As Paris Design Week gets underway, Orange invites us to the awards ceremony for its young designers’ competition. Welcomed in the 104 , one of Paris’s most prestigious cultural venues, we discover an uncluttered room with a home-like scenography.
Composed of white characters connected to each other, it reminds us of the importance of human connection. It echoes the theme of this year’s competition:“How to live better at home thanks to digital technology“, or how we can imagine the connected home to live better together.
Télé-Matin “trends” columnist Sylvie Adigard was the colorful host of the evening: “orangement” in a Courrèges dress, accessorized with the brand’s cult black vinyl boots, she punctuated the awards ceremony with a lot of humor.
For this second edition, Orange invited five leading European design schools. Their young students, the designers of tomorrow, were able to propose an innovative project under the guidance of experts. Last year, four schools took part in the “Orange whispering in your ear” operation, brainstorming on the headset of the future.
The initiative by Orange, the leading incumbent operator, is clearly in line with their desire to have a proven technological vision, always placing themselves at the heart of innovation. And to imagine the uses, and therefore the products, that will be useful to their customers tomorrow. Design, as well as user experience (or UX in the jargon), is the key to developing the tools of the future.
This year, 58 students from the four corners of the world came up with 37 projects to make the home a home, a connected home that we’ll be hearing more and more about: today, we already have at least 5 screens per household. So imagine five or ten years from now.
Because design is first and foremost a visual and aesthetic discovery, don’t hesitate to take a closer look at all the projects presented on the Collectif d’Orange.
A jury of 16 professionals from the digital, art, design and business worlds had to choose between all these talents. This highly diverse panel was chaired by renowned Italian designer Carlotta de Bivelacqua, who is no stranger to mentoring design students.
And as not all projects will have made it through to the final, they will be showcased in an exhibition open to the general public free of charge from September 28 to October 19, 2012, at Lieu du Design.
Last night, the 3 jury prizes were awarded: the “Coup de Coeur”, the “Usage” prize (in my opinion, the most important and concrete) and the “Vision” prize, for the most imaginative and forward-looking project. In fact, for this last prize, the jury was unable to decide between two original projects, and awarded them the trophy ex aequo.
Each team or solo finalist was also presented with a cheque for €4,000, to give them a helping hand with a future project, for example.
Let’s get back to the stars of tomorrow, the award-winning designers:
– The Jury’s ” Coup de Coeur ” was awarded to Victor Johan sson of Central St Martins College of Arts and Design in London for his “Cloud of Things” project, which was certainly aesthetically pleasing, but left many doubting its real practical potential.
– The “Usage” prize was awarded to Viviane Yazdani and Andrea Segato of Milan’s Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti for their Gustav project, which is by far my favorite. They spent almost six months working on it,” they told me, “including four sleepless nights… to bring this project to fruition and create this Gustav character that connects us to our neighbors. Real utility without forgetting humanity! These students are finishing their studies, in particular to prepare their thesis, before entering the design market: we wish them every success. And may Gustav see the light of day, if Orange decides to follow them in this adventure.
– The “Vision” prize was awarded ex aequo to a team of French designers Simon Lauwerier, Jean-Pierre Hu, Adrian Borsoi, Sandrine Danho, Han Dinh from theInstitut Supérieur de Design de Valenciennes for their “Switch” project: a funny hologram, to create a fun, family-friendly experience. And to Szu-Wen Wang of Central St Martins College for his “Blah Blah” project.
You’ll find them, and the 34 other projects that took part, at Lieu du Design, 74 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine (Paris 12e). It’s a great place to discover, if you’re not familiar with it. It will be open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from 09/28 onwards.
In the run-up to this exhibition, Orange is also giving you the keys as part of Design Week. You’re welcome to share your thoughts on the connected home at the Cité de la Mode et du Design, in the“Now! le Off” space. 
In the words of Delphine Ernotte, CEO of Orange France, and honorary president of the competition, “[the] encounter with the young generation of designers offers a new face to technology.” It’s like a new breath of creativity at the service of tomorrow’s uses, where people will once again be at the center of exchanges, rather than objects.
Jessica Gauzi
(photos courtesy of Laurène Sturm, whose interview with jury members can be found at http://live.orange.com/benedicte-david-et-alexis-frichet-nous-livrent-les-cles-du-concours-orange-jeunes-designers-ovclc/)
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
