CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Students in the School of Art+Design at the University of Illinois took three of the top six prizes at the 17th Annual Student Design Competition sponsored by the International Housewares Association, based in Rosemont, Ill. A fourth Illinois student also earned honorable mention.
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The competition, begun in 1993, promotes innovative product designs that help people perform everyday tasks more efficiently and enhances student awareness of design careers in the housewares industry.
Teddy Lu, a senior, was one of two first-place winners. Lu developed a multi-functional bathtub that can accommodate a newborn baby on one side and can accommodate a baby up to 6 months old when flipped over. The versatile device, which Lu calls the “Tub Tub,” also can be used as a bath seat for the parent, a child’s step stool or a storage container for bath toys. Lu, who is from Lombard, Ill., won $2,500 in prize money for his design.
Emily Maskey, of Springfield, a junior at Illinois, was one of two second-place winners and earned $1,900 in prize money for her product, a refrigeration and hydration device called “Fresco” that allows fresh produce to be stored on the countertop in clear containers. The device makes fresh food more visible and accessible, encouraging healthy eating habits and reducing food waste.
Colin Lake, also a junior, took one of three third-place prizes for designing a smoke alarm for hearing-impaired people. The alarm uses a strobe light activated by the sound frequency of the smoke detector. The device, called the “Beacon,” plugs into wall outlets and has back-up batteries so it can double as a safety light during power outages. Lake, who is from Carol Stream, Ill., won $1,200 for his design.
Brian Moy, of Wilmette, who is also a junior, earned honorable mention and $250 with his design, the “Stamp ‘n Scrape,” a tool for filling small holes and dents in drywall. The device dispenses pre-measured spackle from cartridges, can be used as a scraper for removing excess filling material and contains a sanding sponge.
This year’s student design competition drew a record 283 entries from 23 North American design schools affiliated with the Industrial Designers Society of America.
Fifty-three students from the junior and senior industrial design studios led by professors Joyce Thomas and David Weightman and instructor Mike Elwell in the School of Art+Design at Illinois submitted entries.
The entries – which included sketches showing the development process, user observations and human factors, illustrations of the proposed products, and written descriptions – were judged initially by two jurors, who provided written evaluations. A panel of 10 judges then selected the winners on the basis of innovation, satisfaction of user needs, understanding of production and marketing principles and quality of the presentation materials.
The 2010 panel of judges comprised representatives from industry, consulting firms and education. Elwell, who is a past winner, was selected to serve as a judge this year but did not review any U. of I. students’ entries.
While a student at Notre Dame University, Elwell took third place in the 2005 competition with a combination pill bottle opener-magnifier called the Medi-Grip, which is now being manufactured by Jokari/U.S. Inc.
“The competition is great,” Elwell said. “It’s one of the few competitions where the judges give every student feedback about their work, which I think is invaluable. If you win, then you have opportunities to go ahead and sell your product.”
Along with cash prizes, first-, second- and third-place winners received an all-expense paid trip to the 2010 International Home + Housewares Show, where they will demonstrate their designs for industry representatives. This year’s show, to be held March 14-16 at McCormick Place in Chicago, is expected to draw 55,000 visitors from 100 countries.
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