Electrolux Design Lab’s 10th Anniversary challenge to international design students is tied to Electrolux professional knowledge and exprience in a theme that stimulates all senses.

Electrolux Design Lab is a global annual design competition inviting students and recent graduates of industrial design to compete for a six-month paid internship and prize money by submitting ideas that develop the sensory experience of home appliances. This year the jury will also take special note of the aesthetic qualities of the concept and the way textures and surface materials have been used.

Brief: Design Experience
As demonstrated in the Cube by Electrolux, the world of professional cooking is all about the experience. It’s not about achieving the perfect inner temperature of a steak for the sake of science or performance. It’s about designing the best possible experience for your guests. The creative force behind the experience is the merger of intuitive and innovative appliances with the creativity of the chef and carefully selected high quality ingredients.

The brief for Electrolux Design Lab 2012 challenges design students to draw inspiration from professional experience creators (chefs, architects, interior designers, hotel designers etc.) to design home appliances that will provide a fuller sensory experience. It might be through state of the art technology or it might be through a clever blend of textures and surfaces

Entrants will also need to consider the heritage of Electrolux. Submissions should reflect Scandinavian Design values by being sensitive to the environment, providing intuitive ease of use and aesthetic appeal.

“I believe the importance of our sensory perception is underestimated in a lot of today’s design. Too much importance is accorded to the visual. What if we could incorporate our other senses into design? Could we smell who’s calling? Or feel what’s on TV?” says Henrik Otto SVP of Global Design at Electrolux.

Autumn finals in Europe
Eight finalists will each be invited to participate in a final event in the autumn of 2012 held within a European city (to be announced) to present their individual concept to a jury of expert designers. The jury will consider entries based on intuitive design, innovation, aesthetic qualities and consumer insight when awarding the first prize of a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre and 5,000 Euros. A second prize of 3,000 Euros and third prize of 2,000 Euros are also on offer.

Deadline for entry is 23:59 CET June 1, 2012

For more detailed information please see the Competition section where you can read the full brief presentation, read up on the rules and register.

“Developing thoughtfully designed products that are relevant to consumers is fundamental to the Electrolux strategy. Electrolux Design Lab contributes to our dialogue with consumers about future design and product development. This is necessary in today’s global appliance business. Electrolux Design Lab also provides an important opportunity to get inspired by the innovative ideas of design students all over the world,” says Keith McLoughlin, President and CEO of Electrolux.

Portable Spot Cleaner
The Portable Spot Cleaner has two components. The user separates them, place on either side of the garment and choose the suitable cleaning program. Negative Ions and steam refresh clothing and remove stains. The cleaner is powered with a sugar crystal battery, and can be used practically anywhere in the world.

The jury was impressed by the Portable spot cleaner’s creative and insightful thinking. From the jury motivation: ”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.”

Runners Up
The award for second place went to Ribbon, an all-in-one hotplate, warming device and cooler for portable use, by Enzo Kocak from Monash University in Australia. Third place went to Smoobo Blender, a fun and environmentally friendly way of making smoothies, by Roseanne de Bruin from Massey University in New Zealand. Onda, a portable microwave oven, by Matthew Schwartz from California State University Long Beach in USA, received the People’s Choice Award—as voted for online. Matthew received 24% of the 17,000 votes that were made.

Intelligent Mobility
The theme in the competition’s ninth year was ‘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 be physically portable, but also provide flexible control to liberate people from the home. The brief particularly requested ideas that offer personalization and inspire users while 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 conveying aesthetic appeal.

The jury evaluates the entries based on innovation, intuitive design and consumer insight. 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.

The Electrolux Design Lab 2011 award is a prize of EUR 5,000 and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Second prize is EUR 3,000 and third prize EUR 2,000.

The winner of the 2011 Electrolux Design Lab competition will need to impress a jury consisting of leading architects and product designers at a live event in London on 7th September at the Room Home Intelligence Conference. Danish designer Cecilie Manz; award winning architects Hayes and James Slade; and Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux, will assess eight finalists as they present ‘Intelligent Mobility’ themed domestic appliances.

Introducing The Electrolux Design Lab 2011 Jury Panel:

Cecilie Manz:
Born in 1972, Cecile Manz is an award winning designer who lives and works in Copenhagen. Educated at the Danish Design School Copenhagen and University of Art and Design Helsinki, Finland, Manz has exhibited at a number of prestigious locations including MoMA New York, Vitra Design Museum Basel, and ‘The Third Design for Architecture Symposium’ Alvar Aalto Academy, Finland. Manz has previously worked with Fritz Hansen, Fredericia Furniture, Nils Holger Moormann, LightYears, Holmegaard, PP Møbler, Muuto, Mooment, Georg Jensen Damask and others. www.ceciliemanz.com

Hayes & James Slade
In 2002, Hayes and James Slade founded Slade Architecture seeking to focus on architecture and design across scales and program types. Their work has been widely recognized in more than 200 publications. Their awards include Progressive Architecture (PA) Awards, Interior Design Best of Year Awards, AIA awards and NYC Public Design Commission Award for Design Excellence. They were part of the Ordos 100 and were recognized by the New York Architecture League for their Emerging Voices Lecture series in 2010. Their work has been exhibited internationally including the Venice Bienale (Italy), the Museum of Modern Art (US), The National Building Museum (US), The Deutsches Architektur Museum (Germany), and O Gallery (China). www.sladearch.com

Henrik Otto

Henrik Otto

Henrik Otto joined Electrolux in 2004 and heads up a team of some 150 design professionals working at the company’s design centres in Australia, Brazil, Italy, Singapore, Sweden, and the USA. Otto’s approach focuses on the company’s “Thoughtful Design” strategy, which is based on developing and applying consumer insights into all aspects of product design: its functionality, usability and visual appearance. Electrolux has won numerous awards, including several red dot and iF design awards. www.electrolux.com

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 Global Finalists

The theme of the 2011 Electrolux Design Lab contest challenged students to create innovate solutions that consider Intelligent Mobility within appliance design for use both within and beyond the home. 1,300+ entries from more than 50 countries were received. The final eight designers will be announced 12th July. The jury will consider intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight when awarding the first prize of a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design centre and 5,000 Euros. A second prize of 3,000 Euros and third prize of 2,000 Euros are also on offer.

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist Tommi Moilanen is the Finnish designer behind the concept Mobile Induction Heat Plate (902), a smart induction cooker. Tommi is a student at Aalto University School of Art and Design in Finland.

What was the inspiration for your concept?
We live in an age when cameras, mobile phones, computers and televisions are connected with each other. Appliances are not yet a part of this system and I think they could benefit from the technology and user experience that current smartphones provide, let alone the future possibilities. Very rarely do appliances full of technology have as sophisticated user interfaces and ease of use as modern smartphones have.
I also wanted to bring more flexibility into cooking. Why should you always have to cook in the same place and why should the standard heat plates usually found on a conventional oven, occupy counter space even when not in use. That would be the case in small kitchens. If you have a big kitchen the Mobile Induction Heat Plate could be an additional appliance for the dinner table or for when on the go.

Designwise I was inspired by these tea trolleys 900 & 901 designed by Alvar Aalto and now produced by Finnish design company Artek and the simplicity and pureness of the iPhone. I also wanted 902 to feel distinctively Electrolux by making the logo so integral part of the design. The form also resembles a flame since it is all about the heat. The name 902 of course was inspired by those tea trolleys.

How does your concept fit into the theme of intelligent mobility?
Some food packages have these cooking instructions yet there always is that last sentence that states that the cooking time and temperature may vary depending on your appliances. With 902, the software would automatically set the heat and timer according to those recommendations when you cook certain foods for the first time. This would happen by just placing the phone next to an NFC enabled food packaging. If you have to adjust those settings to get the best results those new settings would be applied automatically the next time. So the heat plate would learn what works the best.

Mobile heat plate would make it possible to cook anywhere you want. You could use a mocca pot to brew morning coffee on the balcony or cook bacon and eggs while having a picnic. You could also use the hot plate in places where barbecuing is not allowed like in some parks.

902 is about the intelligence of modern smartphones and the mobility of cordless technology combined to bring the user experience in cooking to the next level.

Why would a consumer want to own your concept (what are its main benefits)?
Many people living in small apartments would value free counter space more than four hotplates. Who even uses all four of them simultaneously that often if ever? Instead of replacing the whole stove it could also function as an additional unit that you could take outside of your home. People who are constantly on the go could find a lot of use for it. Having the controls in the phone would also provide a child safe solution and make it easy to clean. It just looks good as well. When have you seen a heat plate this gorgeous!?

Describe the consumer research behind your concept?
I think the best solutions are created when the designer can really relate to the core user. There has to be the right balance between inspiration and hard facts. Apart from thinking what I would like to have myself I also researched through the current product portfolio of Electrolux and what kind of functionality modern smartphones provide and will provide in the near future.

I also thought about last year’s Electrolux Design Lab brief and the fact that people are going to live in more crowded environments and value the space they have even more than they do today. People that value good design and ease of use and are living in crowded urban areas with high rents and small apartments as well as those constantly on the go are the target users.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
The handle has to be made of wood so that you can really feel the touch of nature. It is also durable and ecological material and so distinctively Scandinavian. Then there are just the heating surface and the back side which would be metal painted with high gloss white paint. There is nothing extra, just the essential.
There could also be different color options. The goal was to make if feel more like a design object, if you want to call it that, you would rather like to show off instead of trying to hide it. I think Ergorapido vacuum cleaner from Electrolux is a good example of that kind of thinking.

Who is your favorite designer?
I have to say Jonathan Ive. He is a living design genius. There is nothing extra in his designs, everything needs to be just the way it is. Also his designs almost always look stunning and just work effortlessly. I also like the aesthetics of Konstantin Grcic and especially his 360° chair. It is not just another chair but it really has some good new ideas for an office chair. From architects I like Jean Nouvel. His work might even look ugly at first sight, but the more you look at it the better it starts to look. I think that is a good quality in architecture.

What are your career goals?
I want to work with talented people who really can see the potential of design. In the end it is really about people and problem solving, whether it is about products or services. I want to work internationally and get inspired by different cultures and how things are done in different places and the small details of everyday life. You always have to have dreams and goals to aspire to and as a designer I guess I’m never really satisfied at where I am at the moment. In a way I want to change the world, one small thing at a time. ]]> http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-finalist-2011-tommi-moilanen/feed/ 4 http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-roseanne-de-bruin/ http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-roseanne-de-bruin/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:31:04 +0000 admin http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/?p=3277

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist Roseanne de Bruin is the New Zealand designer behind the concept the Smoobo blender is a fun and environmentally friendly way of making smoothies. She is a student at Massey University in New Zealand.

What was the inspiration for your concept?
My goal from the beginning was to create something fun and inspiring. I was on my break at work, sitting in the park drinking a thick shake I just bought from the local dairy. A kid, around 7 years old, runs into the playground, basketball in hand. He was so happy! His eyes lit up as he bounced the ball to his father.

The thought came to me, wouldn’t it be cool if there were a way to get children to be more enthusiastic about healthy eating? Wouldn’t it be even better if this idea also encouraged the kids to help their parents with preparing food?

That’s when it hit me… A blender in a bouncy ball!

How does your concept fit into the theme of intelligent mobility?
We usually assume that mobility is about high-end technology. It isn’t. Our lives become freer through mobile technology. The simple things in our lives including food preparation, should change alongside.

Smoobo turns the everyday task of eating into something enjoyable and healthy. It allows you to prepare a smoothie anywhere you want with whatever ingredients are at hand. You can have your own personal smoothie maker in the colour of your choice, in a form that can provide hours of fun. Smoobo as a source of entertainment for children, also provides a parent with something for their kids to do when they are on the go.

Why would a consumer want to own your concept (what are its main benefits)?
Fun! My design is a fun and easy way to prepare food and increase the amount of fruit and vegetables you eat everyday. It is also powered by kinetic energy, perfectly suited to customers’ increasing environmental awareness.

Smoobo has been designed to be visually unique, appealing to adults and children alike. The design takes the whole family into account, with a size that allows for any age. The reason it is colourful is to grab your attention and begs to be picked up. For kids the Smoobo is an opportunity of fun. For adults it is a completely new way of doing a standard kitchen task and an easy way to make their children want to start eating healthy food.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept?
No specific consumer research methodology led to the design of this product. However, since early prototype I have tested the form of the ball by seeing how children react to different designs. By putting my concept in front of children of the target age, I could see if they understood it initially and whether they were driven to play with it. I also asked adults to share what design/object (through analogy of other products or experience,) visually appeals to them the most. From this information I was able to refine the concept further and start to include design details and add to the basic form.

Whenever I design, I make sure I test my ideas along the way. This is something I always do in order to improve my product. It is afterall an iterative, non-linear and intuitive process. That’s design!

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
Recycled ABS plastic for the inside case for the ball. This ball’s case needs to be rigid to be water tight and suitable for the removable rubber knob to screw onto. Polybutadiene rubber will give the bouncy exterior shell to the ball. The process of recycling rubber, at present time, is of difficultly. Recycled rubber also cannot create the look intended for the Smoobo. Polybutadiene rubber is resilient and long lasting. Therefore, the ball will not ware easily, making the use of this rubber an investment. Hopefully in the near future a more environmentally friendly alternative can be used.

Who is your favorite designer?
Egg by Arne Jacobson began my interest into industrial design (ID). In my first year of university I planned to major in visual communication design (VCD). After doing a paper that involved researching and designing from a choice of a chair, (representing ID major) business card (VCD) or skateboard (transport design), I discovered a love for the design of products through Jacobson’s creative visions. He has, and will continue to, inspire me.

What are your career goals?
I am still young and I’m not yet sure what path I want to take in my industrial design career. However, I do know that ultimately throughout my career, I would like to have created products that have reached out to people. Through my designs I would love to inspire others. I want to do this by giving them products that are not only have a touch of fun and make life more enjoyable, but also will contribute to our society in some small way. If I can make products in my lifetime that will help people do this, I will be happy.

I also believe that as designers we are responsible for designing products that won’t damage our planet in the long run. A career goal I do have is to always make sure I am doing my best to keep any of my products from leaving a large footprint on our beautiful earth.

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist Matthew Schwartz is the American designer behind the concept The Onda -a portable microwave oven. He is a student at California State University Long Beach in USA.

What was the inspiration for your concept?
I wanted to create a product that is simple and intuitive enough so that someone familiar with a traditional microwave can operate the Onda Portable Microwave. The function and operation is the same as with traditional microwaves, but on a much smaller scale.

How does your concept fit into the theme of intelligent mobility?
The Onda Portable Microwave allows users the opportunity to enjoy a warm and satisfying meal without restricting them to the confines of the kitchen. This product is ideal for use at home, in the office, for outdoor use, and could be adapted for military personnel or natural disaster relief as well. With the potential for development of complementary accessories such as liquid containers and food storage containers, Onda is the perfect solution for the intelligent mobility brief.

Why would a consumer want to own your concept (what are its main benefits)?
It takes the simplicity and speed of traditional microwaves, and adds convenience to the whole package.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept?
In the beginning stages of developing this concept, a large number of people whom I interviewed suggested that the microwave has not seen any significant evolution since its inception. Other forms of cooking, such as grills and stoves, have seen development with portable variations, so I decided to design a portable variation of the microwave. I studied the most common users of Electrolux products when designing the visual and functional aspects of my concept.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
Stainless Steel exterior, glass touch screen, silicone feet, Power-paper batteries.

Who is your favorite designer?
Chip Foose, because he has worked hard to gain the respect and recognition that his work deserves. He is a lifelong designer whose passion shows through his designs and products, and he strives to help people and improve lives with his work. He is the perfect example of someone who has made a successful career for himself, doing what he loves to do.

What are your career goals?
To have an honest, successful, and fulfilling career designing products that are widely recognized for positively impacting people’s lives. ]]> http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-finalist-2011-matthew-schwartz/feed/ 30 http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-gyu-ha-choi/ http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-gyu-ha-choi/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:31:02 +0000 admin http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/?p=3283

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist Gyu Ha Choi is the Korean designer behind the concept Robo Tap, a smart evolution of the robotic vacuum cleaner. He is a student at Handong Global University in South Korea.

What was the inspiration for your concept?
I obtained the inspiration from one word. There is a word, bal-dojang(foot-stamp), which is the compound of foot(bal) and stamp(dojang) in Korea. It has the meaning of ‘to leave my trace for someone’. I drew the concept from the idea, ‘how about showing the foot-stamp as a clean space’.

How does your concept fit into the theme of intelligent mobility?
A user can clean any part of the house autonomously at anytime they wish. The robot will intuitively clean by knowing the space in which it has to operate. Thus, unnecessary movement and time are reduced for the user and robot cleaner, so I think that it’s suitable for the design subject, ‘intelligent mobility’.

Why would a consumer want to own your concept (what are its main benefits)?
The ‘Robo Tap’ free’s people from cleaning, so has mass appeal. However, the more important benefit of ‘Robo Tap’ is that it changes the cleaning process and makes it fun if you wish to be engaged with it.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept?
Before the design of new cleaner, I wanted to obtain the needs of user by progressing user-focused research and analyzing how the cleaning is conducted. The research was progressed by selecting three families under the standard of housing kinds, ages and children. As the result, there was user’s cleaning pattern appeared clearly. The pattern a user cleans can be divided by space and time greatly and unexpectedly, he focuses on particular place or there are many cleanings fulfilled suddenly. For example, the places which can be dirty easily, such as around the flowerpot or around the entrance, are treated intensively. And if a child spills the snack dish or enters living room by getting mud and dirt on clothes and shoes, he suddenly cleans the dirty place intensively. The main purpose of this design process was to find the way to support the cleaning a user can clean rapidly, easily and pleasantly in the above cleaning situation.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
I made the shape of ’Robo Tap’ seem to be simple by focusing on only essential components such as air outlet, dirt bottle, etc. The simplicity was the direction pursued by the concept, but it could be seemed to be monotonous. So, the material which has unique texture was necessary so that people can focus on this aesthetic appeal. I intended to use metallic and semi-glossy materials for showing the appearance of product more clearly. The material which can focus the simplicity was aluminum or plastic painted by metallic feeling.

Who is your favorite designer?
I like Jonathan Paul Ive. His design is simple, but makes the character differentiated from other designs and is loved for a long time. In spite of smart equipments which have complicated and many functions, if they are designed by him, users can use them easily and pleasantly. All users don’t feel any difficulty for using and furthermore, have pleasure for it. It is the appearance of design, which I pursue.

What are your career goals?
I want to make products which can be used widely as a designer of company. In other words, I want to be a designer treating the wide market place. My goal is to contribute to change people’s lives to be positive although it’s invisible, rather than to be famous through my reputation. ]]> http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-gyu-ha-choi/feed/ 0 http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-kent-madden/ http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-kent-madden/#comments Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:31:01 +0000 admin http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/?p=3296

Electrolux Design Lab 2011 finalist Kent Madden is the Canadian designer behind the Salvé Bagel Toaster. Kent is a student at Carleton University in Canada.

What was the inspiration for your concept?
I remember seeing a Compact Disc player concept a few years ago which simply gripped the CD and spun it, reading it within its grasp (similar to the Salvé). It captured my attention and made me ask, ‘Why is it necessary to use so much material when we have the technology to use far less?’ Scandinavian design was also a huge inspiration – not only for the form, but also for the use cycle, materials, and final detailing. As Electrolux is known for their strong Scandinavian language, I wanted to incorporate things like flowing lines, gentle crowning, clean materials and the reduction of unnecessary parts into my design as well. But most importantly, I was looking to veer away from the classic top-loading toaster found saturating the market today. As Karim Rashid asked in the documentary Objectified, ‘Why do we feel like we need to keep revisiting the archetype over and over again?’ I want my design to grab the attention of consumers and offer them something fresh that they had never seen.

How does your concept fit into the theme of intelligent mobility?
The Salvé Bagel Toaster solves the brief – Intelligent mobility – in a number of ways. First, since only the charging dock plugs into the wall, the Salvé is easily charged through induction, eliminating the need for a cord on the actual toaster. There is no second guessing and no need for unnecessary buttons and indicators, because the design features only one light to indicate a full charge.

Secondly, the Salvé bagel toaster is completely portable, allowing the user to toast a bagel in or outside the home.

Thirdly, when it comes to toasting, Salvé automatically senses the bagel’s weight and begins to toast and rotate accordingly. This allows the user to clearly see how toasted their bagel is throughout the process.

Finally, the Salvé design is environmentally conscious; it can be partially produced from recycled materials and it uses a minimum amount of energy, allowing for less waste.

Why would a consumer want to own your concept (what are its main benefits)?
Salvé was initially designed for people who are rushed in the morning and don’t have time to fix breakfast. Rather than eating unhealthy alternatives or starving until lunch, I wanted them to be able to make a bagel on the go or even at the office. Salvé is able to toast on the go or can be brought to the user’s final destination (the office, camping, picnic lunches, etc.). Therefore, its main benefit would be portability/convenience. Another reason consumers would want to own the Salvé is because it takes up far less room than a conventional toaster. For small apartments, Salvé’s non-intrusive design is the perfect solution. Perhaps one of Salvé’s more press-worthy benefits would be its ability to spark conversation. Because of its unique design, method of toasting and striking difference to other toasters on the market, it would certainly promote word-of-mouth.

Describe the consumer research behind your concept?
When developing Salvé, I focused my research on where there was a need in the kitchen. Since most modern appliances (fridge, stovetop, oven, blender, dishwasher, etc.) already had portable alternatives on the market, I decided to take on the challenge of creating a personal toaster. I researched a number of social trends including: the rising popularity of bagels as breakfast food, the growth of urbanization resulting in smaller living quarters and finally the increase in the number of people skipping breakfast, and the results of doing so.

One of the main reasons bagels are becoming more popular is because of their size (one bagel = five slices of bread), which keeps the consumer fuller for longer. Their popularity also lies in their ease of preparation. Next, the rise in urbanization shows that people are choosing to live in smaller houses, and therefore have smaller kitchens with less counter space to store something as bulky as a conventional toaster. Although it’s known that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, more than 25% of American adults skip breakfast, which can lead to a number of health issues. You are 450% more likely to become obese if you skip breakfast and 15% more likely to become obese if you buy take-out for your morning meal. Skipping breakfast can also lead to concentration difficulties:

“If a 12 year-old skips breakfast, he will have the reaction time of a 70 year-old in the classroom” – Reading University, UK.

After compiling this research, I saw the bigger picture. My goal was to design a toaster that would not only toast a bagel more effectively than a conventional toaster, but one that would also take up less counter space, remain energy efficient, aesthetically pleasing and be portable enough to be removed from it’s dock and used in almost any day-to-day environment.

What kind of materials would you use to build your concept?
While designing the Salvé, I had the strong desire to create a product that was both environmentally responsible and aesthetically pleasing. However, I didn’t want the fact that it was environmentally friendly to be its main selling point – this should be an automatic feature in today’s products. Ideally, the Salvé would be manufactured out of recycled aluminum (from products such as aluminum cans) and Ecoceramics (a ceramic that can be produced from renewable natural resources like wood or wood wastes/sawdust). It would be powered by a sugar battery (a bio battery that generates electricity from carbohydrates like sugar) and therefore, when disposed, would create less impact on the environment.

Who is your favorite designer?
Honestly, I can’t pinpoint one designer who captures my interest completely, mainly because there are so many innovative designs out there. However, there are a handful of designers whose design styles and ethics I have grown to respect. Karim Rashid, Jonathan Ive, Marc Newson and Charles and Rae Eames are just a few. Some of my favorite designers are my peers with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with over the last few years. I really enjoy seeing different people’s perspectives on design. I’m excited to see where each of them will end up in the future.

What are your career goals?
Like most people on their career journey, I aspire to be the best that I can be. To become a well-known and well-published designer would be a dream come true. But more than that, I also have a vision of bringing an awareness of the design scene to North America to the extent that it is visible in Europe. I would also love to open Wikipedia one day and see my own page – isn’t that the hallmark of success these days (haha)? ]]> http://www.electroluxdesignlab.com/2011/07/electrolux-design-lab-2011-finalist-kent-madden/feed/ 8