New Designers 2024
What are the next generation of designers creating?
By Charlotte Johnston
The New Designers exhibition was an exhilarating atmosphere filled with young talent and innovative ideas. Held at the London Business Design Centre, the New Designers exhibited for two weeks from the 26th of June 2024 to the 6th of July 2024 showcasing a range of different university courses such as fashion & textiles, ceramics, product design, illustration and much more.
Time and time again university students end their journeys with graduation and find themselves wondering what’s next. The New Designers exhibition gives these students opportunities to present their final projects and liaise with industry professionals in the hopes of building connections and experiencing what the design industry is like.
There were many amazing projects but I decided to solely focus on the BA/BEng Product Design courses and I looked at the variety of universities highlighting the different design processes such as prototyping, the importance of sustainable materials and creating inclusive user experiences.
I selected five standout students/universities that displayed innovative, important and professional projects at the New Designers exhibition when I attended.
Brunel University London
Let’s start with a medical aftercare project that stood out to me by Kimon Ennes from Brunel University London, he has created a device for stroke survivors called ‘Nura: Targeted Stroke Rehabilitation’.
This sleeve lets the patients regain mobility and function in their upper limbs, also, giving them some independence back by exercising their right to rehabilitate in the comfort of their own homes or wherever they choose.
Kimon created several prototypes and made two different handheld remote controls to give the patients the option to either create their settings and levels or use an automated controlled set of levels.
In the end after discussing and testing on stroke patients the preferred option was setting the controls themselves.
This is a huge step towards independence in medical aftercare and providing a portable and accessible rehabilitation product for stroke survivors.
University of
Sussex
Moving on to the University of Sussex, Ato Hawkins has transformed the way seating on public transport operates by inventing the ‘Solo Seating’.
Collectively as a community, we act selfishly when it comes to seats on public transport, Ato analysed survey answers from regular bus users and found that seat blocking is the biggest issue and wanted to combat this in the hopes of reducing the selfish behaviour displayed.
Creating an individualised seating system operated by NFC (a contactless card system) will reshape the experiences of using public transport, making it more accessible and hopefully creating a bigger positive outlook on public transport.
This project also, factors in the importance of sustainability and reducing the world’s carbon footprint, by having a positive seating experience on buses this will encourage more people to use them rather than drive creating more gas emissions into the atmosphere thus, improving our chances for the future.
Middlesex University
Middlesex University has a special place in my heart, I am an alumni student and have worked closely with several students from the 2024 cohort of the BA/BEng Product Design course.
What I noticed about their stand was that the focus was on the development and process of making the product, they made their stall interactive and sociable by providing seating spaces and prototypes to look at and discuss.
Understanding what the student has learnt and developed over the past few years is in my eyes more important than the finalised product, acknowledging the struggles and iterations that you have gone through in your project and learning from them will help you adapt and develop more skills in your career.
Middlesex University had a variety of projects focusing on societal issues which need to be targeted some of the standouts were;
A language learning device for children called ‘babL’ created by Irum Farooq;
A community cobot enabling robots to support home robotics titled ‘CODE-R’ created by Charles Mortimer;
A contactless device for wheelchair users enabling them to thrive in a contactless world titled ‘REACH’ by Imogen Sykes.
The user ability is at the forefront of these designs, making sure that we are actively creating products that can be utilised in a variety of ways and the importance of the journey not just the finished product makes the designer.
University of
Leeds
As the design industry develops, the new generation of designers has started to explore user ability towards more diverse communities such as creating products to aid those with physical disabilities, or mental illness or it is aimed at those who are in the neurodivergent community.
At the University of Leeds, Annie Edward has created a product titled, ‘Mapable’ which is a universal adaptable tactile map for those who have vision impairments.
The anxiety that surrounds visually impaired people can be stemmed from being in unfamiliar surroundings and unable to independently explore new places or buildings thus, they may choose to avoid these social situations.
‘Mappable’ is a tool that can be used to create a cognitive map and by using NFC technology to create an adaptable tactile map which can also give auditory information about the key points on the map.
Giving independence and confidence back to visually impaired people is very important, making sure that everyone is included and that we pursue to improve our community and this project highlights this.
University of
Loughborough
Leading on to the final project that stood out was from the University of Loughborough, Jacob Barbour wanted to make chemotherapy more accessible to be administered at home, so he invented a platform called ‘Thrive’.
Making sure those with terminal illnesses or frequent chemotherapy users can gain back some independence can be vital in making a positive impact on their lives.
It is a user-driven device which is portable and accessible, letting the users be comfortable in their own home, with a compact kit which can be easily used and re-used to create a sustainable product.
As well as, having a digital app to connect the patients to their doctors or nurses in a quick way, asking the app for simple answers to symptoms and getting advice that can be vital in improving the speed of patient care.
The innovation in medical care is not only impressive but imperative these strides forward are being made and products like ‘Thrive’ need to be funded as they can very much improve the lives of those who are suffering.
Looking at the hard work and commitment gone into these projects conveys the determination these young designers have and I am very grateful that I was able to discuss these projects with several different students and be given a deeper insight into their final projects.
The New Designers exhibition has been an incredible opportunity for the new, exciting talent that’s rising to evaluate the way design has been developing and adapting.
I am eager to attend next year’s exhibition and hope to find even more positive strides forward within the design industry, I will see you next year at the 40th anniversary of New Designers from the 2nd-12th of July 2025.