Second year Product Design students from UWE came up with more than forty workable product concepts as part of a project in collaboration with a local office furniture manufacturer.

Richard Blunden is Managing Director of Bristol business Moduflex, a trade only manufacturer of bespoke steel storage, library shelving and office furniture.

He approached Phil Bommer, Senior Lecturer in Product Design with a view to collaborating on a project that would give students some real-life experience in working with a manufacturer, and Moduflex access to the ideas of the next generation of product designers.

The result of this joint approach was revealed during a recent presentation when eleven groups of four students showcased their ideas. Each group came up with at least four concepts for new products, giving Moduflex the challenge of choosing the most innovative and marketable designs.

Richard said, “The students rose to the challenge and far exceeded our expectations on this project. The calibre of designs and accompanying marketing materials were outstanding, given the time frame.” said Richard. “The students were competing for an opportunity to have their product prototyped by Moduflex, and the quality of submissions made the task of judging the designs extremely difficult.”

Many of the students involved in this successful first stage of the project are taking part in a factory visit this week, with a view to designing products specifically for manufacturing. “Moduflex has provided our students with a terrific opportunity to consolidate their learning, enhance their understanding of manufacturing and the office furniture industry whilst excelling I their studies” explained Phil Bommer.