19-09-2011

The 2011 IF Lab finalists

Below you’ll find an overview of the finalists of the IF Lab competition. The IF Lab encourages people to present their best idea or innovative concept. The finalists presented below are the winners of national competitions organised during six Innovation Festivals that took place across Europe. They will exhibit their idea or innovative concept in poster format at IF Tallinn (16-25 September 2011). An international jury will select a winner who will be awarded a prize dedicated by partner(s) of the country which the winning project represents.

Have a look at the selected finalists of each IF Lab competition:

IF Milano:

- Santa Ragione: Santa Ragione offers a service for the design and development of games and video games based on prototyping and evaluation of micro interaction design solutions. Each product is designed to transfer a cultural, critical, reflective and emotional content through rules and dynamics of the game. For Santa Ragione, in the coming years modelling will not be a simulation, but it will consist of games or video games that will highlight the critical relationships between elements and between elements and the environment. It will allow players to experience and understand the nature of the problem faced.

- Cinkue: services & freelancer from 5 up to 200 euros! Cinkue was created to offer the Italian market a community where users and freelancers can find and offer services of diverse nature: lessons, translations, tax and legal services, web design and graphics, but also marketing, astrology, videos, recipes and kitchen ... in short, a universe of online services, all with standardized prices starting from 5 euro!

IF Kortrijk:

- Inflatable work of art with a smile: the Province of West-Flanders chose the concept of inventor Lise van Tendeloo: an inflatable work of art with a smile. The students who developed the idea were: Geert Decock, Valentine and Mehmet Mert Sezer. They created an inflatable polar bear conjure a smile on the faces of by-passers. First, they thought about possible locations for the bear and afterwards, they gave it a funny look and pose. The project can be compared with the garden gnome of Amélie Poulain which actually travelled the world.

- Recycling Office Chair: this project belongs to Charles Louagie and Thomas Wijnants, two students who are also creators and who wanted to design a “recycling office chair”. The fact that comfortable car seats of many wagons were lost in the demolition process of unused cars inspired the two students. So, why not a chair design from recycled car seats? And that is the explanation for the rather strange name “recycling office”.

- Online tool for sustainable furniture design: students Sander Vercruysse and Niels Lehouck won a ticket to Estonia with this project. The inventor is the young architect Joris Debaes who came up with the idea to downloas furniture and adapt it to our own needs. You can also move this furniture and eventuallyrecycle it endlessly. With that idea, the students of Howest went on to work and after much hard work, they developed a standard for creating sustainable furniture.

IF Lisboa:

- ColorADD: project by Miguel Neiva. Color Identification System for the Colorblind People. Developed from the three primary colors, represented by graphic symbols, the code is built on a process of logical association and easy to remember. The concept of adding colors becomes a "game" which allows the colorblind person to relate the symbols with elementary color combinations. The system can contribute to more independence, an easier integration in certain social situations, and less feeling of loss caused by the deficiency. It is already implemented or being studied for application in several areas where color is a determining factor of guidance or selection.

- HABITAT 3: project by Duarte Miguel Rocha Faria Meneses Macedo and Mónica da Silva e Silva. The Modular Architecture and Prefabrication emerge as manufacturing processes associated to their own design and constructive methods responding effectively to the contemporary socio-cultural, political, economic and technological dynamics. It’s in this context that Modular Architecture and Design work together as active motors that embody modern social needs, combining improved construction guidelines with the speed of manufacture and ease of use. The “Habitat Cube - Habitat³” shows as a space capable of facing today’s diverse ways of living, adapting to the different lifestyles and responding to factors such as economy in construction, ease of transportation and construction, environmental protection and social cohesion. That’s an option for a constant spatial, circumstantial and ideological changing society.

- Walk the City: project by José Manuel Dias Morais. 'Walk the City' is the idea for an agenda/ itinerary/ book of a City, with stories told by who lives or lived in it. As an agenda, it has proper spaces, in which the reader can write his/ her impressions about the places visited, and read information about occasional future cultural and sports-related events. As an itinerary, maps of the City will be made available with alternative routes to cover walking or cycling, the location of fountains, typical restaurants and needlework and local handicraft shops. As a book, there will be stories of the inhabitants, places and buildings, told by the direct intervenients.

- Almofada Ricoxete: project by José Miguel Amorim. Located in the county of Oeiras, in the Lisbon region, the goal of ricoxete.com is to observe reality from a different point of view and seek out new solutions for more or less old concepts. It offers a product consisting of a cushion stuffed with cherry pits, in collaboration with the country’s prison services, thereby contributing to employability, integration and the social integration of male and female prisoners. It should be pointed out that the cushions are 100% natural, recyclable, hypoallergenic and can be heated in the microwave, replacing the traditional hot water bottle, relaxing and massaging muscles.

IF Vilnius:

- ECOhouse for optimist: the competition and conference “ECOhouse for optimist” was aimed to foster economical, ecological and innovative architecture and living. During conference speakers introduced different topics on eco-building and presented innovative ideas and optimistic projects for ecological houses. There were 47 participants at the competition “ECOhouse for optimist” – 28 creative teams presented 30 works. Jury team was formed from Lithuanian and International architects. To Tallin will go 3rd place winner – project “Cloud” (authors: Laimis Valanciunas, Konradas Zakauskas and Vaidas Bieliunas). The concept is based on consumption of methane gasses.

- The Aid: “The Aid” was participant in exhibition “Lithuanian design. Achievements”. For the first time during last 5 years this exhibition gathered together the best examples of Lithuanian design of past 10 years. With “the aid” (author: Egle Ugintaite), a cane that provides mobile navigation and health management services, users who have difficulty leaving their homes can become active members of society. The object is simple to use, but at the same time smart.

- Compartment: in the end of conference “Creativity and partnership – key factors in innovation” young authors (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, students of Creative Industries study programme) presented innovative projects and the pitching team gave the feedback – on innovativeness, ready to business. Simulation travel centre “Compartment” (business idea, author: Vytaute Vilutyte) was selected to participate in IF Lab competition. The mission of this project – to establish a centre that fulfill dreams of elderly people to travel, get acquainted with other countries cuisine, language, traditions and customs in innovative and friendly way.

IF Barcelona:

- COOLSEC: by Anouk Puntel. Design bicycle saddle covers. Reversible with two different designs in one. One side is waterproof offering protection against dampness and rain; it also protects against dirt. The reversible side is costumer designed giving its user the possibility to impact their personality. Padded, reflectant stickers, elasticated fitting. COOLSEC aims to create a bridge between sustainable urban mobility and the world of fashion, bringing design, colour, movement and energy to every city.

- New Alternative Energy: by Santi Trias. A totally new concept in energy generators. This devise uses the enormous pressure created by a liquid in a column, thus providing a new totally clean and secure energy.

- Telefarmer.eu: by Angel Illescas. Telefarmer.eu is a website where telefarmers can cultivate organic vegetables and fruits by internet. Consumers get involved in the growth process of the organic vegetables and fruits while they are at home.

 

Meet the jury

 

Severin Filek, Managing Director Design Austria

Severin Filek is the Managing Director at designaustria Knowledge Centre & Interest Organisation. His previous positions include Chairman of the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and President of the Bureau of European Design Associations. Furthermore, Severin has, since 1991 been teaching at lecturing at various education institutions, including Fachochschule Joanneum and the Advertising Acedemy in Vienna. Severin holds a Master’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from the University Vienna, University of the Witwatersrand (Republic South Africa) and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (USA). He also completed various Postgraduate programmes in South Africa, USA, Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel/Germany and Cheng-chi University (Taiwan) / Republic of China; Salzburg Seminar, Secession 241: Socio-economic Developments. Spezializing in Management of Non-profit-Organisations

Josyane FRANC, Manager of International Affairs Cité du Design & Ecole Supérieure d’Art et Design de Saint-Etienne (France)

Josyane Franc has served since 1989 as manager of public relations and international affairs at the Ecole Supérieure d’Art et de Design de Saint-Etienne. She promotes the school’s activities by organizing international exhibitions and seminars, co-ordinating European projects, developing contacts and relationships with the private sector and publishing the design magazine AZIMUTS. She is also responsible for implementing an international network among forty institutions all over the world.  She was among the team who founded the Saint-Etienne International Design Biennial in 1998 and since then she has handled communications, press relations and international follow-up for the event till 2004. For the Biennial in 2006, she was curator for 2 exhibitions: 'Schools and Companies' and the ESADSE workshops. Since 2007, she has also been managing the international affairs at the Cité du design and at the Saint-Etienne Higher School of Art and Design. She has been the chairman of the association ART ACCORD FRANCE since 2004. Since 2006, she has been member of the ELIA board (European League of Institute of the Arts).

Sanna Simola, Chairman of Finnish Association of Industrial Designers

Sanna Simola is a design activist, theorist, researcher and educator. She studied industrial design at the ISIA in Florence, Italy (1982–1988), graduating with a thesis on design and wayfinding for the visually impaired that was supervised by Enzo Mari. She has been active in the Finnish Association of Industrial Designers (TKO) since the early 1990s and has served as the organization’s president since 2007; also between 2007-2010, she has been the chairperson of the design board of the Finnish Association of Designers Ornamo. She has been a member of the board of the Bureau of European Design Associations (BEDA) since 2008. She is the co-editor of a book on the history of Finnish industrial design, published in 2008 to celebrate TKO’s fortieth anniversary and fifty years of the industrial design profession in Finland. For the WDC Helsinki 2012 year Sanna is involved in production of EIDD – Design for All Europe's next Cities for All conference to be held on 24 May 2012 in Helsinki Music Centre.