Future Hunter-Gatherer, an educational grocery shopping experience inspired by nature, has won Electrolux Design Lab 2014. The winner was selected by an expert jury in front of an audience of 150 international journalists and bloggers at the Electric Venue in Paris, France.
The winning concept was created by Pan Wang from China, studying at Central Saint Martins, UK. The design concept is a virtual grocery shopping experience inspired by nature. Future Hunter-Gatherer projects a hologram that lets the user play a game to gather food by fishing, hunting or gathering the food from nature. The information of the collected food in the game is then transmitted to the local grocery store or market, that in turn gathers the goods and deliver them to the user’s door.
“In an educational, honest and playful way, this concept addresses issues of ecology and consumer awareness related to the food supply chain in an urban society,” said Lars Erikson, Senior Vice President Design at Electrolux and Head of Jury.
Pan Wang said: “I find that there is a lack of connection between people and food sources, as buying food from super markets is so easy, people have lost knowledge of where the ingredients actually come from. I was inspired by the traditional way people collected food, the hunter-gather period. By simulating nature, bringing an element of gamification into food preparation and connecting this with the food suppliers, learning about food and buying groceries becomes a fun and educational activity for the whole family.”
The second prize in the competition went to Lotus, by Fulden Dehneli from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. Lotus is a concept for a portable product used to purify, humidify or deodorize air. The jury’s motivation was: “With an appealing design inspired by nature, this air purification concept creates a perfect indoor atmosphere, with full consideration to specific consumer needs.”
Third prize went to UrbanCONE by Michał Pośpiech from Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, Poland. UrbanCONE is a concept for creating healthy microclimates in urban areas. The jury’s motivation was: “A visionary and poetic view of solving a truly global environmental challenge, with a sculptural form and beautiful intuitive movement.”
The People’s Choice Award went to HERO by Fiorella Rios, a gamified air purification concept, after receiving almost 6,000 public votes on the Design Lab website.
The Design Lab 2014 jury, comprising Lars Erikson, Senior Vice President Design at Electrolux, Margareta van den Bosch, Creative Advisor at H&M, and Robin Edman, Chief Executive of SVID (Swedish Industrial Design Foundation), selected the winner from six global finalists. Over 1,700 concepts from over 60 countries around the world were submitted to the competition in 2014.
First step towards a design career
The purpose of Electrolux Design Lab is to stimulate and activate design students globally by inviting them to present breakthrough ideas for future household environments. Supporting Electrolux commitment to lead the evolution of home appliances, the competition fuels new ideas and inspiration for innovation, and offers an opportunity to reach the best emerging talent.
First prize in the competition is 5,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Second prize is 3,000 euros, third prize is 2,000 euros and the People’s Choice Award prize is 1,000 euros.
Theme of Electrolux Design Lab 2014: “Creating Healthy Homes”
The theme of Design Lab 2014 was “Creating Healthy Homes”. How can we enjoy healthy well-being in the future; living in pleasant environments and taking care of ourselves and others in a way that is creative, sustainable and effortless? Electrolux Design Lab 2014 searched for conceptual products, accessories, consumables and services in three focus areas: Culinary Enjoyment, Fabric Care and Air Purification. More information about the brief and the theme for 2014 is found here.
The competition process
The competition was conducted in five stages, allowing the applicants to concentrate on different areas throughout the process; submitting an idea and a sketch, concept development, visual development, functionality development and the final event presentation.
More than 100 concepts were chosen to develop their concepts further and to be evaluated by Electrolux professionals from Design, R&D and Marketing Innovation. Each concept could be voted for by the public and the ones that received the most votes received direct access to the next round.
The six global finalists were:
- UrbanCone by Michał Pośpiech from Poland
- Lotus by Fulden Dehneli from Turkey
- Set To Mimic by Sorina Răsteanu from Romania
- Future Hunter-Gatherer by Pan Wang from China / UK
- PETE by Kovács Apor from Hungary
- Pure Towel by Leobardo Armenta from Mexico
Electrolux Design Lab themes throughout the years
- 2003 – User Driven Solutions
- 2004 – Designs of the Future
- 2005 – Designs of the Future
- 2006 – Designs for Healthy Eating
- 2007 – Green Designs
- 2008 – The Internet Generation
- 2009 – Design for the Next 90 Years
- 2010 – The 2nd Space Age
- 2011 – Intelligent Mobility
- 2012 – Experience Design
- 2013 – Inspired Urban Living
- 2014 – Creating Healthy Homes
Learn more about Design Lab in Electrolux social media channels:
- Design Lab website: electrolux.com/electroluxdesignlab
- YouTube: youtube.com/user/electrolux
- Facebook: facebook.com/Electrolux
- Twitter: twitter.com/Electrolux
- Flickr: flickr.com/photos/electrolux-design-lab
- Pinterest: pinterest.com/electrolux
For further information
Please contact Electrolux Press Hotline, +46 8 657 65 07.
