Indian designs on Italy

The past year has been a good one for NID, the country's premier design education institute, as a number of designs by its students won awards in design competitions around the world.

There was 17-year-old Mahaan Ghose getting a "special mention for the best Italian design for Alfa Romeo" at the Design The Italian Way competition, organised by Fiat last year, which involved students from eight of the world's premier design schools who were asked to come up with ideas for future models of Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Ghose's concept (in picture) was a zippy car, fun to drive and affordable.

Two other NIDians, Rustom Mazda and Anand Krishnan, were also selected for internship at the FIAT Style Studio in Italy. Quite a feather in the cap for the recently started transportation and automobile design department at NID.

Tippler chair

Garima Aggarwal, a student of furniture and interior design, won an Edida Elle Decor Award '07 for her tippler chair, a bar stool shaped like a wine glass (picture). Deceptively and beautifully simple, the chair stands on a slanting stem, like a wine glass that's bent so it's liquid is about to flow out.

It may look precarious, but it's actually quite stable, with its injection-moulded polycarbonate body slotted and pinned on a bushed steel fixed base. Quite a feat of engineering "" perhaps the result of Aggarwal's prior training in civil engineering.

Wool fibre and wearable art

The roster of winners goes on "" R S Rajsekaran got a certificate of merit at the World Wool Awards for developing protective clothing for high altitude using angora wool fibres with plasma techniques.

"Metal Petal", another project, was adjudged one of three best student designs at the World of Wearable Art show in Nelson, New Zealand. Amar Nath Shaw, from the product design department, got a special mention at the BATA International Shoe Design Competition for his boots for salt pan workers.