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An incredibly confusing design competition

By Rain Noe - December 3, 2008

in Object Culture

One thing all designers ought to develop is good communication skills. It's not enough to have great sketching ability or a silver tongue; these days the only way many people will ever hear of our projects is through the internet, and the ability to describe your projects in clear, concise text is paramount.

A good case in point is the "Design Competition 2008" sponsored by CAT-iq. First off, you may be wondering, what is CAT-iq? As their website explains,

CAT-iq is the new global technology for broadband home connectivity and is based on the mature and reliable DECT technology where frequencies are available worldwide and regulative rules are established.

Great--so what's DECT? Well, they don't mention. And in case you couldn't understand the paragraph above, perhaps the diagram below will help:

In any case, back to the CAT-iq Design Competition 2008, which "inspired design students from all over the world to create out of the box products and exciting services for the next generation of home communication." Let's have a look at the winners--and if any of you can decipher what the objects represented in these illustrations actually do, please leave us a comment explaining it!

First prize: Jelly Web, by Conrad Kroencke

Innovation level was very high and a good approach to embed CAT-iq in home entertainment equipment.

The idea has a distinctive design language and very good graphic presentation and is a completely thought through concept.

Second prize: Spectrum, by Werner Helmich

High level of innovation and a great design. Interesting new attempt for sound/voice communication.

Runner up price (sic): Follow Me Phones by Joris Zaalberg

Using special awareness to move in and out of conversational areas is very innovative and offers new ways of communication amongst people.

It is ironic that CAT-iq, a technology that supposedly helps people communicate, is presented in a way that communicates practically nothing.

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stephe

16 years ago

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I think they wanted people to come up with new stuff that also uses their network stuff. I think it works like that sprint router thing for your house.

1. wtf, no seriously it is a social networking device that allows you to network, with jellyfish. And you can listen to your music on it?

2. It is a mid 90's conference table phone, for people who live in houses that look like microwaves

3. Super Mario bothers, but it will leave you speechless.

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Raymond

16 years ago

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Who should we be more upset with: the designers who failed to communicate their ideas or the organization for coming up with such a poorly written design brief? Perhaps the two go hand-in-hand.
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vahid

16 years ago

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1. Communication system to help translate alien languages (especially Savage Aliens from the Seventh Future)
2. Frisbee
3. Drainage pipes connected to your loved ones drainage pipes. (Now your friends are just a swim away!)
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Justus

16 years ago

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Hi Hipstomp,

You are right that designers ought to develop good communication skills.
Another thing is that designers should be able to design product concepts based upon limited information. Some research on the word DECT and CAT-iq (ever heard of Google and wikipedia) and you will find a serious amount of information.
And on the site of the competition is much more information about CAT-iq. You only used one technical picture.

It is to easy to make such comments about the designs.

Apparently some designers need to have all information at hand, without any own work.

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Raoul Duke

16 years ago

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wow, that really was a good belly-laugh way to start the day. thanks for the good cheer! :-)
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iynque

16 years ago

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The function of each is plainly clear:

1) Poke-able jellyfish projector. Communicate with sea creatures via virtualized finger probing.

2) HAL 9000 with digital photo frame. Using artificial intelligence, this device programs your microwave while displaying your favorite stock photography. Just don't try to disable it.

3) Green sewer pipes a-la Super Mario with a sleek new style. Assume a thoughtful-but-jovial pose and be instantly transported via an 8-bit subatomic deconstruction matrix to anywhere in the world (world 8-1 not included (obviously)).
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