This year’s winning concepts have 3 dominating themes, designing for disasters and emergencies, creating products that create new experiences, as well as re-visiting norms.

Designing hope

At the tail end of a year of disasters and accidents, both natural and man-made, a good sized proportion of design concepts this year has focused on not just survival but for a future that could be better.

With the world’s population already at 7 billion and growing, unlike the earth’s resources, the topic for creating a sustainable future is inexhaustible. At this year’s awards, 2 concepts stand out for addressing the solution for a resource stretched earth. “The Cricket is Bigger than the Beef” by Claire Lemarchand from ENSCI - Les Ateliers providing ways of farming crickets and wheat worm in the city, and even offices, thus manifesting a product for the posit that insects as a food source is more positive for the environment than our standard sources of protein like beef.

Microbial Home is a step toward a sustainable biosphere for you and your family. The designers at Philips Design recognise that the completely sustainable home is not a new idea, but they have taken it further, not only making it aesthetically pleasing, but also thinking about what makes the heart of a sustainable home. Their methane digester efficiently makes use of all the waste produced in the home, to convert to energy.

Stepping away from long term environmental goals to more immediate problems, water, more importantly, potable water. To provide clean, drinking water in any situation to ensure the health of an individual, a family or even a city. A few concepts have stood out, whether using simple mechanics to provide for a small group or an entire population. Sipurion by Henning Strobel is a water filter you want in an advent of a disaster, easy to transport, and deployable within 3 minutes, it will provide potable water to 200 individuals for 6 months. Ingenious in its own way is Potavel by Saltuk Karayalcin, the purification process takes into account the environs, in developing countries where one needs to transfer water at great distances, Potavel purifies during the walk back.

Designing rescue equipment must not only take into account the victim, but the rescuers. Providing portable equipment that are ergonomically suitable, yet usable in extreme situations is a challenge that the following concepts have overcome. With rescue personnel in mind, the following products are designed to provide hope in the midst of despair. Cenk Aytekin’s research produced HOC, a portable, powerful tool designed for the Umeå fire department for victim extrication at car accidents. REAX - Reanimation system by Lars Imhof and Marc Binder make use of small, powerful pistons in conjunction with a well-designed vest to prevent brain damage by circulating blood more evenly and gently than a manual cardiac massage. Chen Kuei-Yuan, Hsu Hao-Ming, Tsai Cheng-Yu, Tay Pek-Khai, Chen Yi-Teng designed ACR so that anyone can help save a life - an easy to operate vest, and a wireless link up to medical help for further support.

Designing memories

The experience a product gives is rich ground for good memories. A blank canvas for the user to create experiences are the goal of these products. What sets GEM apart as a red dot: best of the best winner is how close it is to becoming reality. While this super smartphone seems like a dream with its ability to multi-task between applications on a seamless all-round display, designers at Nokia promise that these functions are based existing technology.

Photos show a particular image of a memory you may have, Lee Sang Ik designed Digimo to provide new and different angles of your memories. This compact camera can be mounted anywhere and activated remotely, providing what may become an unexpected memory. Aural memories can be as powerful pictorial memories, the Digipipe by EmamiDesign allows you to record, and synthesize sound in a more intuitive form - a whistle.

Creating memorable experiences are not confined to gadgets, the Living Kitchen is a concept based on an existing concept, Strate Collége’s Michaël Harboun believes Claytronics is the key to a kitchen that interacts with your touch, entirely transforming the making of meals and your cooking experience.

Instead of being tools to create memories, this next set of concepts enhance your experience, giving your memories the high definition treatment. The Keio-NUS CUTE Center would like to transform your television watching experience with Media Furniture. This is a set of furniture built around the television; the furniture reacts to what is shown on TV with lights, sound and the added dimension of movement.

Eom Sung Young and Im Jung Eun conceptualised a camera that would create genuine emotion through its form. The sling shot camera, as the name suggests, is in the form of a sling shot, the pictures you can expect to get will show surprise, shock, relief, as well as laughter.

With the Uhrtopie Timekeeper, the petite fours, in particular, Jonas Gülker wants you to question your sense of time, the hands of the clock will at times move very slowly to show how time can stand still or speed up to show you time can run out.

Turning design inside out

Changing mindsets and softly nudging at considered standards. The INNO Lab at Zhejiang University carefully considered what makes a shoe wearable. Topless Shoes are designed for the third age in mind; giving the shoes “muscles”, the wearer can easily step into them without the fear of falling out, and all without straps or covers.

Must a manhole be out on the road? Chuang Chihong doesn’t think so, though it does not lead to the deep underground of your home, Gully Light Cover is a floor lamp in the shape of a manhole, switch it on and off by placing the cover on top of it.

Using a material meant for the outdoors, Tjiang Supertini Yuwono’s A’konkret Furniture is whimsical and light-hearted, a contrast to the sturdy, reliable material it is made from.

This is just a fraction of what we could see in the future, a preview of what is to come. There is more to discover from the winning design concepts from this year’s awards. Visit the winners’ online exhibition to delve into the issues that have captured the minds of designers and design teams in 2011.