The BPMA hosted the finals of the BPMA Student Design Innovation Awards at the Museum of Brands in London on 11th June 2014.

Sponsors Stephen Barker from B&H Colour Change, Chris Tonge from Ultimate Packaging, Diane Anderton from SPS,  Daniel Trigg from Promo International and Adam West from Touch of Ginger joined Gordon Glenister from the BPMA for the final round of judging.

Over 100 entries were submitted this year, which were whittled down to just 8 for the final round which saw the students pitch their ideas and designs to the live panel.

The contest was close with all 8 designs in the final possessing the potential to win. After much deliberation the panel awarded the top three spots to Nathan Lawson McLean, Steph Pearson and Amberley Colburn.

Nathan came in third with the ‘Twist, Snap, Share’ – an IPhone camera attachment allowing the user to take branded pictures.

Steph came in second with the ‘Coaster Hoopla Set’ – a branded game which involves throwing branded coasters at a branded central peg.

Amberley was awarded first place with the ‘Must-Dash’. The product is shaped like a moustache, and was designed with the aim of making shopping easier by enabling the user to carry multiple bags easily.

Commenting Amberley said:

“I saw a man outside Morrison’s struggling with lots of bags, this was the initial inspiration behind my design. When developing the idea further, I wanted to create a fun product that could enable maximum promotion for a brand and have longevity. ”

Winning the BPMA Student Design Innovation Competition has given me the confidence and assurance to continue with product design. The amazing opportunities which could develop from winning is really exciting”

Lead judge Stephen Barker said:

“The entries for this year’s BPMA Design Award were extremely professional and included some really innovative promotional product ideas.
Coming from a new generation of young British designers, this is really good to see, and this year’s winning design will now make it through to manufacture, and appearing on the market soon.
Entering another successful year, this BPMA-run competition aims to elevate upcoming British designers and support the British promotional industry with new product ideas, and hopefully this year’s winner will prove a popular success.”

Over 30 of the designs including the winner will be showcased at the BPMA stand at Marketing Week Live on 25 and 26th June.

Published on: June 19th, 2014