First prize - Future Hunter-Gatherer
First prize – Future Hunter-Gatherer

Good news for lovers of holograms and the hunter-gather lifestyle! “An educational grocery shopping experience” which combines the two has one won the Electrolux Design Lab 2014.

The global competition for design concepts which explore the future of home appliances was decided by an expert jury in Paris yesterday.

The winning concept ‘Future Hunter-Gatherer’, was created by Pan Wang from China. The concept is a virtual shopping game that involves ‘catching’ holograms. For example, if you want fish for dinner it projects a hologram of a fish which the user must catch. The catch of the day is then transmitted to the local grocery store or market, where a real person will process the order and deliver it to the user’s door.

“In an educational, honest and playful way, this concept addresses issues of ecology and consumer awareness related to the food supply chain in an urban society,” said Lars Erikson, senior vice president design at Electrolux and Head of Jury.

Pan Wang, who is the first female to win the award, said she was inspired by nature.

“I find that there is a lack of connection between people and food sources, as buying food from supermarkets is so easy, people have lost knowledge of where the ingredients actually come from,” she said. “I was inspired by the traditional way people collected food — the hunter-gather period. By simulating nature, bringing an element of gamification into food preparation, and connecting this with the food suppliers, learning about food and buying groceries becomes a fun and educational activity for the whole family.”

Lotus
Second prize – Lotus

The second prize in the competition went to portable in-home air purifier ‘Lotus’, by Fulden Dehneli from Middle East Technical University, Turkey. The jury said, “With an appealing design inspired by nature, this air purification concept creates a perfect indoor atmosphere, with full consideration to specific consumer needs.”

UrbanCone
Third prize – UrbanCone

Third prize went to another air purifier, the jelly fish-inspired ‘UrbanCone by Michał Pośpiech from Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, Poland. The jury’s motivation was: “A visionary and poetic view of solving a truly global environmental challenge, with a sculptural form and beautiful intuitive movement.”

Electrolux hero
People’s Choice Award-  Hero

The People’s Choice Award went to ‘Hero’ by Fiorella Rios after receiving almost 6,000 public votes on the Design Lab website. Hero is an air purifying game where users become super heroes to fight air pollution.

First prize in the competition is 5,000 euros and a six-month paid internship at an Electrolux global design center. Second prize is 3,000 euros, third prize is 2,000 euros and the People’s Choice Award prize is 1,000 euros.