Enterprise experience for surface designers at trade exhibition
The University of Huddersfield's Trend Hub team with successful Huddersfield design graduate Victoria Redshaw [second from the left]
Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:50:00 BST
Surface Design students are front and centre at the international 2014 Flooring Show in Harrogate
VISITORS to a major exhibition were given a glimpse of the future when they witnessed a group of talented University of Huddersfield students working on patterns and colours that are poised to become the next big thing in interior design.
The event was the 2014 Flooring Show, which took place over three days at the Harrogate International Centre. An innovation this year was the installation of a Trend Hub. It was a concept devised by the Yorkshire-based company Scarlet Opus, which aids global manufacturers and retailers by forecasting the future demands of consumers and the directions that will be taken by design.
The company has a fruitful link with the University of Huddersfield – it is headed by design graduate Victoria Redshaw – and this year it came up with the idea of installing a studio at the Flooring Show in which students could be seen actually working on surface designs.
Joanne Harris, who is Course leader for Surface Design for Fashion and Interiors at the University, took up the challenge and a team of five final-year students was assembled for the Trend Hub, which created a stir of interest in the industry.
The company British Ceramic Tile offered prizes for the best two designs and its Business Development Manager Mark Rigby monitored the students’ work and selected the winners – Briony Ramsden (on the right), with Alice McBride (left) as runner up. The other members of the Trend Hub team were Talisha Barnes, Emma Linney and Emma Robson.
Exhibition visitors were able to see them at work
“The students were brilliant not only in terms of their design ability, but also in their contribution to the event,” was Mark Rigby’s verdict. He presented the two winners with cash prizes and special ceramic ‘certificates’.
As part of their preparation for the Flooring Show, the University of Huddersfield team was provided with a detailed brief by Scarlet Opus. The students were to produce two designs that would appeal as a flooring product and they were to seek inspiration from one of the interior design trends for 2015-16 that have been forecast by the company.
The students arrived at the Flooring Show with a variety of art materials plus their laptops, and the Trend Hub – which was also sponsored by carpet company Interface – was equipped with scanners and printers. All of the students were provided with wall space on which to display their design concepts. Exhibition visitors were able to see them at work and ask questions.
“This was something that hasn’t happened before and it went down very well. The organisers and the exhibitors thought that the Trend Hub was very exciting,” said tutor Joanne Harris. She added that the overall theme of the Hub was to showcase the next generation of designers, who are poised to make a big impact on the industry.
Considerable experience of the design industry
By the time they embark on their final year of study, surface design students at the University of Huddersfield have already had considerable experience of the design industry, as result of the work placement year that is built into their courses. For example, the two winners of the British Ceramic Tile prizes at the Flooring Show have had a wide range of industrial experience.
Briony Ramsden – who is from Leeds – not only spent time on secondment to a bespoke milliner in Hebden Bridge, but had two weeks in London with homeware company Thornback and Peel, and was based for a spell at the head office of high street giant Wilkinson’s, working with its trend forecasting team.
Alice McBride – from Halifax – had a series of placements that also took her to Thornback and Peel in London and included experience in the Tesco womenswear design department, with Matalan and at Oxfam, where she worked with the team picking out fashion trends for the charity’s online store.
Both students – who aim to launch their own design businesses once they have gained industrial experience – are in no doubt about the importance of trend forecasting in an industry where companies must work two or three years in advance.
