Metropolitan Works, part of London Metropolitan University, launched seven new products at this year's London Design Festival at Global Industry at the Dock - Tom Dixon's design hub based in Portobello Dock in West London.
The exposition showcases selected products from June's ERDF-funded Metamorphosis competition which saw 50 designers submit product ideas and undergo the unique New Product Development Programme (NPD) that will be offered through the Centre this autumn.
The winners worked with NPD experts over the summer to develop prototypes using Metropolitan Works' advanced digital and traditional design and manufacturing facilities. Their final projects will be on show at this exhibition in advance of going to market.
In addition to the display, Metropolitan Works, funded by Upturn, is offering one-to-one, hour-long skills sessions for designers who wish to develop new products themselves.
Designers have booked in their spaces with design consultants Linden Davies and Matthew Lewis - who will offer coaching across a ranges of topics including branding, ideation, IP and more.
Metamorphosis: The Winners
Box&Rox
Product: Box&Rox
The brainchild of Marcus Keohane, Box & Rox is both the company and name behind this innovative device to encourage physical activity amongst five to nine-year-olds through an interactive experience. Box & Rox is using its time at Metropolitan Works to finalise the design intent, prototyping and preparations for manufacture with its local team of designers.
www.boxnrox.com
JSCD
Product: MindDice
John Sprange has spent the past five years combining design work with caring for his father, who
had Alzheimer's. Through his experience he has created MindDice - a product aimed at improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers. Prompts are written on the twelve sides of a dice to stimulate conversation and stories which can be enjoyed by the family, friends and carers alike.
NEX
Product: To-and-Fro Table
NEX was chosen for its To-and-Fro table, which is made up of a field of delicate walnut wooden fins that vary in angle to each other and interlock to form a rich lattice that appears transparent at some angles and opaque from others to reveal a greater range of interpersonal communication. The multidisciplinary design office works at the intersection of design, architecture, and infrastructure and is headed up by Alan Dempsey, who in 2010 was selected by the European Centre for Architecture as one of the EU's top 40 architects under 40.
www.nex-architecture.com
Pli Design Ltd.
Product: Pennyfields Chair
Pli's Alex Whitney has created the Pennyfields Chair, which takes its influence from the post-war Utility design era with a bamboo twist. Alex has created a chair that competes with larger manufacturers without compromising on comfort, build quality, materials, or price. The chair exemplifies environmental design through the thoughtful use of materials and processes, coupled with the opportunity for easy refurbishment, which extends the chair's overall lifespan.
Roussel
Product: Palmier Table
Anthony and Benjamin Roussel have used their combined skills in jewellery, product and fashion design to realise the beautiful Palmier coffee table, designed to be a functional centrepiece. Made from flowing tesselated layers, it is classically elegant with a sculptural appeal. The tables are crafted using a series of identical wooden waved rings, layered, and finished with a glass top and small legs at the base. The collaboration is a first for the brothers, who will use the LDF 2010 as a platform to launch their company Roussel.
www.rousselcreative.com
Show and Tell
Product: Lampada Range
Show and Tell Design is a British design company co-founded by Robin Shannon and Stephen Morgan, a pair of young "design buddies" and childhood friends. Their energy-efficient Lampada range of electroluminescent floor and table lamps are only 4mm thick, aiming to provoke thought and conversation. The juxtaposition of the new material paired with a traditional lamp silhouette gives the product an exciting, eye-catching character with much personality and a decidedly designer edge. The table lamp retails at £189.99 and the floor lamp at £849.99.
showandtelldesign.com
warm
Product: Circus Light
Corinna Warm's Circus Light, a family of three pendant lights, has taken its cue from the shape of a circus tent. The Berlin-born, London-based designer, who has worked in a number of top studios - including Tom Dixon and Barber Osgerby, set up her company warm in 2008 following a three-year tenure as NPD designer at Linley. The simplicity of the shade reflect a modern industrial look, they are spun from aluminium and will be available in a variety of colours with a golden interior gently reflecting the light of the energy efficient globe bulbs.
www.warmproducts.com