Arts Thread

Above: Rado Star Prize UK shortlist 1. James Plimmer/ 2. Huw Evans/ 3. Katy Thomas/ 4. Qiang Huang

The shortlisted designers from this year’s Rado Star Prize UK have been announced.

Designers were asked to submit a creative response to the theme Re:imagine and ten in total were selected by a judging panel consisting of industry professionals including Elle Decoration editor Ben Spriggs, designer Steuart Padwick, editor in chief of Clippings Rose Ether and Rado vice president of product Hakim El Kadiri and designjunction’s event director Mark Gordon.

Each of the shortlisted designers will present their concepts at designjunction from 19-22 September as part of London Design Festival and the winner will receive a £5,000 cash prize.

The first shortlisted designer is James Plimmer (Nottingham Trent University) who was selected for his Flohaler concept, which aims to combat improper inhaler use. The Flohaler helps asthma patients use their inhaler correctly by supporting their chin and straightening their throat, allowing them to inhale the medicine more efficiently. To ensure the Flohaler is accessible to a wide range of patients, Plimmer incorporated braille into the design and used a colour palette that doesn’t isolate patients with colour vision deficiencies.

Huw Evans’ (Plymouth University) Concertina Collection of furniture and home décor is made from ash and cherry timber. We featured Huw's work on our highlights from Plymouth 3D Design 2019. Matthieu Muller (Royal College of Art London) created the TENSION collection, a mirror, desk lamp and pencil case that all make use of the simple elastic band to connect their brass, steel and aluminium parts.

Katy Thomas’ EMOSHI (Nottingham Trent University) project helps children staying in hospital cope with stress, anxiety and express the way they’re feeling to healthcare professionals. The project features a range of minimally designed characters that represent a range of key emotions which children can use to express themselves if they are struggling to find the words.

Qiang Huang’s (Central Saint Martins) project, Bike Scavengers, hopes to encourage people to repurpose abandoned hire bikes. Jules by Sarah Willemart (Royal College of Art) is designed to hang garments that aren’t dirty enough to go in the laundry basket, but not clean enough to be folded and put back in the closet or drawer.



The Willow Chair by Peter Kovacs (Kingston School of Art) reclaims willow wood from cricket bat manufacturing, using the material to create a contemporary chair made using traditional Sussex trug making techniques.



Tomi Laukkanen (Royal College of Art) created Worthy to try and reduce electrical waste and encourage consumers to repair their electronics. The Worthy product collection features rechargeable and repairable electrical devices such as an electric toothbrush, shaver and hair trimmer. Each device is made from similar internal parts, making them easier to repair and allowing users to become familiar with the components that make them work.



Rocco Giovannoni (Royal College of Art) was shortlisted for the Inmergo project, a patent-pending piece of audio tech that generates omnidirectional surround sound, creating a more immersive sound that can be helpful to people with hearing loss. The tenth designer, Liam Arteona created Piani, a portable piano keyboard that aims to encourage musicians to become more mobile thus allowing them the opportunities to get out and collaborate with other creatives.



To learn more about Rado Star Prize UK visit their website.