Six students, from the University’s HND and BA (Hons) Top-Up courses had their designs selected from thousands of entries to make the winners’ list of 40 in the national Design Factory competition, the annual multi-disciplinary project for BA design students set by the Design Museum in London. One design, by James Li, appeared in the top 10 of all entries.

In previous years, the School of Music and Fine Art franchised courses, based at the Tonbridge campus of West Kent College, have also produced winners. The student classes spent a month working on the Design Factory brief: ‘Make It Different’ – rethinking the way designs are made in order to help produce a better and more sustainable future.

The winners from the BA (Hons) Top-Up course were:Jonathan White who designed an app that helps contact the nearest wildlife rescue centre; Kirsten Herpe, also a 2015 winner, invented a game-like points system for encouraging the choosing of healthy school meals; Fred Sirman, invented a collectible bootleg toy made from old Simpsons dolls mixed with superhero figures. Fred has won twice before.

There were two winners from the HND Year 2:Ricardo Olmos, who mocked-up a virtual reality visualiser that shows beach-goers the dangers of littering; James Li, who produced a design for a skin-thin smart device screen that is embedded in the hand.

The winner from HND Year 1 was Ed Clarke, who designed an eco-friendly shoe that produces energy as it is worn.

School of Music and Fine Art Lecturer and Partner College Liaison Officer Tim Meacham said,
“This is a fantastic achievement, particularly as the courses are competing nationally against much larger institutions. The awards are a testament to the students, the quality of teaching and the dedication of the staff.”