NORSK DESIGNRÅD
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Women dominate the talent competition
Proud winners of the Young talents award. From left: Nina Lysbakken, Eilin Bergum, Bilal Zia Chaudry and Eva Marit Tøftum and Silje Søfting in SHE Design Studio. Photo: Johnny Syversen
Oslo: Health, the environment and education are common themes in the current projects of Norway’s most promising designers. A total of three out of the four prizes awarded in the “Young Talent 2011” competition have gone to women.
The prizes were awarded on Wednesday 16 March, during Design Day. This is an annual event organised by the Norwegian Design Council. It aims to reward industry, designers and young talents for successful innovation and original ideas.
“This is the twentieth year that we have organised the Young Talents awards. A number of today’s top designers got their first breaks when they won this competition,” says Eline Strøm-Gundersen, Project Manager for the Award for Design Excellence and Young Talents at the Norwegian Design Council.
Nina Lysbakken (29) took first prize in the Open class, with her interactive program designed to motivate learning among schoolchildren, while second place went to She Design Studio, consisting of Silje Søfting (26) and Eva Marit Tøftum (27). This duo has developed a completely new furnishing fabric, which is far more environmentally friendly than current options. The competition’s special category, “Design for All”, was also won by a woman, Eilin Bergum (24).
In fact, the only male winner in this year’s Young Talents awards went to Oslo designer Bilal Zia Chaudhry (26). He took third place in the Open class for developing a special, water-filled glove to cool and stabilize stroke patients.
Creative blind
Why aren’t there any books or magazines that are equally attractive and accessible to sighted, partially sighted and blind readers? Eilin Bergum’s answer to this question was to develop the publication “Touch”.
“I spent several weeks of summer staying with my uncle, Åge Nigardsøy, who happens to be Head of The Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted. He had a vast amount of knowledge about communication between partially sighted and sighted people, and was fervent in his belief that the blind should have the same opportunities to develop their creative skills as sighted people,” explains Bergum.
Her uncle took her to an education centre for the blind, where she gained insight into the teaching of blind children, young people and adults. To Bergum, many of the teaching tools were characterised by a low level of experimentation, and this sowed the seed of the idea for her design project.
“This in turn led to me writing my BA dissertation on the use of different materials and various printing techniques in blind and partially sighted educational strategies. I also discovered that many blind people love visually creative activities like painting and drawing,” explains Bergum.
New uses for old paper
She decided to develop something that could be experienced by everyone; a book in which creative themes such as music and art can physically be felt, heard and seen. She used everything she had learned about Braille, normal text, and illustrations, and how these could be formed in such a way that a totally blind person could experience them.
“I actually employed an old method, using embossing paper for the printing, so that I didn’t end up with a book that was too expensive to publish. Embossing paper has been used for years for blind and partially sighted teaching. I added a little graphic design and images, and ended up with something that could also be of interested to sighted readers,” says Bergum.
Needs financing
“Touch” is accessible to blind people on their own and when they are in the company of sighted readers. They can all draw the same pleasure from the book, independent of whether they are using their visual or tactile senses to read the illustrations.
“My whole soul went into this project, and it is fantastic that the Young Talents awards appreciate the value of this project and rewarded my efforts,” beams Bergum. She would love to develop the project further, but this is dependent upon finding funding. “There is still a long way to go and I can’t do it by myself. If someone wants to contribute, then please come and speak to me,” she says.
Inquisitiveness helps us learn
Nina Lysbakken’s online learning site developed out of the desire to build bridges between the everyday school life of students and the digital world where they spend much of their time. “I wanted to increased motivation to learn, and one way of achieving this is through building on an individual student’s strengths and interests,” she explains.
The project was integrated into her Masters Degree dissertation in visual communication at the Bergen National Academy of the Arts. Lysbakken explains that she has been interested in education and learning for a long time. Inquisitiveness is vital if you want to learn something new, she believes.
“Teachers are very good at what they do, but the system still relies on outdated ideas from a society that has little to do with how we live today. Today’s digital world impacts immensely on how young people learn and share knowledge. You can see young people watching new skating tricks on YouTube, but they don’t consider this learning. To them, learning is something that only happens between 08:30 and 14:29 on schooldays,” says Lysbakken.
Super-intensive student groups
The project began a little over two years ago. Lysbakken wanted to study learning motivation, but didn’t know what form her results would take; a website, a book or something completely different. But with this starting point she got permission to work with seventh graders at the Fridalen and Gimle School in Bergen, throughout the entire duration of her Masters degree.
“We had work groups running throughout the project. The students were great and we had any number of intensive brainstorming sessions over really short time periods, something that engaged the students and made their learning more efficient,” says Lysbakken.
Drawing on students’ strong points
She also followed the students on Facebook, and examined the information she gathered using methodologies from motivational psychology. The result was an interactive, web-based learning profile, which adapts learning to the strengths of each individual.
”The idea behind adapted learning is age-old, and what I have done is intended as a tool to help teachers better adapt their lessons to their students’ requirements,” Lysbakken stresses. She is currently working on expanding the project.
A desire to replace dangerous foam
When Silje Søfting and Eva Marit Tøftum at SHE Design Studio tried to find a fabric with specific characteristics, they were somewhat disappointed to discover that it didn’t actually exist. So rather than changing their plans, they decided to create the product themselves. The result was an innovative, environmentally friendly upholstery fabric with numerous possible applications.
”We wanted to do away with the foam normally found in furniture, which is not at all good for the environment. As designers, we are responsible for how our products impact upon the environment, from their point of creation until the day when the product is finally disposed of. Environmental concerns are no longer something to be considered only at the end of the design process. They are an issue from day one,” stresses Søfting.
Gut-feelings and plain old stubbornness
The Gudbrandsdal Uldvarefabrik factory helped the designers to test out their ideas. “We spent an awful lot of time refining the choice of fibres, techniques and construction. It was a process of trial and error, and we relied on both our gut-feelings and a great deal of stubbornness,” explains Tøftum.
The final result was a material called “Between”; a combination of woven textile and composite. The different fibres have various technical qualities and can support a structure, while also offering the right degree of softness and comfort.
Investing the prize back into the project
“What is truly unique about Between is that it can be used as a construction material without the need for advanced machinery or chemicals. The textile can effectively replace the use of foam in furniture construction, but it can equally be used as a sound insulator for interior features. The possibilities are endless,” says Søfting.
The two young designers inform us that the prize will go a long way towards making the textile ready for production. “But lack of funds has really put a stop on the further development of Between. Thanks to this award, we now have a little more to work with, and we are extremely grateful for that,” says Tøftum.
The need for rapid cooling
One in three stroke patients gets hyperthermia, a sudden and dramatic increase in body temperature. Being able to cool the patient rapidly is therefore critical. There has never been an optimal solution for temperature regulation of stroke patients. Until now.
“There is a wide variety of products to regulate temperature, but none of them are specifically adapted to stroke victims. These products effectively immobilise the patients because they cover the patient completely,” explains Bilal Zia Chaudhry. Instead, he has developed a special water-filled glove that can be used on one arm, is lightweight, flexible and much more comfortable for the patient.
Pushing boundaries
“Otivio” was Chaudhry’s Master’s project at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design. It was named after the medical technology company that Chaudhry collaborated with. Chaudhry spent a great deal of time becoming familiar with both the technology as well as the physiological and medical aspects of the field.
“This was essential for me if I wanted to develop a realistic and reliable concept. It was important for me to keep in mind both the technical requirements and limitations of the company I was working with, as well as user issues. At the same time, I wanted to challenge existing limitations and try to come up with a solution that was original and unexpected,” explains Chaudhry.
Tested in hospitals
The project has already won the international Red Dot prize ”The Best of the Best” in the concept design category. Business partner Otivio has recently tested prototypes of the glove on stroke patients in hospitals.
“They want to commercialise the product, and I really hope that my product concept can help them achieve this. The need is huge, and this product provides a solution to a serious problem. I am quite convinced that a finished product will come onto the market one day soon,” says Chaudhry.
He hopes that Norwegian companies will dare to invest in high technology and specialised products that can compete internationally. “We have the knowledge, experience and high-level research to gain a competitive advantage in a number of sectors. We should be using this,” stresses Chaudhry.
FACT BOX / Young Talent Awards 2011
Winner of Design for All: Eilin Bergum – “Touch”
Winner – Open Class: Nina Lysbakken – visual learning
Runner up – Open Class: SHE Design Studio – “Between”
Third place – Open Class: Bilal Zia Chaudhry – “Otivio”
Contacts:
- Eilin Bergum, mobile tel. 938 51 566
- Nina Lysbakken, mobile tel. 930 84 064
- SHE Design Studio, Silje Søfting, 990 46 186
- Bilal Zia Chaudhry, mobile tel. 988 18 157
- Norwegian Design Council, Project Manager for the Award for Design Excellence and Young Talents, Eline Strøm-Gundersen, tel. 23 29 25 70, mobile tel. 971 05 580
- Norwegian Design Council, Project Manager Marte Grevsgard, tel. 23 29 25 62, mobile tel. 917 74 683
- Norwegian Design Council, Head of Information Grete Kobro, mobile tel. 907 65 971
This article was written by Pressenytt for the Norwegian Design Council. Pressenytt has editorial responsibility for the content of this article.
