DB sets finishing school design challenge
DB sets finishing school design challenge
Keywords Coatings,DB Partners, Finishing
Finishing is capturing the imagination of hundreds of students, thanks to the launch of a design challenge by Gloucestershire surface experts, DB Partners.
Named "Finishing first",it is hoped the challenge will inspire the young designers of tomorrow,encouraging them to see how finishing is an integral part of the design process.
All 840 pupils at The Cheltenham Ladies' College have been challenged by the company to redesign an everyday object for the millennium by devising an innovative coating, using colour, texture or both to make the object safer, easier to use or more fun. DB chairman, Tony Bennett, said:
Our message to young people is that putting finishing first can help products look better and sell better. And giving it proper consideration early in the design process eliminates manufacturing challenges later on. We are looking forward to some really inspirational ideas and intend to extend the challenge to a wider audience in the near future. And by choosing The Ladies' College for the pilot challenge we hope the students will see that with a little inspiration there is nothing to stop them entering what is a traditionally male domain.
From initial entries, nine finalists aged between 11 and 18 will be chosen to present their ideas to a panel of industry judges, including representatives from the Surface Engineering Association and Education Business Partnerships.
The challenge formed part of the National Science Engineering and Technology Week (12-21 March 1999) and DB will turn the winning design into a prototype to take pride of place in a display in the school's new Art Technology building.
