A young product designer from Colombia, who has launched a business in Leicester with the help of his former university, has won the attention of the judging panel for an internationally recognised design prize.
Luis Palacio gained a Design Innovation Masters in product design from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), in 2013, before starting Luidpro, his own product design and development business from the DMU Innovation Centre, last autumn.
Now he’s waiting to see if his five shortlisted entries for the world-renowned Red Dot awards will crown him a winner when the results are announced, in July. The 2015 awards ceremony will be held in Singapore, in September.
The self-professed, yet undoubtedly funky designer, who views himself as an artist and lives by his strapline ‘designer by nature’, has entered and been recognised for five of his product designs:
• Jikan (Japanese for time) – An interactive wall clock with Samurai swords for hands. Can be turned into a kind of ancient warrior dart board whenever you’re at a loose end. Forms part of a minimalist Samurai series with a lamp and table. Shortlisted for the Recreation and Interior Elements categories
• Octagon – A lamp that doubles up as a chess game, featuring a translucent acrylic board. Cerebral chic using minimalistic, geometric shapes. Also shortlisted under the Interior Elements category
• SAM – A folding shower chair solution for seniors. This project formed a high-scoring thesis as part of Luis’ major in Product Design Engineering. Shortlisted in the Relax and Hygiene categories
• Warp – An interactive table and game concept based on Einstein’s theory of relativity. Shortlisted for the Education and Recreation categories
• Z-Jay – This folding DJ tablet concept was borne out of Luis’ role as a house party DJ, where he found using an iPad too cramped and uncomfortable. Probably Luis’ favourite invention, not only technically and aesthetically but also in terms of its potential commercial success. Shortlisted under Entertainment and Interaction.
The 28-year-old entrepreneur and dealer in the imagination has also created the quirky, eye-catching Luidpro branding, using his own flair for engaging aesthetic concepts and graphic design. His logo features a simple but cool graphic portrait of himself wearing a funky high hat and shades.
“I wanted to create a unique brand that embodies my artistic and original approach to product design, that conveys a sense of fun, quirkiness and irreverence, something highly conceptual yet grounded and practical at the same time,” said Luis.
It’s a compelling mixture he puts down to his happy, daring and creative Colombian heritage, plus the inherited blend of a driven, pragmatic and business-like approach handed down to him by his father and his mother’s creative eye as a visual artist.
Luis is also very grateful for all the support he’s received at DMU, from Dr Emily Baines of the School of Design, for example and Dr Robert Chen, Principal Lecturer of Product Design, when completing his Masters and also working with Stuart Hartley and Steven Lyons to help him establish his business at the Innovation Centre.
‘Luis was an impressive student on MA Design Innovation (Product Design), producing polished consumer-focused product designs and branding,” said Dr Baines.
“It’s exciting to see the successful establishment of design businesses from the MA programme. Luis is a dynamic, proactive person with strong design, engineering analysis and marketing skills working hard on the business. He has entered some very interesting, stylish designs for the Red Dot competition. Good luck!”
Luis grew up in Colombia’s second city, Medellin, set in the Aburra Valley at the heart of the Andes. One of the city’s favourite sons is Rene Higuita, affectionately known as El Loco (‘The Madman’), the Colombian goalkeeper who famously produced his overhead ‘scorpion kick’ to pull off a breathtaking save against England at the old Wembley.
Luis agrees that it’s this kind of aesthetic daring and spectacle that’s likely to get his work and company noticed. Let’s hope the Red Dot judges continue to feel the love when they make their final decisions, in July.
Posted on Tuesday 9 June 2015