Nottingham Trent University students took first, second and third prize at this year's Student Lighting Design Awards.
Furniture and product design student James Melia won the coveted Lighting Designer of the Year award, with Gregg Parsell and Sam Aylott claiming second and third prize.
The university’s success, which saw the students beat off competition from across Europe, follows that of last year, when student John Etherington also won the Lighting Designer of the Year Award.
James’ winning design, Kink, is a versatile and energy-efficient table lamp which is powered by 21 LEDs. It offers variable illumination, providing ambient or task lighting, and its sleek cone-shaped shade can be angled side-to-side for additional functionality. It also has a braided cable which is available in three colours.
Gregg’s contemporary and elegant Origin pendant light is inspired by seed pods and is intended to reflect the flow of nature, while Sam’s Mec task light utilises four super bright power LEDs for energy efficiency. It is made from mild steel for heat dispersion and the light is controlled by a large aluminium wheel attached to a gear box.
Organised by The Lighting Association, the awards aim to encourage students to gain practical knowledge about the lighting industry and call on their creative skills to develop a functional lighting product. Students were required to produce artwork for the initial stage of the competition before finalists were invited to produce a working prototype of their design. The designs had to utilise energy efficient technologies, be a functional product for use within the domestic environment and be suitable for mass production and retail.
James, who has been awarded £1,500 for winning first prize, has just graduated from Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.
He said: “It was a fantastic feeling to hear my name read out at the Lighting Association ceremony, I’m absolutely thrilled to have won the top award. It’s very gratifying, and terrific recognition for all the hard work I’ve put in over the last year.”
The course leader for both BA product design and furniture and product design at Nottingham Trent University, James Dale, said: "This is a great achievement for the students and for the programme here at the university. To come away with one winner would be excellent but to take the first three prizes is a real success story. The quality of student work this year was stunning, congratulations must go to everyone involved.”
All the finalists have been invited to exhibit at the industry’s premier trade event, Interiors 2012, which takes place in January next year and will give them the chance to show their designs to leading manufacturers and retailers from across the world.
