Design challenge for Furniture Design Students
Design students at De Montfort University, Leicester have been challenged to come up with innovative designs for a leading furniture panel company which will take the winning idea into production later this year.
INpress, a market leader in pressed panels for furniture, decorative panels and other uses, has set students to work dreaming up new ways to utilise the innovative technology at INpress to design a totally new, commercially viable product.
INpress offers tailored services to a small number of bespoke customers; selling door fronts and furniture panels to a selection of manufacturers including bedroom furniture, house builders, caravan furniture, longboats and shop fitters.
A group of 15 Furniture Design and Product Design students, who are currently studying their second year of the Honours degree course, toured the INpress factory to understand more about how the membrane-pressing process can be applied to the production of domestic furniture and other commercial products.
The students will now use a combination of drawing and modelling to develop their design concepts. These ideas will be judged and a shortlist of finalists will be asked to develop their designs further using a CAD package. A winning design will be selected and the student will be invited to undertake a work placement with INpress to develop the design concept into a production ready idea.
Graham Case, INpress technical/sales manager explains: “This is a very exciting project for both us and the students. It will help the undergraduates understand the commercial realities of design and we will benefit from their original ideas and a new look at the market place we operate in.
“Innovation has led the growth of the INpress business and we constantly push the boundaries of new technology in order to provide unique solutions for our clients. We are sure that the students will provide some new solutions and are anticipating some great submissions.”
Initial design concepts will be submitted next month from which three final designs will be selected. A winner will be announced in April and their design will go into production by the end of the year, following a work placement in the summer.
