Get creative

That's right, get cracking on a design competition and win a trip to Italy. Rania Moussly has the details.

Renowned Italian designer Claudio Bellini launched the 2009 Loft Student Design Competition while delivering an inspirational lecture earlier this month at the American University in Dubai (AUD). The competition, in its second year, is part of the Office Exhibition due to be held from March 3-5 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is this year's main feature, designed to give students the opportunity to get inventive with a chance to win a trip to Italy, courtesy sponsors Frezza SpA.

Notes was at the launch and brings you up to speed.

Inspiring a new generation of designers

The Frezza SpA team, along with designer Claudio Bellini, came to AUD in search of a new wave of innovation in furniture design. Students from participating universities — AUD, American University of Sharjah, Ajman University of Science and Technology and Sharjah University— are required to submit two A2 boards displaying conceptual sketches, dimensions and a 3D model of either a cluster workstation, a new storage station or an office chair.

Serigio Lion, general manager of Frezza will judge the designs and is looking for an "original but practical creation… it must be functional and relative to office culture as well as cost effective… we must be able to make it."

Tips from the expert

Claudio Bellini spoke to Notes about the importance of designing for the office world.

Designing furniture is not a job for him, more of a passion. "It is about finding solutions for workers, to maximise their comfort in the work space by creating a friendly and relaxed atmosphere which will inevitably increase work performance," said Bellini. It is the design teams' job to ensure the work experience is a pleasant one.

Bellini told students that discussion is a strong part of the conception phase. He stressed that communication within a design team is imperative as it ensures the pursuit of the same vision.

"We always create mock-ups, using polystyrene. It is not enough to see your design on screen. Understanding the relationship your creation has with the human body is very important… you will also find out if it works," said Bellini.

He said ergonomics — the scientific discipline of designing office furniture to fit human needs in order to optimise human wellbeing and overall system performance — plays an important role in his team's design process.

What you thought

With AUD students already working on entries and others set to begin, the pressure is mounting. Interior design student at AUD, Maryam Nassajian, 20, found the lecture interesting. "It enabled me to follow the process of a successful design," she said.

Maryam has conceived a few ideas for her entry and is looking forward to getting started.

AUD interior design student Farzaneh Islami, 20, said "the lecture inspired me with new concepts and ideas and brought me a fresh perspective to design".

Farzaneh enjoys design; it triggers her passion and sense of adventure. "It allows you to try new things and work with different materials in new ways," she said.

"I enjoyed the lecture; it brought new concepts, contemporary and international designs. Claudio Bellini makes things attractive and he inspires you. He shows you that many things are possible and new ideas are workable," said AUD interior design student Mariam Ghaedi, 20.

The prize

Winners will be announced on March 4 during the Office Exhibition. They will be awarded a trip to Italy which includes:

- A visit to the Milan Design Trade Exhibition in April.
- A visit to the Frezza SpA premises.
- A visit to Venice.

Entry requirements
- Deadline for entries is February 28

Students must submit:
- Two A2 boards displaying conceptual sketches and dimensions.
- A 3D model of either:
- A cluster workstation
- A new storage station or
- An office chair
- For more information about the competition visit: http://www.theofficeexhibition.com and click 'show features', then 'the loft'.

- For samples of Claudio Bellini's work visit his website: http://www.claudiobellini.com and click on projects.