Hello fellow board members!
I just thought I’d start a little thread for us that attended the New Designers Exhibition (whether visiting, or exhibiting). I apologise if there is already a thread about it, but I can’t find one.
I know ND hasn’t finished at the time of my posting this thread, but I have had to leave to attend my Grad Ball. Ho hum.
I am interested in hearing your views. It was good to see so many other Universities’ work, and put a few faces to names 
so who were our winners / what else won stuff?
Well, you met me and Luke at the DMU stand 
I had a fantastic time as it was:
1st design exhibition I had been too
1st time I had ever been to London
& a great way to end years of hard slogging (design).
DMU won four awards this year. From what I can remember they were:
-Furniture manufacture (for Matt’s extruded aluminium chair)
-Audi Foundation Award (again, for Matts chair, tho it probably should have went to a Product)
Other awards were:
Most Interesting Folio - Girl from Napier
Dyson award - Bloke from Huddersfield (I think) who did a hammer.
Shower type thing - Derby (i think)…though if the judges had looked a showroon on the 2nd floor they would have seem an alomost identical piece already in production. 
and I can’t remember the rest
Generally, well all done very well, and I’ve been lucky enough to come away with a list of jobs to chase up 1st day when the judging was on was crap, 2nd day was very good (got my 4 job offers then), and then till the end of the show I barey spoke to anyone!
There were a few days of mums, dads & Sixth Formers, and the odd industry person. Product stuff seemed to get neglected over furniture, but it’ll porbably always be like that.
Overall, my summation:
An enjoyable (if totally knackering) experience. Initially I was scared shitless when I saw other Uni’s work, but then after looking a little closer there wasn’t much too it. It’s a good show to look at how different all the Universities are in terms of producing ‘Product Designers’. There was some strong work there, but some very poor.
It’d be good to hear what other people thought of it. I’ve got some pics, that I’ll shove up once I can work out how to get ftp access on the Uni computers
Paul,
yeah, the last 2 years it seemed to be more furniture - maybe jus cos the furniture stuff is bigger…
I was asking about awards cos they said at our graduation that Loughborough got a Dyson award and another one, but I didnt get to go visit it this year. (very very skint thanks to “blonde” letting agents, also I decided to focus on my own work for a change…)
Sounds like you did ok out of it anyway, hope those jobs come to something. I stopped by the end of the show at DMU briefly, I liked your RSA (fully recyclable?? ) and you have some nice sketches. I didnt really understand the other thing you had on there tho - a lot of the displays seemed to lead with the RSA? Nice to see these developed further tho. I didnt really get Luke’s other (non-RSA) project either from what was displayed.
Still, luckily you guys never got to see my stuff… 
Good to hear your lot won stuff at ND too, sounds like it went quite well - be cool to see the piccies.
You are still in Leic then??
Our lecturers will have a chip on their shoulders for a while, with regards to Lufbra not winning an award this year. Hehe. It’s quite funny really 
Our ergonomics lecturer was a bit puzzled by the hammer design that won the Dyson award. I didn’t really have a look at it. Anyone else?
Had I not just gotten an interview offer today, I’d be a bit annoyed that I couldn’t stay until the end. Looks like I’ll be in Luf for the foreseeable future, too
100% recyclable …(races off to check what materials he spec’d 
) LOL. I had three boards up which done me a bit favour. The sketch work seemed was what seemed to attract the companies.
Yeh, I do agree that furniture is bigger, but even on the judging day most product stuff was passed by. I think it just takes too long understand. Initially we had to talk to everyone about our work, tho if you had watched the video , you would have understood everything. Unfortunately people don’t have the time too, and with the images being no-descript it was pretty hard to understand what things were unless asked. In the end I ended up sticking a description on my plinth…make my job much easier!
I’d like to develop my stuff a little more (well a lot really)…
Yeh, the Dyson award was iffy IMO. The hammer was an OK idea…and ideal example of watching builders work. Though, saying that a US toolmaker already produces something very similar. I believe they could have chosen something a little more technical. I never had a proper look at it, but from what I can remember you could used it climb ladders, lift chip-board, and reduced the risk of putting nails in squint. (i think). I think the problem was that it was pretty heavy tho.
And yeh, I’m leicester till I get a job. Going back to Glasgow is pretty pointless because their is no work…nothing! I’d like to take a couple of months off, work on the car, visit friends…whats your plans?
hmm I prob wasnt listening then, lol. Wouldnt be the first time… or maybe they were on about another time… 
Yeah I guess it is quite funny, but I can see the other side of it too, I mean, beaten at awards by DMU, the very idea…
Re understanding the product stuff, communication etc, I guess thats just another thing to get to grips with, pictures showing use, context, etc. which is really tricky… I remem one of the boards at the DMU show a few years back seemed pretty good at that, it was for a connector for a piece of furniture I think, there were lots of sketches of hands thru the whole process of putting the thing together, looked great but must have taken hours to get right. Worked tho, not a single word on the board, easy to follow etc. (just needed to work out what the connector was for, lol)
Plan is to update my cv according to a cool article I found, find my way into some work experience, or a job, or…? Also continuing work on my design/prototype, currently looking at adapting a child-resistant closure, so buying lots of vitamins! None of them have caught me out yet tho, I can open them all.
Leic…Luf… I feel a pub trip coming on, possibly… (imagine appropriate msn icon here)
^^^ oops, mighta helped if I’d signed in.
Did I hear the magic word ‘pub’?
I’m going to the Great British Beer Festivat at the beginning of August. After that, I will be mostly playing computer games and drinking beer… I mean, practicing my drawing.
Yes, prospective employees don’t like products that take too long to explain, especially when you know what it does, and you’ve forgotten that everyone else doesn’t. Also, you’ve put so much work into it, a ‘brief description’ feels like sacrilege! It deserves better than that! It’s your baby! Ahem. Yes.
Where was I?
wish more threads were like this one.
TRM mentioned “wordless” boards. thats definitely the goal. sometimes hands and exploded views have to be drawn. even if you dont want to.
“The sketch work seemed was what seemed to attract the companies.”
like some of us have said all along. hot drawings will get you noticed. 3D CAD is icing on the cake. might win the job but sketches open the door.
best of luck to all of you.
If only I had remembered about the sketching at the beginning! I’d have spent more time tarting my folio up! 
Being more of a technical person, my sketchwork tends to be little Biro doodles of mechanisms, clip details, internal layouts of components etc… Not much good for boards. 
Pretty sketches just seemed like a waste of time, when there were so many more important details that needed working on. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 
no, you’re right, we are designing products of one sort or another, not sketch sheets -its no good having “pretty” sketch sheets that still don’t communicate the idea (to the client, other designers, or yourself several all-nighters later).
I think words like, clear, concise, accurate, setting the scene / context a bit, etc. are better than “pretty”, tho I think we have become used to design work or sketch work we are told is good having that quality about it. Equally I remember one of the lads never showing up to labs as he felt he didnt need to, he could get by without because he could draw really pretty pictures and renderings. I also know what the company he was on placement with said about his attitude (after they employed him).
Also I think efficiency is important, it is hard enough to get ideas down as fast as they come to you, without spending 30 mins making something look pretty.
Re your sketchwork, I havent seen any in a while, do you think it is moderately easy to understand without you explaining it verbally?
Thinking about brief written descriptions, text on boards, etc. reminds me how badly some (a lot?) of designers can get let down by poor spelling, grammar, or just making things too wordy (remem how many words we had on our injection mould boards?? ) But provided you have those things sussed, words can be really persuasive too… also you can write really nice explanations that are pure poetry to make people feel really enthused about something, then its not until a few hours later they realise they have no idea what it was on about, or that it didnt actually mean anything at all…
Compromise:- sketch everything in blue pencil.
On pencils I’m ahead of you;
I have a set in shades of blue,
In purple, green, and yellow too.
But is my sketching now the best?
If my opinion be confessed,
They’re looking just like all the rest.
One swishy line that takes all night
Erase, redraw, until it’s right
Outside the sky is getting light.
I get pissed off and, with a shout,
Whip my trusty Biro out
To doodle down a quick layout
Not too pretty, it is true,
And the best job goes to you
Because your drawings are in blue.
Bastard.
had an exciting fast-paced sunday did we?
Tis good anyway, just trying to think what could be done with it… include it in “the annotated works of the unemployed graduate designer”?? ok so the title needs a little work.
-Erasers are baaaad, btw. imho there is nothing wrong with sketching in biro, it doesnt matter what medium you use as long as its practical and communicates what its sposed to, obviously. Tho I tend to end up with ridiculously small sketches, indented thru the next 5 pages.
Find a pale blue biro??
pretty drawings also important. thats why IDers go to Art Schools and not Engineering Schools. its a hybrid profession. sketches should reflect that.
Not any more! Wooh yeah, baby. I just got a job.
congratulations.
Cheers. 
Virtual Beer all round…
Congratulations too! May I ask who/what/where?
I’ve an interview tomorrow, next Tues and then another one the following week. Signing on next Monday though as a safeguard for not getting a job.
Paul
PS I will get pics up sometime soon…honest.
DIAM UK. It’s in the POP industry, but I don’t mind. I get beer money out of it. I will stick around until other half finishes PhD at Luf some time in December, then review job prospects.