LG Mobile Phones recently named Emily Albinski from Wading River, NY the winner of its 2nd Annual Design the Future Competition. The idea competition challenged participants to create a concept to define the future of personal mobile communication. More than 800 designs were submitted in the competition in a battle for over $80,000 in awards. LG awarded $20,000 to the first place winner, $10,000 to second place and $5,000 to third place. LG also presented 40 honorable mentions of $1,000 plus an LG U.S. phone.
First place winner Albinski, a professional full-time freelance designer, created the CC on the theme of connectivity. The winning concept of a modular phone, which could be used by LG in the future, includes a "core" phone that can be inserted into a touch screen or netbook shell depending on the user's needs. By design, the winning concept would allow users to connect in many different contexts and environments. Albinski, a science and technology enthusiast, refined and laid out her concept in just four days. In 2008, she participated in the challenge and submitted a USB necklace in the LG Swarovski Crystal Vision design contest.
"Where better to get inspired than from the imaginations of mobile phone users, ranging from students to professionals," said Ehtisham Rabbani, vice president of product strategy and marketing for LG Mobile Phones. "With these priceless submissions, LG not only gets closer to the future of this industry, but gets to share in the thrill of discovering it with our consumers as a guiding light."
Many of the design concepts submitted demonstrated the desire to stay connected and multi-task in a wearable option. One honorable mention concept - titled Morph - featured a touch screen phone with a flexible display that can be bent and worn around the wrist. Another honorable mention concept - the HiFi - included a touch screen phone that can be converted into a hands-free headphone for listening to music and making calls.
This year's competition featured more awards and attracted a record number of submissions from design enthusiasts. Entries were judged on four categories: need fulfillment, creativity/originality, feasibility and polish and appeal. Any U.S. resident over the age of 18 years (or age of majority in state of residence) and older was eligible to submit a concept. Both seasoned and aspiring designers used their imagination, creativity and 2D and 3D engineering software such as the free trial of SketchBook Pro provided by partner Autodesk to create their designs.