The European Product Design Awards committee gets hundreds of outstanding images each year, making the selection process more difficult than ever. Our favourite ePDA Honorable Mentions from 2021 offer us fresh viewpoints in all of the categories, despite the fact that they weren’t picked as category winners.
Regeneration – JieLong Wu
Tea residue is high in organics, which are essential for plant growth, but it is difficult to gather for cultivation. This design is built entirely of biodegradable materials, and it comes with flower seeds embedded in the packaging shell. When the tea is finished, the tea bag and packaging shell can be buried in the soil. They decompose into nutrients in the soil, allowing the flower’s seeds to germinate and develop into new blossoms.
Photo credit: JieLong Wu
Photo credit: JieLong Wu
Photo credit: Fucong Xu, Xiaotong Zhang, Liao Dan
Photo credit: Fucong Xu, Xiaotong Zhang, Liao Dan
M-Lip – Fucong Xu, Xiaotong Zhang, Liao Dan
M-Lip is a lipstick that visually impaired women may pick and wear on their own, with the goal of boosting their confidence and self-esteem, satisfying their need for beauty, and breaking down social boundaries. When choosing M-Lip, we use the fragrance from the pores organized on Braille to assist users in determining the style and right occasion of lipsticks in various hues. And, much as ancient Chinese women used to press their lips together on rouge paper, M-Lip now incorporates a pigment-sensor detecting technology to assure colouring quality, making it easier for vision-challenged women to use.
Freedom Manchaha – Kavita Chaudhary
Manchaha is a one-of-a-kind social venture in which our weavers not only handcraft but also design each piece. Following that, we launched the Freedom Manchaha capsule collection, an outgrowth of the Manchaha initiative, in which nearly 100 long-term disengaged inmates were trained in carpet weaving, transforming them into creative powerhouses producing hand-knotted rugs using leftover yarn from commercial carpet production. By providing offenders with art and creativity as a tool for reflection, self-expression, and optimism, the initiative hoped to have a long-term influence on how they participate and heal in prisons.
Photo credit: Jaipur Rugs
Photo credit: Jaipur Rugs
Photo credit: fuseproject
Photo credit: fuseproject
Forust 3D Printed VINE Collection – fuseproject
Manufacturing waste contains up to 50% useless cellulose dust and lignin waste, which has long been a residual consequence of subtractive manufacturing methods. Forust enlisted fuseproject to create the world’s first unique home goods line, Vine, which is made entirely of scrap wood that has been re-materialized using their high-speed 3D printing technology.
Talking magnifier – Chen Sijie, Long Zhiqing
This plant identifier is a popularization tool for plant science for youngsters. An integrated camera and a plant recognition system are included in the magnifier. It provides pertinent information to the observer through earbuds linked to the hand shank when in use. We believe that by being acquainted with nature, children will have a better knowledge of plants. The magnifier and earbuds work together like a stethoscope, attempting to bridge the gap between humans and nature by making every observation feel like listening to plants’ breath and heartbeat.
Photo credit: Chen Sijie, Long Zhiqing
Photo credit: Chen Sijie, Long Zhiqing
Photo credit: fuseproject
Photo credit: fuseproject
Moxie by Embodied – fuseproject
Moxie is a ground-breaking animated companion from Embodied, Inc. that helps children develop social, emotional, and cognitive abilities via everyday play-based learning and entertaining material created in collaboration with child development and education professionals. Bringing to life a robot with machine learning technology that allows it to perceive, process, and respond to natural conversation, eye contact, facial expressions, and other behaviour, as well as recognize and recall, with a world-class team of experts in child development, engineering, technology, game design, and entertainment.
Inside and outside-Pet bowl – Zhang Jian, Chen Yang, Chen Sijie, Huang Yikai, Gao Gao
This is a redesign of the pet bowl, with the outline of a pet bowl on the outside and the form of a human bowl on the inside, to emphasize that the pet is a member of the family. The form of the bowl within will gradually appear when food is added. The glass bowl is easy to clean and offers you a clear view of the amount of food within.
Photo credit: Zhang Jian, Chen Yang, Chen Sijie, Huang Yikai, Gao Gao
Photo credit: Zhang Jian, Chen Yang, Chen Sijie, Huang Yikai, Gao Gao
Photo credit: Novague Design
Photo credit: Novague Design
SONNENBERG ONE – Petr Novague
The ONE was created with the utmost regard for the handcrafted history of Swiss bed manufacturer Sonnenberg. It combines futuristic motifs with humility and respect for verified materials. It is manufactured using traditional procedures, yet it violates the rules. The goal of the designer was to produce a unique product that would become the focal point of any modern bedroom. A three-part continental bed: a high-quality handcrafted hardwood bedframe covered in fine leather with precise stitching, a mattress, and a top mattress, all available in a variety of coloured covering materials.
OS-44 Patio Slider – Dean Franklin
The OS-44, created in response to the rising demand for sliding doors, has one of the slimmest sightlines on the market at 44mm. The quality aluminium frames are both sturdy and lightweight. They are extremely low maintenance due to the powder-coated finish. With over 150 colour possibilities, the OS-44 is totally customizable. It comes in up to six door sets and may be customized to accommodate areas ranging from 1.8m to 11.8m wide. It has passed stringent safety testing and comes with a multi-point lock. For optimal thermal efficiency, it is thermally fractured and features a unique polyamide thermal break.
Photo credit: Origin
Photo credit: Origin
Photo credit: JWdesign
Photo credit: JWdesign
Frame – Jackie Luo, Wilfried Buelacher
A stylish wall light that may be used both outside and indoors. Four lights mounted on the sides of the wall connection box give all-around illumination. There are two types of décor frames available, both of which are appropriate for hanging plants or other decorations. The luminaire may be mounted vertically or horizontally. The electricity is provided by a 2-metre wire or a wall mounting connector.