Electrolux Design Lab 2011 winner announced with Australian entrant Enzo Kocak coming a close second
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Congratulations to Adrian Mankovecký, student at the Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Bratislava, Slovakia for taking out the top prize and runner up Enzo Kocak from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia.
Adrian was awarded first place in the 2011 Electrolux Design Lab competition finals at the Room Home Intelligence Conference at the Business Design Center in London. Adrian Mankovecký’s design concept, Portable Spot Cleaner, beat a field of 1,300 entries from over 50 countries.
A jury of award winning architects and designers selected the Electrolux Design Lab winner from eight global finalists at Room Home Intelligence, Business Design Centre, London, 7th September. Design student Adrian Mankovecký from Slovakia won the Electrolux Design Lab 2011 competition for Portable Spot Cleaner. His design concept is a small spot cleaner that refreshes clothing and removes stains with the help of negative ions and steam. It is powered with a sugar crystal battery.
The second prize went to Ribbon by Enzo Kocak from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. The jury’s motivation was, “Ribbon shows incredible simplicity in form and application and its usage is highly intuitive. The concept is very familiar and easy to recognize yet different enough to be truly innovative”. Third prize went to Smoobo by Roseanne de Briun from Massey University, New Zealand, with motivation “The Smoobo blender is a very refreshing concept. Especially with its social aspect it expands much beyond today’s usage of home appliances”. People’s Choice Award went to Onda Portable Microwave by Matthew Schwartz after over 17,000 votes had been counted.
The judges were impressed with Adrian Mankovecký’s creative and insightful thinking. The motivation for selecting The Portable Spot Cleaner as winner was: “The Portable spot cleaner is built on a very solid consumer insight and it is highly relevant. It is an instant laundry device that has a positive impact on the environment by reducing consumption. Its usage and interaction are very intuitive. We all want one”. Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux, added that he personally liked how the Portable Spot Cleaner is similar to the Ergorapido being “a new fresh way of tackling a clothing care problem on the go, and with consideration for sensitive materials”.
”We very much look forward to welcoming Adrian Mankovecký when he starts his internship at the Electrolux Design Centre in Stockholm, says Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux. ”But”, he adds, ”we were very impressed, and inspired, by all the entrants.”
“It is great”, a happy winner said and sent a greeting to his mother during the live streaming.
Intelligent Mobility
The theme in the competition’s ninth year is ‘Intelligent Mobility’. The students were invited to create home appliances ideas for how people prepare food, clean and do dishes both within and beyond the home from this particular perspective. The appliances should not only physically be more portable, but also provide flexible control to liberate people from being in the home. The brief particularly requested ideas that offer personalization and inspire users whilst utilizing existing technology to offer support and guidance. Additionally, all concepts should reflect Scandinavian Design values – being sensitive to the environment, providing intuitive ease of use and aesthetic appeal.
First step towards a design career
One of the purposes of the competition is to function as an innovative arena for the introduction of new talents and products to the market. The jury evaluates the entries based on innovation, intuitive design and consumer insight. The ability of the students to present their design well is also important as eight top finalists participate in a final global event where they present their entries to a jury of high-level designers. This year’s jury members are Danish designer Cecilie Manz, award winning architects Hayes and James Slade, and Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux.
First prize is 5,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Second prize is €3,000 and third prize €2,000. The concept models tour worldwide after finals and are displayed at design fairs which gives the student extensive exposure. Participation in Electrolux Design Lab has led directly to jobs and business opportunities in the design field for many of the contestants. Several finalists are currently employed in one of the Electrolux Global Design centers and last year’s winner is doing his 6-month internship.
Photos at Flickr
