Nine young designers from across the North have been named winners in the Northern Design Competition 2009, hosted by Leeds Met. An awards ceremony was held on 18 June in the University's flagship building, The Rose Bowl with special guest Ricky Wilson, Leeds Met alumnus and Kaiser Chiefs frontman, returning to the University to award the prize for Young Northern Designer.
The overall winner - the Maurice Miller Northern Design Champion - as chosen by chair of judges, Red or Dead founder Wayne Hemingway, was Leeds University student Emily Dick with her entry Oh I do like to be beside the seaside (Clarence Pier) after she was named winner of the photography category.
Emily, 21, from Warwick, said: "I am genuinely shocked to have won the category let alone the overall prize. It's so important for people to get their pride in Britain back and that's what my entry was about. It's also important to have a competition like this in the north and show people that there are top designers outside London. This event acts as a voice for all designers in the north."
Jamie Shek from the University of Dundee won the Digital Media category with iGiveADamn and was also presented with the Thompson Real World Prize, a new prize in association with Thompson Brand Partners, the exhibition sponsors. The prize, judged by company founder Ian Thompson, seeks to find "the exhibited entry that would most likely change the world if made a reality."
Young Northern Designer, a new category for this year, was jointly won by Alex Hindle from Blackburn College with Super Noodles, Nick Drake from Outwood Grange with Eco House, and Jacob Holt from Blackburn College with Work inspired by plays by Alan Bennett. Speaking after picking up his prize Jacob said, "I'm really pleased to have won, I didn't realise the night was going to be so fancy, it's a really nice venue."
Ricky Wilson graduated from Leeds Met with a BA Graphic Art & Design in 2000 and maintains a strong interest in the design world. The awards ceremony, compered by Harry Gration, was also broadcast live on BBC Big Screens across the north and on the BBC website. The competition, now in its fourth year, is open to students studying at a university, college or sixth form in the North, saw over 3,000 entries.
Prior to the awards dinner, finalists showcased their designs at an exhibition in the Rose Bowl. The Northern Design Competition 2009 main sponsors were the BBC, Yorkshire Forward, Lifelong Learning Network, Thompson Brand and BAM.
Other winners were: Matthew Harris from the University of Huddersfield with Induction Kettle in the product design category; Kerry Venus, from Lincoln School of Arts & Design, with Handmade Manifesto in the Graphic Design Category; Kirsty Mordaunt from the University of Lincoln with Air Haven in the Illustration category; and Alastair Cassell from Strathclyde University with Merchant City Housing in the Architectural Design category.
Speaking after picking up his award for his Induction Kettle, Matthew Harris said: "I'm happy to have won this and to be able to promote sustainability and the environment. It's a very good opportunity to present my talent and that of all the students from the University of Huddersfield - there were four out of the of six of us in the Product Design category from the university."
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ricky!!!! I only watched because of him! kk
Juli541654 11 months ago
Ricky....cute and smart
GirlFromLebanon7 2 years ago 2