Electrolux Design Lab 08: How to stimulate local creativity to win globally?

Vacuuming shoes, portable solar food cooker, a plastic decomposer as a flower pot, washing machine that works on air instead of water, eco washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent, automatic cooker that makes delicious and colorful cookies out of fresh vegetables and fruits… and many other brave ideas and product design solutions has been sent by students worldwide to participate on the international competition Electrolux Design Lab.

But can these design solutions come only from students from world’s top industrial design universities? Or can these ideas be only begotten by creative and highly ambitious youngsters from Singapore, USA, China, Germany or Taiwan? Or is it true that creativity knows no geographical boundaries after all?

Macedonian people generally face lack of self-esteem and disbelief in their own educational system, and Macedonian students don’t believe that they can be equally valued as the students of Western Europe, USA, and the fast developing East. Well, I personally disagree: we may not have the world’s best universities or advanced industries, but we have our creativity. As Riderstrale and Nordstrom say: “The main production tool is small, grey and weighs around 1.3 kg. It’s the human brain”.

Although the project is established in 2003, New Moment first promoted Design Lab competition in Macedonia two years ago, and from the start we have faced the problem of students’ lack of self-esteem. Our goal in promoting Design Lab was first to stimulate Macedonian students’ creativity and to inspire them to apply for the competition. And our vision - to have a global winner of Design Lab coming from Macedonia.

However, the client’s objectives were mainly focused on raising awareness of the students and the general public on Electrolux, its philosophy and products, as well as to generate media coverage on Design Lab and on Electrolux.

On Design Lab

Electrolux Design Lab, established in 2003, is an annual global competition open to undergraduate and graduate students who are invited to present innovative, daring ideas and solutions for home appliances. In February this year, Electrolux has launched the 6th edition of the competition via www.ElectroluxDesignLab.com. So far thousands of students have participated in Electrolux Design Lab.

The competition culminates at an international press event in a different city every year. Previous venues include Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, New York and Budapest, and this year the international finals will be held in Zurich in October 2008, where 8 finalists will compete for the three main prizes. The Design Lab has a First Prize of 5,000 Euro and a six-month internship at one of Electrolux’s global design centers. The second prize is 3,000 Euro and third prize 2,000 Euro.

Each year the company announces a different brief for the students to create concepts for home appliances. This year’s submissions are aimed at the iGeneration, it is expected to be out in 2-3 years and it addresses food storage, cooking, and/or washing. The company defines the Internet Generation as brand-conscious, busy young professionals between 25-35, who are independent, concerned about the environment, and whose lives are intertwined with technology and online social networks.

An international jury judges the entries based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight. “We are looking for daring ideas and solutions,” says Henrik Otto, Head of Global Design at Electrolux and Head of Design Lab jury. “Entries should reflect iGeneration’s core interests and concerns like mobility, convenience, time, materials, personalization, entertaining, technology, and sustainability.”

Last year’s competition “Green designs for 2020” was won by Levente Szabó from Moholy-Nagy University of Art & Design, Hungary, with E-wash, a compact washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of regular detergent.

On inspiration and stimulating local creativity

The Design Lab jury evaluates students’ entries based on intuitive design, innovation and consumer insight. What is most important is the story behind the products design concept, the consumer research made by the student, the identified problem and then the solution of that problem. Listening to consumers, understanding what they really need and want, what they really wish…

During the campaign we focused on encouraging the invention and innovation of Macedonian students, by asking them the right questions related to designing the concepts of future home appliances for Design Lab competition. How do consumers use their products? What would make their lives easier? How do lifestyles affect how people use their appliances? What can be the solution of their needs, or their frustrations? And at the end, to imagine how our everyday life will look like in the future, or tomorrow?

We have first spread the briefs and questions on the internet, giving hints from the previous Design Lab winning solutions, the most daring ideas. In the call-for-entry phase we produced and distributed hundreds of posters and brochures, published video briefs and clips on YouTube and relevant blogs, we posted photos on Flickr, Photobucket, Facebook, we did much online PR and placed web banners on relevant student portals...

Over 5000 students were addresses personally through series of Design Lab e-newsletters. We have also designed a special Design Lab blog in Macedonian (http://www.designlab.blog.com.mk/) that provides all information needed, rules for applying, briefs, questions, previous winners, different experiences, opportunities, inspiration….The ‘Design Lab 08’ group on Facebook, with discussion topics and briefs, photos, video clips, wall posts to inspire visitors, gained over 170 members, looking for inspiration and recent news on the competition.

We have established a local partnership with a student organization - AIESEC, in order to have more credibility with the key media and to generate non-commercial coverage. New Moment and AIESEC team has organized a series of Design Lab student workshops and faculty presentations, reaching over 1500 students from 6 faculties at 3 universities, who were briefed on the competition and designing innovative product ideas. A Design Lab stand was placed at Career Days, Student Forums and Education Fair during the campaign, reaching around 2000 students.

As a culmination of the campaign, two weeks before the competition closes for entries, we have organized, together with AIESEC, an exhibition of photos and sketches of previous Design Lab winners (2003-2007), in order to inspire students and encourage their creativity. We invited all the students, the university teachers of IT and design, the media, and general public. We even invited the Macedonian Minister of Information Society, but after unsuccessful attempts to come up with a convenient time schedule for both parties we had to turn down his request for the postponing of the event.

We have distributed several press releases to the media; we have placed interviews with Henrik Otto, interviews with the previous Macedonian entrants, with AIESEC representatives. We also arranged a broadcast of the video brief on Sitel, national TV.

The whole campaign has generated media coverage worth over 200.000 euro. The key media (highest circulated daily newspapers and magazines, national TV and radio stations) have joined the campaign and covered the Design Lab call for entries, supporting and encouraging Macedonian students’ creativity.

Finally, on the effects

At the moment I am writing this article, the Design Lab competition is closed and more than 600 iGeneration-design entries (sent in by students from 42 countries) have been evaluated, which is the highest number of Design Lab entries so far. The selection of top 21 finalists is made, and now the selection of top finalists is in progress. Submissions came from students in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, U.K., U.S., and the Ukraine. “The entries we’ve received are high-quality and very innovative,” says Henrik Otto, Head of Global Design at Electrolux. “It won’t be an easy task selecting the top finalists.”

Now, here are the results of our local Design Lab campaign:

• The campaign has encouraged many students to develop their creativity and work on their ideas for future home appliances concepts. As a result, Macedonia has given the highest number of design entries at Design Lab 08 of all the Balkan countries. It is also the highest number of Design Lab entrants among Balkan countries since establishing of the competition.
• Nena Boskovski from Architecture Faculty in Skopje, Macedonia is selected as one of the 21 top students out of 600+ Design Lab entrants from all over the world! She is the only semi-finalist coming from the Balkan region. Nina’s design concept is called Iron Glove – a small domestic wireless appliance, for quick ironing that works on solar energy, a great ironing solution for busy young iPeople.
• If winning is not enough, and for those who still measure effectiveness in AVE and ratio – we have also achieved over 200.000 euro of coverage Ad Value, which in terms of ratio represents 1:50!

P.S. At the time I am writing this article, the jury decides on the winners of Design Lab. Hope that Nena is among the top three. Thumbs up, Nena!