WGSN rounds up some of the most interesting child-focused work from a cross section of disciplines at this year's New Designers Part 1 and 2

We were pleased to see work ranging from textiles, product and furniture design to illustration and graphics. The standards were very high and designs were generally well considered for their target market.

The New Designers Anne Davison Award for Children's Textile Design went to Casey Rogers of Loughborough University. Her screen and stencil prints take imagery from her past and present to create eclectic prints that aim to convey her personality.

Exhibiting in part 2, Rebecca Sands of Lincoln University won the New Designers Tigerprint Award and the New Designers International Greeting Award. Her 20ft-long hand-drawn wallpaper conveys the story of evolution with fish eventually morphing into aliens. Her work also explores the idea of neverending sequences, such as a continual traffic jam or a dog chasing its tail.

Tamsin Seed won both the New Designers Embroiderers Guild Award and the New Designers Tigerprint Award in Part 1. Her "decorative, fun and highly wearable" girlswear collection used ladybird and butterfly prints with Irish embroidery to create this playful and commercial collection.

Our favourites

Loughborough Woven Textiles graduate Gemma Spruce's collection of jacquards was humourous and appealing for all ages. Her clever use of quirky robot imagery on subtly colored backgrounds gave the work a sophisticated edge.

Vanessa Robinson, who studied Illustration for Children's Publishing, used collage and imaginatively placed text to create charming stories such as One of those fluffy things that falls from a tree, a book that also doubles as a height chart.

Leeds BA Design graduate Vicky Cable's sensory collection is designed specifically for children with autism. She aims to improve the wellbeing of the wearer, whose sensory and perceptual differences result in a number of struggles with everyday life.

Ravensbourne was very strong for product design, from the practical to the quirky. We loved Alistair Willmott's adjustable clothes hook, which grows with the child. Sarah Alcock's Buggy bag hooks over the handles and has integrated wheels that rest on the floor eliminating the risk of the buggy tipping back due to the extra weight.
Jim Pye's trainer-within-a-shoe is a humourous and clever solution to an old problem for uniform-wearing school children.

Harry James Jarvis's interchangeable magnetic faceplates on the sides of his furniture allow the owner to choose the design or pattern to create their own personalized product that will move with current fashions and the changing personal tastes of the owner. This product could have a particular application in the tween and teen market.

Kingston Graduate Freya Jones's Flatpack Children's play stools are based on the visual relationship between two- and three-dimensions. Their simple form and familiar references allow the child to immediately relate to the object.

Freya has also been chosen to exhibit as part of Undu x10, a series of exhibition platforms for the best in new UK design talent that is showing as part of this year's 100% Design.

Heidi Kathryn Divis from Northbrook Sussex College produced a lovely eclectic knitwear collection inspired by British eccentricity. The countryside, its wildlife and pastimes such as fishing or golf all provided direct inspiration.

Charlotte Liddle exhibited delicate, sensitive collages and handmade shoes. Charlotte's work had an antique aged quality that could translate well into both the textiles and papercrafts market.

Michaela Reysenn, from Manchester Metropolitan University, explores the ideas of parental moulding and real-life people who are not happy with their jobs.

Michaela surveyed a number of people and found 80% were not happy in their current job; she also asked what they would rather be doing. The outcome of this study is several life-sized 3-D printed people who were then photographed in their ideal jobs.

These life-scale models have many applications either as a learning or promotional tool.

Contacts

Michaela Reysenn MMU
michaelareysenn@hotmail.co.uk

New Designers
www.newdesignerscom