Meet the Future Pioneers

The idea is to identify ‘principled, passionate and purposeful’ designers who will be supported over the coming year with, among other things, promotion from the Design Council and desk space at Makerversity.

Also on the judging panel were Sebastian Bergne, Design Council chief design officer Mat Hunter, Makerversity’s Tom Tobia and Sophie Thomas from Thomas Matthews.

From the thousands of graduating students exhibiting at New Designers Part 2, we selected a shortlist of nine.

From this shortlist, four winners were announced, who will become this year’s ‘Future Pioneers’.

Chia-Ju Lin, Edinburgh College of Art

Chia-Ju Lin created the What if I am Alone Emergensee project – a first-aid kit designed to be self-administered using one hand.

The kit features dressings, plasters and bandages that have been adapted so that they can be put on one-handed. A triangular bandage features two rings, through which the material can be threaded to form a sling, while safety pins feature an extra metal loop so that they can be opened and closed one-handed.

The first aid boxes themselves are designed as part of a modular system, with individual boxes for cut wounds and burn wounds. When opened, each box features a clear instruction system.

Grace Davies, Weston College

The Patch project, created by Grace Davies, aims to link allotments to local food banks, reducing food waste and increasing awareness of food poverty.

Davies created a branding system for local food producers in Bristol, which aims to encourage them to share their excess food with local food banks.

She also looked to extend the system into supermarkets to encourage further donations, and received the backing of both her local MP and Bristol mayor George Ferguson.

Ruby Davies, Kingston University

Ruby Davies developed the Objects Tell Stories project, which condenses sentimental objects to help people hold on to memories of deceased loved ones.

Interviews with the bereaved person reveal why and what it is about the objects that are special.

Following this, the objects are then remoulded into smaller, tangible ‘memory forms’ which can be stored and displayed in a special case.

Sarah Gold, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design

The Alternet, developed by Sarah Gold, is a proposal for an alternative internet that allows users to take control of their data and privacy.

The Alternet is based around the idea of ‘data licenses’ which allow users to pick and choose who has access to their data – for example non-profits or government.

A ‘data barometer’ lets users see how their data is being used, while the Alternet itself is based on the idea of a ‘co-operative’ sharing and maintaining the network.