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Rado + designjunction announce the shortlist for the Rado Star Prize UK 2018

For the second edition of the Rado Star Prize UK, young designers from across the UK submitted a range of forward-thinking projects from the interior, industrial and technology design mediums. Ten designs have been shortlisted by an expert judging panel and one winner will be announced at designjunction (20-23 September 2018).

Responding to this year’s designjunction theme “On Time/Time Off”, projects ranged from lighting to ceramics, furniture to innovative manufacturing processes. The theme was realised through the concept of passing time, enriching life, and products that enhance the user’s awareness of where they spend their time.

The judging was presided over by a stellar panel including award-winning designer Bethan Gray; Head of Design at John Lewis Philippa Prinsloo; Vice President of Product Management at Rado Hakim El Kadiri; Founder of Arts Thread Katie Dominy and designjunction Event Director Will Sorrell.


Image: The Rado Star Prize UK judging panel, left to right: Hakim El Kadiri, Bethan Gray, Will Sorrell, Katie Dominy, Philippa Prinsloo

The ten finalists will exhibit their shortlisted concepts at designjunction (20-23 September 2018). One winner, to be announced at designjunction, will receive a £5,000 cash prize as well as a Rado timepiece. During the show, visitors will be able to nominate their favourite project from among the finalists. The winner of the public vote will also be awarded a Rado timepiece.

Shortlist:


Images (left to right): Spin designed by Levon Lim, The Magé Cabinet designed by Scott Ridgway

Spin – Levon Lim Spin is a modular and flexible workspace piece. Interactive and customisable, users can pivot the various table tops and interchange the shelving units depending upon their preference. Spin helps creatives organise their workspace and spin away items they do not need to focus on during the task at hand.

The Magé Cabinet – Scott Ridgway The Magé Cabinet aims to perfectly complement a whisky lover’s ‘Time Off’. Celebrating both whisky and Japanese culture, the eastern influence is drawn from the traditional Japanese craft of Magewappe, in which straight Cedar is bent into lunchboxes and rice steamers. Using Oak as a stronger and more consistent material, the flowing vertices of the top section and exposed joinery of the bottom express the style and the understated nature of the Magewappe craft.


Images (left to right): A.P.I designed by James Moseley, Life and Work USB Sticks designed by Aaron Mitchell

A.P.I – James Moseley A.P.I applies the concept of Seasonal Affective Disorder lighting to a product that focuses on aesthetics, moving away from the white plastic which currently dominates the field, to warmer materials and colours. From a blue projection at 8:00am to a red projection at 8:00pm the light moves through a gradient over the course of the day, influencing brain behaviour. The blue light promotes activity, whilst the red aids the body’s wind down processes, helping with the natural circadian rhythm of the user.

Life and Work USB Sticks – Aaron Mitchell This product is a functional, double USB memory stick combining pewter, walnut and a magnetic closure. Depending upon the user’s needs each half can be used for different purposes to prevent the mixing of work and personal life. Functional and aesthetically pleasing, the product allows work files and personal memories to be stored together within one product, and yet kept separate.


Images (left to right): BO’OY designed by Chloe Duran Stone, GC18 designed by David Knowles

BO’OY – Chloe Duran Stone Taking into account how light and colours affect wellbeing, BO’OY is a translucent coloured shelf unit, which goes beyond its functional purpose to enhance a space and connect with the user. The sculptural, abstract and colourful elements of the piece trigger the senses whilst the moveable acrylic pieces can be arranged in different compositions and reveal themselves in different ways depending upon light, angle, time and the position they are placed in.

GC18 – David KnowlesInspired by the stunning natural beauty, grandeur and mystique of the Giant’s Causeway, GC18 is a coffee table that responds to the landscape’s aesthetic elements. Hexagonal columns cast in Jesmonite replicate the basic characteristics of the basalt steps. The varying heights and organic shape mimic the terrain, creating a furniture piece that is tactile, intriguing and thought-provoking, consequently inspiring mindfulness.


Images (left to right): Wilf Portable Floor Lamp designed by Lewis Small, The Tartufo Collection designed by Heleen Sintobin

Wilf Portable Floor Lamp – Lewis Small Encouraging greater use of portable lighting in the modern home, Wilf is a portable task lamp. Utilising new battery and LED technologies, the lamp can be easily moved around the home. The counterbalance mechanism is fundamental to the interactivity of the lamp and invites the user to take control of the light. This sleek, adaptable task lamp allows the user to relax or work in any location without compromising on the quality of the light.

The Tartufo Collection – Heleen Sintobin The Tartufo Collection, consisting of a compatible stool and bench, celebrates the intrinsic qualities of vegetable tanned leather. The tanning process is a time-consuming a natural process, producing leather which is testament to its use over time. The furniture pieces revive an ancient natural chemical colouring technique, the concentration of Vinegaroon liquid is subtly altered to result in a collection of unexpected colour variations.


Images (left to right): The Limescale Project designed by Martina Taranto, Kel Lamp designed by Georgina Heighton

The Limescale Project – Martina Taranto Inspired by the slow pace of life in Calatafimi, Sicily, The Limescale Project converts the problem of limescale into an opportunity. Developing a process by which pipe moulds are installed in the pipeline the project harvests self-built structures grown underground. The limescale acquires the tube’s shape, meaning products can be grown and harvested naturally. The project rethinks production methods, reconnects with nature and envisages a future where tables and chairs are cultivated in the pipes and extracted like diamonds.

Kel Lamp – Georgina Heighton The Kel Lamp was developed following the observation that the concept of ‘play’ is being increasingly used in the workplace to release stress and improve attention. Made from oak, the Kel Lamp gives adults an excuse to play as the horizontal oak dowels prompt interaction. They can be slid, rolled or arranged however the user pleases and encourage a childlike curiosity.

Online voting is now live. To vote and to find out more on the shortlist of Rado Star Prize 2018, visit radostarprize.rado.com/uk/finalists

@thedesignjunction

About designjunction
designjunction is London’s leading destination for contemporary interior design and culture, held annually during the London Design Festival in September. designjunction presents more than 200 world-class international brands and smaller cutting-edge design labels to an audience of design professionals (architects, interior designers, retailers and media) as well as consumers. In 2017, designjunction attracted more than 28,000 visitors in five days

About Rado Star Prize
The Rado Star Prize is an established competition that has run in countries around the world, supporting young, unestablished designers and giving them a platform to present their work. Far from focusing on just one field of design, Rado aims to attract projects and ideas from numerous design disciplines in order to create projects that can benefit the lives of individuals or communities both now and in the future.
radostarprize.rado.com/uk

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