April 10, 2006 – “Design” and “innovation” were the buzz words this week as thousands converged at the Milan furniture fair Salone del Mobile to see the latest and greatest inventions. Creativity was also flowing at the Triennale, one of the primary centers for emerging trends of modern decorative and industrial arts, as the winners of the 2005 Nespresso Design Contest were announced. We love the the capsule-based single cup coffee concept which has grown remarkably over the last decade through the likes of Nespresso, Senseo, Tassimo etcetera. Given the compact nature of the pod-based coffee systems, Nespresso initiated a design contest encouraging European design students to explore and consider new innovations in the coffee lifestyle without boundaries—freeing themselves from traditional conceptions of coffee and coffee preparation. Students were also urged to consider how coffee rituals will evolve in the future. The results were fantastic, with the winning concept a “Nespresso Card” which holds coffee preferences for registered individuals, thus enabling them to access their favorite coffee anytime, anywhere. For our money though, the second-placed “Nespresso InCar” coffee machine aroused the most interest. Though only a concept we’ve got three people in our office alone who would buy one. The idea is that the machine fits conveniently into the centre console of a car and doubles as an armrest when travelling.
From among the 364 works submitted, the jury of esteemed international designers chose three winners and one special mention, including:
First place was awarded to Simone Spalvieri and Valentina Del Ciotto of the Politecnico di Milano in Italy for their creative design of the “Nespresso Card”. The “Nespresso Card” is a personal chipcard, which holds coffee preferences for registered individuals, thus enabling them to access their favorite coffee anytime, anywhere. Jury member and designer Javier Mariscal from Spain presented the €12,000 cash prize to the two students.
The second-place award went to Thijs van Cuyk and Lavrans Laading from Artez Academie Arnhem in The Netherlands. Their design was the “Nespresso InCar” a coffee machine which fits conveniently into the centre console of a car and doubles as an armrest when traveling. With “Nespresso InCar”, the convenience of having a perfect coffee while on the go is always just within reach. Konstantin Grcic, jury member and designer from Germany, presented the € 7,000 cash prize.
Mika Nenonen from the University of Art and Design, Helsinki, Finland was the third-place winner with his “Slow Coffee” machine. His coffee machine was designed to provide convenient tasting of different Nespresso blends during social gatherings. This coffee machine can be operated at the table, holds up to 10 coffee blends in its interior selection wheel and is meant to be enjoyed with company. Designer and jury member Patrick Norguet from France presented the € 4,000 cash prize to Nenonen.
Special mention was awarded to Jet Scholte from The Design Academy Eindhoven, The Netherlands, for her “Playful Leftovers” design. This project incorporated creativity and fantasy as Scholte turned the used iconic coffee capsules into a range of miniature treasures such as bird feeders, decorative lights and muffin tins. Elisa Astori from Driade in Italy presented the € 3,000 cash prize.
The jury first met at the Triennale last November to review and discuss the 2D concept boards, which were submitted by 364 students from 22 countries. After day-long deliberations the jury chose 24 of the boards – judged against a set of criteria including, innovative content, design quality, and future potential for industrialization – to continue on to the next phase of the contest. Students were then asked to develop the boards into realistic 3D models. Finally, the four final prize winners were selected from the 24 nominees.
The jury panel included: Alberto Alessi, ALESSI (Italy), Elisa Astori, DRIADE (Italy), Giulio Cappellini, POLTRONA FRAU GROUP (Italy), Konstantin Grcic, designer (Germany), Alfredo Häberli, designer (Switzerland), Ineke Hans, designer (The Netherlands), Javier Mariscal, designer (Spain), Patrick Norguet, designer (France). Gerhard Berssenbrügge, CEO of Nestlé Nespresso S.A. and Gilda Bojardi, INTERNI Editor in Chief also served on the jury. INTERNI, the acclaimed Italian magazine specializing in architecture and design, is the official media partner of the Nespresso Design Contest.
“We would like to thank the jury members for their invaluable contribution,” Berssenbrügge said. “Since Nespresso has an unwavering focus on achieving the highest quality in everything we do, it was a big boost for the Design Contest to have had the chance to work with such high caliber international designers who also share our pursuit of excellence in developing quality objects that effortlessly and beautifully integrate function with form.”
The following schools participated in the contest under the tutorage of professors, who are also design experts at an international level:Fabrica, Treviso – Italy: Aldo Cibic, Tommaso Cora Politecnico, Milan – Italy: Prof. Arturo dell'Acqua Bellavitis, Francesca LavizzariEcal, Lausanne – Switzerland: Prof. Alexis Georgacopoulos, Florence Doléac, Sebastian BergneHgkz, Zurich – Switzerland: Prof. Ruedi WidmerRoyal College of Art, London – UK: Tom Dixon, Martino CamperEscuela de Arte y Superior de Diseño, Valencia – Spain: Prof. Vicente BlascoUiah, Helsinki – Finland: Prof: Timo SalliDesign Academy, Eindhoven - The Netherlands: Lisa SmithAkademie der bildenden Künste, Stuttgart – Germany: Prof. Uwe Fischer, Alexander TrageUniversität der Künste, Berlin – Germany: Prof. Egon ChemaitisUniversität für angewandte Kunst, Wien – Austria: Prof. Paolo Piva, Christian Steiner, Markus Bruckman Ecole Camondo, Paris – France: Dominique Averland, Romain Cuvillier, Inga Sempé Ecole Boulle, Paris – France: Prof. Vaïana Le Coustumer, Vincent Rossin Academie Voor Beeldende Kunst en Vormgeving, Arnhem – The Netherlands: Rob VeelenturfEcole Supérieure d’Arts Appliqués de Bourgogne, Nevers – France : Prof. Thierry Machuron, Dominique ChagnyMedia & Design Academy Genk, Genk – Belgium: Prof Luk Der Hallen