IT Sligo Creative Design Student Pearse Mulvaney explaining his winning, windup headphones design, to JML product development manager, Fergal Furey for the Bright Ideas Competition in IT Sligo, Ballinode, Sligo.
An innovative design for windup headphones by an IT Sligo Creative Design student has been chosen by leading retailer JML ‘The Home of Great Ideas’ to be evaluated as one of its next gadgets to hit the market.
The Bright Ideas Competition was initiated between consumer brand JML and IT Sligo some months ago and was led by JML product development manager, Fergal Furey, who is an IT Sligo graduate.
The competition was judged by a small team headed by Fergal Furey and Creative Design lecturer at IT Sligo, David Roberts. A Dragon’s Den style contest resulted in the winning design by first year Creative Design student Pearse Mulvaney student from Kells, Co Meath, being chosen. His windup headphones design involves a rewind cord similar to that provided on vacuums, and could mean an end to the problem of tangled earphones.
JML invents and discovers products from around the globe and promotes them on 7,000 screens in around 4,000 retail stores in the UK and Ireland, including ASDA, Boots, Dunnes Stores, Heatons and Tesco. It also has four TV shopping channels in the UK on Sky.
The winning design will now go forward to an evaluation stage with JML in London, with the potential for being developed and designed by the retailer.
Roscommon native, Fergal Furey said he was impressed with the calibre of designs in the competition; “The standard of design was very high and the focus of the students was squarely on practical designs with commercial application and value. It was a tough decision but we look forward to working with Pearse.”
IT Sligo Creative Design Lecturer David Roberts said the partnership with JML was an important opportunity to introduce the students to the reality of the market place; “This is a great opportunity for our students to get a real taste of the commercial design world. All the designs produced were very impressive and I have no doubt that the partnership with JML will prove to be a mutually beneficial one.”
Second prize was jointly awarded to Bernadette Gillen for a heat design that prevents bathroom mirrors steaming up and Christine Stewart for a grip device that assists children to tie shoelaces.
First year Creative Design students pictured with Fergal Furey, JML Product Development Manager.
Creative design lecturers Diarmuid Timmons, Ann Geaney, Adrian Durcan and Dave Roberts pictured with Creative Design graduate and JML Product Development Manager, Fergal Furey.