Nadezhda Fedotova with her winning design

The competition is part of Swarovski’s decade-long sponsorship programme with CSM. It involved students on BA Jewellery Design working within one of four themes, Berlin, Istanbul, Fiction and Luminescence.

The panel of judges included Nadja Swarovski, jewellery designer Hannah Martin, and In Detail blogger Beanie Major who reviewed the finished work last Friday at King’s Cross.

Nadezhda Fedotova prize-winning design was inspired by ceremonial African masks and Voodoo relics. She created a multifunctional magnetic bracelet/necklace in brass and carved wood, set with Swarovski Gemstones. Second prize went to Joann Hong (Istanbul) for her feathered neckpiece, set with Swarovski Elements, which wraps around the wearer like smoke tendrils from the sweet tobacco smoked in Turkish harems. The award for Best Use of Gemstones and Best Use of Crystal went to Eleonora D’Ottavi and Esna Su respectively.

Giles Last, Senior lecturer in Jewellery at Central Saint Martins said:

“We have been delighted to work with Swarovski over the last ten years, developing an excellent example of a collaboration between Education and Industry. It is always fascinating to see how the students respond to the challenge and we look forward to continuing this productive and meaningful collaboration in the future.”

All the winning pieces are on display at Central Saint Martins until May 18.

Visit the BA Jewellery Design course page

Zuleika Penniman showcases her Berlin-inspired neckpiece

Microsoft Ltd today unveiled the twelve shortlisted designs and final winner of its inaugural PC Hardware Design Project with Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design.

Twenty four MA Industrial Design students were briefed to create and design a range of innovative hardware and user-experience devices which consumers could be using in the future.

Microsoft tasked participating Industrial Design students to conceptualise ideas which demonstrated new thinking in computer interaction – challenging each to devise possible alternatives to the mouse and keyboard or, alternatively, visualise technologies that could be used in the future, based on emerging tech trends of today.

The shortlisted designs were showcased in an exhibition at the College last night. One student, 24 year old Victor Johansson, from Sweden, was selected as the overall winner and awarded first prize. Victor’s winning design was the Keyflex, “an evolution of the humble keyboard.”

Rather than just pressing keys, the user bends, squeezes, twists and flexes the device to control it. It can also be bent upwards and downwards to control the volume. By pressing the ‘modifier key’ at the same time, the action of bending gets assigned to a different function (e.g. fast forwarding a movie). The device can also be twisted to pause or escape. When using social media, the user can squeeze either the right or left side to ‘share’ or ‘like’.”

'Keyflex', Victor Johansson

Scott Smith, Principal User Experience Designer with the Microsoft Hardware User Experience Team and judge of the PC Hardware Design Project, commented:

It has been a fascinating experience to see students who hail from a diverse mix of backgrounds and nationalities developing fresh insights into the world of man/machine interaction. I was particularly impressed with Victor Johansson’s design as he successfully met the overall goal of the programme and really showcased a possible future trend which addressed a clear consumer need – a quality that is at the forefront of all Microsoft design thinking.”

Find out more:
- MA Industrial Design course page