DESIGNS OF THE YEAR 2012

The Design museum's Design Awards are so exciting and this exhibition is showcasing the nominations for this prestigious Design of the year 2012 award. The categories include Architecture, Digital, Fashion, Furniture, Graphics, Product and Transport. There will be category winners and an overall winner which will be announced this April. The diverse range of design makes this exhibition interesting to begin with but throw in a mixture of talent from across the world with forever progressing technology and this exhibition suddenly becomes interesting for anyone.

It was exciting seeing the olympic torch and I was soo tempted to ignore the 'do not touch signs' yet I refrained! There were a few things that stood out to me. The Suwappu toys were really very sweet. A digital toy and phone app consisting of 8 characters to include Deer, Badger, Fox, Robin and Tuna. The smartphone app works with the characters facial features meaning the characters can be brought to life as imagery on the screen creates another world for the characters.

The Hovding invisible cycle helmet. Has passed the safety requirements whilst maintaining vanity requirements as the collar can be covered by a removable shell in order to match ones outfit. It is worn around the neck as a collar. The collar contains a folded up airbag that is triggered via sensors to open into the shape of a hood to protect the bicyclist's head in the event of an accident.

Mine Kafon is a wind powered land mine clearance device. Like a giant clump of dandelion seeds, the devise rolls with the wind and the weight of it detonates mines in its path. Made with bamboo legs with plastic pancake feet and a GPS tracking devise that acknowledges which areas have been cleared. This devise is cost efficient and not only does it save money, but lives too.

The wedding dress worn by The Duchess of Cambridge. Although the dress wasn't present at the Design Museum, there were preserved examples of the lace and a very interesting video which involved Sarah Burton going through the thought, craftsmanship and processes behind the making of 'that dress'. Firstly Sarah Burton is very cool as she describes the attention to detail towards the extensive lace applique that was handmade by the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. The dress was perfectly tailored to the brides style whilst showing off the best of British craftsmanship. I felt royally emotional when I saw the lace, the flowers included the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock; how very special.

Would you believe 19% of products are designed to be sustainable? Solar Sinter is a solar-powered 3D machine that prints objects using sand by Markus Kayser Studio as a response to conserving energy and shortages of raw materials. Apparently the sun is the worlds most efficient energy source. The outcome is quite stunning.