The Premise

 MAKING THE EVERY DAY EXTRAORDINARY 

We live in a world which has been shaped by design and designers. Almost every aspect of our lives is touched by design. Does the work of the designer define the way we live or does the way we live define the work of the designer? This year Design Factory asks, how can designers challenge and innovate the archetypes, the unseen and the everyday – designs that have become second nature? How can we re-think that which we take for granted and make the everyday extraordinary? 

Design Factory takes its inspiration from the multidisciplinary nominations and exhibits in the exhibition Brit Insurance Designs of the Year. This year, we have worked with designer Samuel Wilkinson and product design company Hulger who won Brit Insurance Designs of the Year 2011 with their stunning redesign of the low energy light bulb the Plumen 001 to produce the brief. Low-energy light bulbs have never been regarded as a stylish product, the Plumen addresses this by creating an aesthetic bulb which uses 80% less energy and lasts eight times longer than an incandescent bulb.