A baby lamp, a Donkervoort sports car and bamboo interior effects are a few of the amazing items exhibited by UT Industrial Design students at the Enschede Bijenkorf.
Unfortunately, visitors to the Bijenkorf department store in
Enschede had only a fleeting opportunity to gaze in wonderment at
the Donkervoort sports car among the clothing racks. But they have
until 18 September to view other imaginative creations by UT
students of Industrial Design. The Twents Design exhibition,
located on the second floor, features some innovative concepts.
Check out the special 'augmented reality' spectacles that add extra
3D image information to what you already see - a 'must' in a
museum. And the doors made partly from bamboo. And the titanium
racing bike, built for comfort. It is clear for all to see: the
Bachelor's and Master's programmes have yielded a rich and diverse
harvest - some of which is already being converted into successful
products.
The Donkervoort, for example, is the very first Donkervoort
sports car with a roof. Thirty years after the legendary first S7,
the Dutch car manufacturer has come up with a hardtop. This D8GT
was designed by UT student Jordi Wiersma in association with the
founder Joop Donkervoort.
"When we were driving to Enschede with the Donkervoort on the
trailer, other cars started overtaking us and people gave us the
thumbs up sign," says a proud Jordi Wiersma who, on the opening day
of the exhibition, was awarded full marks for his graduation
project. "Of course, it had to be recognizable as a Donkervoort.
The corporate philosophy is, after all, 'no compromise'." Jordi now
works for the car manufacturer. Events have moved at breakneck
speed since the days when Jordi could be found painting his design
studio. There is now an independent business that takes commissions
from third parties. "Well, that GT certainly made things
happen!"
Bachelor's student Chris Siegers also received acclaim with his
Look & Light design, which won the Best Baby & Infant
Retail Award 2009. Chris designed a baby lamp with a mirror in the
shape of a flower: "Lots of parents have wrestled with the problem
of how to keep a baby still on a changing mat. Research has shown
that babies become quieter when they can look at their own
reflection. I based the concept on that idea." The mirror does
indeed soothe babies and the shape elicits an enthusiastic
response. "A neat little extra is that older children like to use
the Look & Light as a night light or make-up mirror." The
client, Miyali, plans to market the product this September.
These aspiring industrial designers seem unable to look at an
existing product without feeling an urge to change it. The
exhibition features a whole range of variations on the Philips
Wake-Up Light, the alarm clock that allows you to wake up
naturally. Dennis de Beurs took the idea of the gently rising sun a
step farther: "My lamp is flat to begin with. The light gets
gradually stronger as the clock opens." It looks as if the Wacom
drawing tablet has also had its day. Dennis: "Why do I need a
separate keyboard and drawing tablet, I asked myself, if the two
can be merged. So I built a combination consisting of a transparent
keyboard with an added scroll wheel so that it can also be used by
right-handed and left-handed users. When I saw that the latest
Wacom had the same function, I thought, I'm on the right
track."
Even without the Donkervoort, racing enthusiasts will feast
their eyes when they visit Twents Design. Not only is there a
titanium racing bike, specially designed for the exclusive Van
Nicholas label, there is also a model of a 'café racer', a modern
version of the classic design from the 1960s. And let's not forget
the Donkervoort Bike: a motorised recumbent bike with echoes of the
sports car.
Twents Design is open in the Bijenkorf, Enschede until 17
September.
