On the 11th of June I visiting the 2008 Made in Brunel Graduate Exhibition at the Business Design Centre.  This is the 4th year that Brunel has branded there degree show in collaboration with HSBC.  As Brunel was one of my UCAS options, It was very interesting to see ‘what could of been’.

The work was presented to a very high level, if perhaps a little corporate.  The students showed a array of work with Industrial Designers showing alongside Multimedia Designers.  There was work from the pure industrial (a house hold bio-diesel factory) to a on-line Avatar system.  There were a couple of IA and Service  design gems tucked away too, along with a healthy dose of medical products.

Some of the best designs for myself were the group projects. These were designed with a group of students to create a range of products for a specific brand. I was a fan of James Greig and his guardian breathe, this product is a air quality monitor.  I’m not too sure about the brand alignment with the Guardian newspaper, but I love the model. 

Overall I was impressed mainly by the models, although there wasn’t that many innovative and new ideas. (and even some possible allegations of plagiarism…) .  I no doubt that all of these guys will get a job, and will fit nicely into a design consultancy. Although I don’t know how many will help strive to push new thinking and more creative products.

On another note I think the amount of students over 100 must be a scary size to undertake an industrial design course. I started to feel left out with a final year of 40, (which became 20).  I think the ID programs need to be smaller, and I have really enjoyed the chance to really get to know all members of my ID department.

I wish all Brunel Designers best of luck, and hope to work with some of you in the future. See you at New Designers!