SparkAbout: Sparks Over China
This is one of our favorite times of the year, when we fan out over the globe, checking new design hotspots and speaking with designers and architects about your interests, concerns, enthusiasms and needs. We hold Community Board Meets, Exhibitions and Seminars and try to reach out to new potential members of Spark. Guangzhou in China hosted the Spark Winners Exhibition in May. Check out this 30 ft banner!

  We are delighted to announce the first Spark visit to mainland China. Highlights of the adventure will be available in real-time on our new Twitter and Sparkblogs, and we'll post videos at Youtube (details to come). The Spark Exhibition is already in place and displays around 80 pieces, highlights curated from the last two competitions.

           
It is being held at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts until May 12. On that day GAFA will host the Spark Creative Seminar, with esteemed designer-lecturers Clark Kellogg and Manuel Saez. Both events are open to the public and all Sparks are invited. We will also be meeting Spark entrants and friends in Hong Kong and possibly Beijing during the tour.

On Other Fronts
The Spark 2009 Call For Entry is officially open. Similar to last year, we will gather your greatest work throughout the Spring/Summer months. Then the Phase I and Phase II deadlines take place in late Summer & early Fall.

We have some neat surprises in store for you: Spark will not raise any entry fees this year, and will lower the student and non-professional rates from $125 to $75 for Phase I, and no fee if they make it to Phase II. We’re not raising Pro fees in spite of intense financial pressure, nor lowering them (lot's of pressure on you, too), but do please note the difference between Spark’s max $575 fees for Phase 1 and 2 entrants and winners, versus many other competitions topping out at US$4500 or more.

Spark will also launch a dramatic and exciting new program category called The Heroes of Design. With the Heroes of Design program, and the unique Spark "aspirational filter" we take the highest possible ground for our participants of all levels. The Heroes of Design competition emphasizes aspirational solutions – putting a special Spark spotlight on the very best answers to difficult problems – and on the innovators who create them. The Heroes of Design competition is open exclusively to winners of previous competitions, including Spark.

Good Time to Spark: Standard pricing until August 15th
Designers who want to take full advantage of the exhibition of their designs in the Spark 2009 Gallery should enter their work asap. As veteran Sparks know, we have a policy of putting entrant work on the Spark website in a special gallery, from the time they first enter the competition. Even though final deadlines are months away, it makes good sense to take use this opportunity to promote your work to its fullest. (And don't forget that after August 15, the higher "late" pricing goes into effect.)

Passion For Design?
If you have it, let's hear about it. Check out the new Spark Design Group at Linked In and join the dialog. We already have over 333 top designers and friends of design on board. Of course there's no charge to join and all types of designers--and people who just love great design--are welcome. We hope this will be the beginning of a vibrant and fun participatory community. We're looking for great news posts (if you spot an interesting item, you can post a link or comment on someone else's.), job listings and discussions about the big issues facing design and our lives. Come on, make it happen! Here's the link to Linked In.

Less Product in the Pipeline? Go Concept!
If the downturn has delayed work in production, enter the concept design categories of Spark. For 2009 this group will be judged separately from other designs, and offers a chance to stretch your horizons. Good themes this year? Efficiency. Economy. Energy.

Long-term Exhibition at Autodesk Design Gallery
Spark is thrilled to announce the continuing support of Autodesk, Inc. with our partnership and exhibition continuing into 2010. The Spark Design Award winners have been on display at America's most exciting new design nexis – the dazzling Autodesk Gallery at One Market, San Francisco, since October 2008.

>Register for Spark Today!

Here's a quick look at the top 2008 Winning Sparks
84 designs won bronze, silver, gold or the ultimate Spark! Award in our last competition. These top 17 winners secured a Spark! commendation:

Haptica Braille Watch
Designer: David Chavez
"Haptica is a moveable Braille timepiece that provides a quick and accurate time reading. The product is unique in providing a real-time readout in Braille which the reader scans along with their finger to check the time"


Grow Bike
Designer: Springtime
"Children need a lot of different vehicles in their first 4 years, creating a lot of cost and occupying a lot of space. The GrowBike is actually a set of parts that can be assembled into 4 different bike designs, step by step as your child grows."


Treepac
Designer: Essential Design
"Ever wonder how many cardboard boxes the world really needs? Treepac is a reusable shipping container intended to replace them for most business-to-business, business-to-customer and person-to-person shipping. The pack is meant to be used like a cardboard box but can serve again and again."


Rainwater Hog
Designer: Sally Dominguez
"Harvesting rainwater is a smart idea but designs have been basic until now. Rainwater HOG is a rain rescue and storage tank designed as a water-filled building block. It was designed by an Australian architect battling with drought who saw a lack of options for domestic-scale urban rainwater catchment."


NYC Condom
Designer: Yves Behar, Fuseproject
"Vaguely reminiscent of a condom shape warped into the surface of one's leather wallet, the NYC Condom Dispenser needed to be distinctive anywhere from trendy restaurants to homeless shelters. It has the equivalent impact of that of the fire-hydrant: immediately recognizable for its simple function, in this case to distribute condoms."



Livraria da Vila
Designer: Isay Weinfeld
"A beautiful bookstore in São Paulo. Whichever direction one looks at, there are books, and an unpretentious feel, like a used-book store, making customers at ease to browse the shelves for the books they want, to leaf through or even read them in the couches and easy chairs scattered around the multiple stories."




Karbon Faucet
Designer: Kohler
"The ultimate tap. Karbon has two water flow options; laminar, chosen for its continuous tube-like water flow, and a spray for cleaning and prep work, controlled by a valve hidden in the countertop and operated by the touch of a joystick with a smooth, elegant motion. It's dynamic, functional, sculpture."


Eton Field Radios
Designer: Dan Harden, Whipsaw
"Two consumer field radios for use outdoors and in the home. With hand-cranks and solar panels, they are designed to always work, suiting outdoor types and survivalists. There's a two-way walkie talkie, cell phone charger, flashlight, siren, and SOS light beacon."


Dyson Airblade
Designer: James Dyson
"Whilst developing air knives for a different project, Dyson found that the force of air created by its Dyson Digital Motor (DDM) would scrape water from hands, leaving them completely dry. The company has gone on to build the fastest, most hygienic hand dryer on the market."



Swarovski Morpheus
Designer: Yves Behar, Fuseproject
"Swarovski challenged Behar's team to 'reinvent' the chandelier for its 'Crystal Palace' collection at Art Basel Miami. The design deconstructs what a chandelier is, and explores what it could be. Rather than just a static, traditional object to be viewed, Morpheus is a chandelier that changes its form, becoming animated, through interaction with the viewer."



Neat Receipts & NeatDesk
Designer: Smart Design
"Mobile and desktop scanners that are part of a series of products designed to help you get rid of receipts and paperwork. Best of all, the products feature hardware and software designs that have been stripped of visual noise to simplify the product and process."


Vite - Rescue Stretcher
Designers: Kim, Lin & Zea
"A collapsible stretcher designed to rescue the injured patient as fast as possible in the snow. The backpack shell works as a sled, allowing a patient to be carried by one person. Other products on the market are designed to be used by two people. The Vite can be be easily opened in order to minimize the time spent setting up the sled for an injured patient."


OLPC Yoyo
Designer: Yves Behar, Fuseproject
"An ingenious laptop charger designed to charge the pioneering One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), without the need for mains electricity. Designed like a yoyo toy, the strap is looped through the unit allowing for easy connection to a chair leg, tree branch, etc and resistant against the mechanical force exerted by the user."



OLPC XOXO
Designer: Yves Behar, Fuseproject
"The XO-2 laptop will be about half the size of the first generation One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), being about the size of a book. The new design is lighter and easier for children to carry with them to and from school or wherever they go. Dual-touch sensitive displays will be used to enhance the e-book experience, with a dual-mode display similar to the current XO laptop."




Moen Cascata
Designer: Moen and Essential Design
"A bathroom faucet that “pours” by tipping the spout like one would tip a pitcher of water. It's an attempt to recover some of the natural flowing behavior of water and reconnect people with the aesthetic qualities and personal meaning associated with water and cleansing."



Mobile Performance Venue
Designers: Various Architects
"A lightweight and easily transportable venue that is also a unique and iconic structure. When it becomes the Arts Alliance Productions' home in 2009, it will be the largest mobile venue in the world. A 90m x 60m oval, it ranges from 10m to 17m tall, and has 3900m2 of covered space. The central performance space (2000m2) will hold a standing audience of 3500 people."



Fuego Modular
Designer: Robert Brunner, Ammunition Group
"A bold, new and customizable outdoor kitchen that expands on Fuego’s trendsetting social hub concept. Fuego Modular has an aluminum frame to accommodate grills, burners, warming drawers, storage, and refrigeration units."

Other winners in the Gold, Silver and Bronze categories: