petrauskaite

Egle Petrauskaite introduces a 3D element into wallpaper with her Poppies collection. This Lithuanian textile designer who graduated in 2010 from the MA Design for Textiles Futures course at Central Saint Martins produces photographs and drawings with Photoshop. Using a special cutting and folding technique Egle then creates three-dimensional designs.

Rosanna Martin studied ceramics at University of Wales Institute Cardiff, School of Art and Design and creates ceramics based around mark making. Read a recent interview with Rosanna, in which she talks about being part of the Craft Council UK’s Hothouse 2010 scheme.

Small turquoise vessels, Rosanna Martin; Poppies, Egle Petrauskaite

All the participants in TALENTE 2011 are documented in a catalogue available at the Internationale Handwerksmesse running March 16-22 2011.

Image credits: All images copyright the designers as stated.

TALENTE at Handwerk & Design 2011
Robert Hoffmann
Eleanor Bolton
Florian Saul
Daniel Michel
Boris Innecken
YeaYea
Egle Petrauskaite
Rosanna Martin

Caméra Vision, Takuya Motte; Le Whaf, Marc Bretillot & David Edwards for Le Laboratoire

Since its launch in 1998 the Saint Étienne International Design Biennial has grown considerably. This edition runs from November 20 to December 05 2010 and is organised by the Cité du Design and the Saint Étienne Higher School of Art and Design. One of the key exhibitions on show is Demain, c’est aujourd’hui #3, dedicated to how we will live in the future.

Curated by Claire Fayolle, the exhibition brings together conceptual products from different industrial sectors to include new means of transport, intelligent urban lighting, music, architecture, hygiene, self-sufficiency in food etc, from international groups, studios and design schools.

Caméra Vision by Takuya Motte is a digital camera that allows you to frame your image by using a sweeping gesture with your right hand; a camera is built into the right shoulder and takes a picture after recognising this gesture. Le Whaf, invented by David Edwards and designed by Marc Bretillot, is a glass vessel for discovering taste and smell through the creation of a cloud of sensations.

Le Chant du Carbone, Pierre Bayol; Mo, projet Interlude, Ircam /DaFact/Grame/NoDesign/Voxler

Nanoplat, Strategic Design Scenarios; Cocoon, Richard Hederstierna for Design Lab 09, Eletrolux

Staying on the food theme, the exhibition includes pieces from the Cornucopia project, Concept Designs for a Digital Gastronomy, by Marcelo Coelho in collaboration with Amit Zoran, Massachusetts Intitute of Technology (MIT). The project is described so: ‘The Robotic Chef is a mechanical arm designed to physically and chemically transform a single solid food object, such as a steak, fish or a fruit. It allows for two types of transformations: localised and precise manipulations performed with an array of tools located in the toolhead; and global transformations performed through the underlying bed and two 5-degree of freedom robotic arms.’

Fabulous Fabbers, David Benqué; Robotic Chef, Cornucopia project, Marcelo Coelho & Amit Zoran, MIT

Demain, c’est aujourd’hui #3 is also exhibiting graduate projects from the Design Interactions Department of the Royal College of Art, such as Fabulous Fabbers by David Benqué that looks at how ‘advances in micro-scale engineering point to a global scale revolution where local, disposable factories produce hi-tech goods on our very doorstep. This corporate factory tours the country, setting up in cities for a few months at a time. As the population welcomes a new source of goods, jobs and manufacturing techniques, it is celebrated as an event.’

Oogst 1 Solo, Frank Tjepkema; Pollen, Faltazi

The design studio Unfold, Claire Warnier and Dries Verbruggen, are ‘fascinated by a new movement called Personal Fabrication – a trend in which we see a shift from mass produced items to locally, personally produced objects.’ In this research project, the designers are working on a project that combines traditional pottery techniques with new digital media by adapting a printer to enable it to print clay.

L'Artisan Electronique, Unfold with Tim Knapen; Will bicycle, Veloce II, Justine Andrieu & Quentin Caille

The curator Claire Fayolle explains the exhibition: ‘Energy production and food concerns are major topics, ranging from self-sufficiency to technological culinary creation. An issue raised and pondered upon is that of alternative production modes, radically transforming the position of designers, producers and consumers. Cycling is in again, thanks to emerging technologies; and cars, even racing cars, are now electric-powered.

‘Objects are mutating: pictures can be taken by drawing on air, video games can be played without remote controls, just with the hands of the players, one can create objects or cook thanks to the use of programmable matter, bathrooms can be machine-washed and even wallpaper has become intelligent… This 2010 edition also suggests a foray into developing countries, showing projects on electric power control and access as well as water transportation.’

The Biennale Internationale Design 2010, Saint Étienne continues until December 05 2010.

The Plasticficator, Cedric Ceulemans; Transcendental Tunes, José Rodrigo De La O Campos

During Dutch Design Week, the two strands of the Masters in Design MAN + Humanity and IM showcase their work alongside the more numerous Bachelor graduates.

In the IM section a little green grass town with a paper windmill strikes you immediately. It has been built by Cedric Ceulemans, whose The Plasticficator demonstrates ways to reshape waste through solar power technology.

Today around 18 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and not only will the future population have a greater risk of developing AD, but they will be more likely to become primary caretakers of someone who does. No better reason for designer José Rodrigo De La O Campos to come up with design tools that provide new ways of communication between the care partner and an AD patient. So he designed this music system Transcendental Tunes to trigger memories and emotions.

Things Revised, Things Curated, Henry Wilson

Devoted to Dirt, Saara Jarvinen

Devoted to Dirt, Saara Jarvinen

Smell Triggers, Susana Cámara Leret

Handmade Production, Kitikoon Worrasorratorn

My Digital Body, Mie Frey Damgaard

Continuous Bodies, Maurizio Montalti

The Ephemeral Icon looks at the application of fungi to synthetic materials that do not naturally decompose and leak dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere. The Bio Cover is a felted wool cover that gradually eats away at plastic.

Political Mindscapes, Thomas Saxby

Modern, but with a different undertone, is how one would describe the project by Thomas Saxby entitled Political Mindscapes. With a simple production line, existing of letter stamps and black/white photographs with today’s society’s outlandish events printed on them, every visitor can own their own printed T-shirt.

Design in Times of Crisis, Revisited, Bart Nijssen

Materializing Dematerialization, Kwak Chul An

Image credits: Cedric Ceulemans, Hentry Wilson, Thomas Saxby by René van der Hulst; José Rodrigo De La O Campos, Mie Frey Damgaard, Kitikoon Worrasorratorn by Vincent van Gurp; Maurizio Montalti, Chul An Kwak by Maurizio Montalti.

Design Academy Eindhoven Masters in Design 2010

Roshini Ashnok Kumar, MA Design and Visualisation

Fabien Rolland, MA Design & Visualisation

Fabien Rolland, MA Design & Visualisation

Abacus radio, Cheng Wang; Switch Me!, Yuchen Pei

Portmerion Botanical Garden Butterfly, Chen Tzu-Hui; Time's Up!, Guorong Liu

Winter Jet Set, Alexia Delas; Hook range, Thomas Slack

Pashley Guv'nor Bicycle; sketches by Yang Yang (Doris)

Pashley Guv'nor Bicycle accessories

MA Design & Visualisation
MA Product Design
Product Design Course Director: graham.powell@bcu.ac.uk
Fabien Rolland: fa.rolland@laposte.net
Roshini Ashok Kumar: roshy2139@mac.com

Blow and Roll, Oskar Zieta, V&A Museum

Polish designer Oskar Zieta’s Blow and Roll is now up and running in the pool in the centre of the V&A’s John Madejski Garden using a technique developed by Zita’s company Prozessdesign which uses compressed air to inflate steel.

Zieta’s work is largely based on his own FiDU technology, a method of turning CAD drawings into 3D objects by literally inflating them with air. Though there’s a playfulness about his work, what lies behind it is an ambitious attempt to kick-start an entirely new production process.

The installation, called Blow and Roll is made of large-scale steel elemens of different lengths up to 20m and of different heights. The problem and the challenge was to bring it to the garden in one piece, like all the other pieces of the Museum’s exhibition. To achieve it, pieces were transported to London and brought to the garden flat and rolled, and then they were inflated with air to the final shape.

Image credits: photography by Tiffany Kyte

Oskar Zieta

C, mm, n Hydrogen Car, Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment

The idea of sustainability combines the intelligent use of renewable resources with forward-thinking solutions and prizes longevity over recyclability. Sustainable Futures investigates five main themes: Cities, Energy and Economies, Food, Materiality and the Creative Citizen. Most importantly, the exhibition places emphasis on the involvement of the consumer, giving them the tools and the understanding necessary to effect change.

Grow Your Own Greenhouse, Jochem Faudet, Diagnostic Kitchen, Philips Design

The Local River, designed by Mathieu Lehanneur, combines a fish tank with a greenhouse in which the oxygen given off by the plants supports the fish. Tim Kekeritz has pointed out the vast quantities of fresh water used in food production and has devised an educational tool which shows us just how much is used to make different food items and hopefully makes them think twice about consuming food such as meat which takes up a lot of water.

Digital Rainbow, Christopher Raeburn, Hemp Satin, Miriam Ridha

The manufacturer Puma has addressed the important area of packaging in Fuseproject together with designer Yves Behar. By replacing their traditional shoebox with a ‘shoe bag’ Behar has reduced the materials used, the overall weight and has removed the need for a box.

Changing Habbits, Giraffe Innovation Limited

The Changing Habbits Project by Giraffe Innovation Limited is an online tool which allows people to see their habits compared against an ideal. It does so by physically exaggerating body parts which correspond to the habits. The idea is to afford people a way of anaylsing themselves and combines this with information on their carbon footprint, helping them to reduce this as well as saving them money.

Sustainable Futures runs until September 05 2010. For more information visit Design Museum, London