FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Deborah A.Teschke
Manager, Media Relations & Communications
847-692-0110
Student Design Competition Showcases Innovative Product Concepts at 2010 international Home + Housewares Show
Universal Designs Make Daily Activities Easier
ROSEMONT, Ill. (February 16, 2010)—Winning entries in the 17th annual Student Design Competition, sponsored by the International Housewares Association (IHA), feature creative product concepts that help people more efficiently perform everyday tasks, from bathing a baby to using a smoke alarm, storing produce or gardening.
First place in the competition went to Teddy Lu, a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from Lombard, Ill., and Trevis Kurz, a junior at The Ohio State University, from Columbus, Ohio, who each earned $2,500. Lu won for his design of TubTub, a multi-functional bath tub that accommodates a newborn baby and then can be flipped upside down to bathe a baby up to six months old. As the baby grows, the product also can be used as a bath seat for the parent, a step stool for a child or a storage container for bath toys.
Kurz created the Sanas Smoke Alarm, which features a simple spring mechanism that makes the safety device easier and safer to use. An ordinary broom handle is used to push the release button and lower the smoke alarm to eye level. Sanas was designed for aging Baby Boomers, but offers people of all ages a convenient and safe alternative to climbing a ladder to change their smoke alarm battery.
The design competition’s annual challenge to students is to redesign a current housewares product to meet the needs of the future or to create a concept for a new product. Winning projects are selected for their innovation, understanding of production and marketing principles and quality of entry materials. A jury of 10 designers, working in a blind judging process, recognized great concepts, backed up with research, development and creative design, to award a total of 12 prizes to students in six design schools in the United States.
The product prototypes and their creators will take center stage in the Housewares Design Center at the 2010 International Home + Housewares Show, March 14-16, at Chicago's McCormick Place. The Show is expected to attract 55,000 visitors from more than 100 countries all focused on buying and selling the latest products at the world’s largest homegoods marketplace.
Fresco Wins Second Place
Second place and $1,900 was awarded to Emily Maskey, a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from Springfield, Ill. Maskey designed Fresco, a countertop refrigeration and hydration device for storing produce. Inspired by a cookie jar, Fresco encourages healthier eating habits by storing fresh foods at eye level in clear containers. It also will help reduce food waste.
Third Place Goes to Swivel Gardening Cart, The Beacon and EZ Lace
Three third-place awards for $1,200 each went to: Ryan David Francis, a junior at California College of the Arts, from Sonora, Calif., for the Swivel Gardening Cart; Colin Patrick Lake, a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from Carol Stream, Ill., for The Beacon; and Jamie Perin, a junior at The Ohio State University, from LaGrange, Ohio, for EZ Lace.
The Beacon is an accessory for any smoke detector and warns hearing-impaired people about the danger of fire. The safety device plugs directly into a wall outlet, and its strobe light is activated by the smoke detector’s sound frequency. The Beacon has back-up batteries and can be used as safety lighting in the event of a power outage. The portable device can travel with a user for overnight stays at a friend’s home, a business function or a vacation place.
The Swivel Gardening Cart is an omni-directional cart designed for gardening and general yard use. The front flexible wheel offers better steering control and stability when navigating through various terrains. EZ Lace enables upper arm amputees and people with other disabilities to tie their shoes more easily and efficiently. The accessory, which resembles a shoe’s tongue with holes down the center, is laced to the shoe during the tying process. The product is flexible and fits any size shoe.
This is the 17th year that winning design students have been honored at the Show, expanding awareness of careers in industrial design among students and highlighting the impact of design on the $74.1 billion U.S. housewares industry. The competition is endorsed by the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA).
This year, a record 283 project entries were submitted from 23 IDSA-affiliated design schools in North America. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign captured three of the top six prizes, followed by The Ohio State University with two top winners and California College of the Arts with a third-place winner. IHA granted the three schools a total of $2,500 to support their design programs. First, second and third place student winners divided $10,500 in prize money and will receive an all-expense paid trip to the 2010 Show to display their designs. In addition, an honorable mention and $250 cash award went to six students.
Honorable Mentions
- Ella Isabella F. Ella, Fruit Scoop, California State University, Long Beach, junior, from Riverside, Calif.
- Andy Marogil, Cura, Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, junior, from Palatine, Ill.
- Christopher Barnard, EcoGauge, Purdue University, junior, from Indianapolis, Ind.
- Kayla Rosebrook, Spout, Ohio State University, junior, from Chillicothe, Ohio
- Emma Sanders, Tumble, Ohio State University, junior, from Columbus, Ohio
- Brian Moy, Stamp ‘n Scrape, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, junior, from Wilmette, Ill.
“Many past winners have received jobs be cause of their experience at the Show,” says Victoria Matranga, IHA’s design programs coordinator, “and some have even collaborated with our exhibitor companies to develop their concepts into saleable products.”
This year's winners were chosen by a respected jury, which included designers from IHA member companies, design consultants and two educators. The 10 judges spent many volunteer hours reviewing the submissions, which consisted of written materials, sketches, engineering drawings and slides.
Mike Elwell, a third place winner in 2005, served as a judge on this year’s panel. Elwell's winning product concept, a pill bottle opener with a magnifier, has been licensed to and is being manufactured by Jokari/U.S., Inc. The Medi-Grip was named a Design Defined Honoree at the 2009 International Home + Housewares Show and was voted Personal Care Best in Category in the 2010 Housewares Design Awards sponsored by HomeWorld Business magazine.
As an instructor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Mike required his junior design students to enter this year's competition. He said, "The IHA's Student Design Competition is the best one out there in terms of students getting instructive feedback from the industry professionals who serve as judges. Plus, it completely changed the way I approach design. The competition did so much for me that I think every undergraduate design student across the country should be required to enter."
In addition to Elwell, the jury included: Ann-Marie Conrado, associate professional specialist, Department of Art, Art History & Design, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Ind.; Tyler Gilbert, senior industrial designer, Pacific Market International, Seattle, Wash.; Bill Lazaroff, senior vice president, product development and design, Lifetime Brands, Inc., Garden City, N.Y.; Kiersten Muenchinger, product design program, Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon, Eugene, Ore.; John Phillips, director of design, Ignite USA, Chicago, Ill.; Cliff Shin, assistant professor, Department of Interior Architecture & Product Design, College of Architecture, Planning & Design, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.; Christopher C. White, technical design & innovation director, housewares, furniture and decorating accessories, JCPenney Purchasing Corporation, Plano, Texas; Stevan Wittenbrock, CEO, SoMA, Inc., Portland, Ore.; and Michelle Wood, industrial designer, Sterilite Corporation, Townsend, Mass.
Editor’s Note: Digital images of the winning designs are available upon request. Please call Debbie Teschke at 847-692-0110 or email dteschke@housewares.org for copies.
