Product Design students celebrate success at New Designers 2019

Earlier this month, Katy Thomas and Richard Blizzard, both from the BA (Hons) Product Design course, were awarded the prestigious Lego prize and the John Lewis prize at New Designers 2019 exhibition.

New Designers 2019 Stand, Business Design Centre (Image Credit: Julian Hughes)

Earlier this month, Katy Thomas and Richard Blizzard, both from the BA (Hons) Product Design course, were awarded the prestigious Lego prize and the John Lewis prize at New Designers 2019 exhibition.

Katy’s final year project Emoshi – a toy design specifically made for children who are suffering from anxiety and stress in paediatric wards – was awarded the Lego prize for Playful Creativity. Featuring a picture book describing different emotions, and colourful figurines to match up to these descriptors, Emoshi helps children to understand their emotions and express how they’re feeling in a simple and fun way.

Katy with her Lego award for Creative Play (Image Credit: Julian Hughes)

Speaking to Katy at New Designers, she told us more about her win: “I’m really excited to be here and to have won the Lego award for Creative Play, it’s really surreal to be around so many industry professionals, and I’m so grateful to Nottingham Trent University (NTU) for giving me this opportunity.”

Katy also chatted to us about her time on the BA (Hons) Product Design course: “I’ve really enjoyed studying on the course, I love how diverse all of the projects are, and they really allow you to express your own style, using products that you want to work on and have a passion for. I can’t thank the tutors and technicians enough for helping my products come to life – they’ve been incredible.”

Richard with his John Lewis award for Design and Innovation (Image Credit: Julian Hughes)

Another award winner was Richard Blizzard, whose final year project ‘Apt’, an open shelving unit designed for nomadic property owners, won him the John Lewis award for Design and Innovation. Based on a demand for multi-functional furniture for those with busy lifestyles, the piece embraces adaptable living to suit a variety of needs and tastes.

We also managed to catch up with Richard after his win, and talk about how he felt being selected for New Designers: “I’m really happy to have won the New Designers John Lewis award. Coming to the exhibition and being selected to showcase my work was a huge honour for me, and winning the award was a bonus – so I’m really pleased.”

Find out more about the BA (Hons) Product Design course.