Northern Design Challenge
Mark Adair accepting his award at the Headingley Carnegie Stadium in Leeds.
I am absolutely gobsmacked to win this prestigious prize. It's been a fantastic opportunity to showcase the best design talents in the North and realise that good design isn't just found in London.
”Mark Adair
Mark's award winning airline seat design
Mark Adair, who has just completed the BA (Hons) Product Design course, won the 2008 Northern Design Competition organised by Leeds Metropolitan University.
Mark designed a lighter, more environmentally friendly seat for commercial passenger aircrafts which replaces traditional materials such as steel and foam with ones seen as more sustainable because of their weight; such as aluminium, mesh and carbon fibre. It's estimated the design could reduce an aircraft's weight by up to 30%, saving on fuel and the amount of carbon emissions a flight produces.
The annual Northern Design contest, established in 2005, saw more than 2,700 entries in the categories of Illustration, Fine Art, Architectural Design, Digital Media, Fashion, Graphic Design, Product Design and Photography.
Heading the judging panel for Product Design was Trevor Baylis, inventor of the wind-up radio. Commenting on Mark's win, Trevor said: "This design was chosen because of the obvious effort, time and energy used in its creation. It combines function with extraordinary attention to detail, innovative use of materials, and the sheer audacity of the design is a pleasure to see."
Terry Watson, Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Product Design was delighted with Mark's big win. "Mark's aircraft seat is typical of our approach to solving real design problems in an innovative and sustainable manner, he has a real talent and deserves this recognition of his work."
"It was fantastic to win this competition, I really didn't expect to. I originally came up with the concept for the Virgin Atlantic Design Challenge."
