The annual Red Dot Award: Design Concept focuses on uncovering exceptional professional-level design concepts.
It is open to both students and professional designers, and entries are judged not only on creativity, but marketability as well.
Out of the 4,698 entries submitted this year, 245 concepts were awarded the globally coveted Red Dot award by an international panel of jurors.
Another 42 concepts were honoured Red Dot: Best of the Best for exceptional design excellence, and 53 concepts were credited with an Honourable Mention.
Mr Ken Koo, president of Red Dot Asia, says: “Only 6 per cent of all entries were awarded a Red Dot this year, making each awarded concept an outstanding feat of accomplishment.
“The Red Dot award seeks to open doors for designers, giving them more opportunities to bring realisation to their own work.”
Fik Light
Red Dot
Designer: Edmund Liew
Singaporean freelance designer Edmund Liew believes that road traffic safety can be improved, and he wants to do that with FIK Light, his version of traffic lights.
Conventional traffic lights change from red to green, green to amber, and then from amber to red, sometimes abruptly.
Some countries have taken the initiative to install a countdown LED light beside the red and green lights to inform drivers and road users of the time left.
“But countdown numbers unconsciously have a psychological impact on the drivers, causing nervousness or frustration, especially if they are in a rush,” says Mr Liew.
The FIK Light also has green, amber and red lights, but Mr Liew designed the lights to appear as strips, giving them a more modern look.
He says that in the strip lighting countdown system, the individual strips denote the time left for each individual light element.
“The remaining strips that appear tell drivers how much time is left in each of the lights, be it red, amber or green.
“The light system in each module can be catered to different traffic intersection time duration,” says Mr Liew.
Swash
Red Dot
Designer: Ronald Tan
Mr Ronald Tan, a final-year undergraduate design student at Lasalle College of the Arts, was inspired by his mum when he was designing Swash, a mini clothes washer.
“My mum still hand-washes clothes,” says Mr Tan.
“I noticed that there are individuals who have no need or space for a full-sized washing machine, hence Swash was created.”
Swash makes use of the pails or containers most households already have, and replaces the strenuous act of hand-washing clothes by incorporating the washing process of a washing machine.
It delivers a similar result within a unit that is compact and portable.
The two components of Swash – the washing unit and the washing basket – can be detached to facilitate storage.
Swash’s washing process mimics the washing machine and begins with the basket holding the dirty laundry.
The process is streamlined as the basket is directly attached to the washing unit mounted on a pail.
Three spring-loaded clamps secure and centralise the unit in place.
The control interface’s simple design consists of only four buttons – start, stop, timer up, and timer down.
Once washing starts, the basket moves in rotational motion.
The pail is emptied and Swash transforms into a dry spinner once the washing completes.
The activation button on Swash’s handle indicates the hand position required to grab the unit in order to begin.
The basket keeps the clothes in and filters the water out into the pail, and with that, the process is complete.
Piperine and Crystalline
Honourable Mention
Designer: Jonathan Saphiro Salim
Mr Jonathan Saphiro Salim, an undergraduate at Lasalle College of the Arts, wants to make kitchen countertops more exciting with his version of the salt and pepper grinders.
His Piperine and Crystalline grinders have a cylindrical weight at the end of their spinning shafts.
This allows the grinding process to be performed with only one hand.
As the process uses centripetal force, less effort is required from the user compared to conventional mills.
The user only needs to move the shaft in a circular motion, and this causes the weight attached to the end of the metal frame to spin, activating the grinder.
The refilling process is easily done by sliding out the semi-circular cylinder container.
When not in use, the grinders can be neatly kept away in a specially constructed dock.
Living Shelter
Honourable Mention
Designer: WY-TO and Pod Structures
What happens when a natural disaster strikes? Often, those affected find themselves without any shelter.
Singapore-based design firm WY-TO hopes to provide a solution for those affected by natural disasters.
Co-founder Yann Folian says: “We decided to use our skills to create a shelter solution designed specifically for the climate, geography, and cultural habits of South-east Asia.”
Nearly 43 per cent of natural disasters happen in the Asia-Pacific region.
His team created the Living Shelter, an affordable flat-pack capsule, designed to be easily shipped and assembled in any kind of tropical environment.
Inspired by the kampung house, Living Shelter has openings that ensure natural ventilation, roof eaves to protect from sun and rainwater, and legs to elevate the liveable area from the ground.
The engineering system provides sturdiness, and adaptability to hot and humid weather conditions.
All components and systems can be easily dismantled and reused separately in an entirely new building on a more durable term.
The Living Shelter offers privacy and security, as well as basic needs such as electricity, water and furniture.
It includes a water bag for water collection; a built-in solar panel on the roof to charge electronic devices and provide light; and built-in foldable furniture such as a bed, hammocks, shelves and portable furniture. These are all conveniently flat-packed.
A custom-made folding mechanism was also created to ensure that the overall structure works correctly without the need for tools or special training for installation.
This is an edited version of an article that first appeared in The Business Times weekend edition on Sept 24.
This article was first published on September 25, 2016.
Get The New Paper for more stories.
