Premiers Design Awards 2014

Good Design Australia and the Victorian Government recently announced the 38 finalists across six categories for the 2014 Premier’s Design Awards.

Charlwood Design is pleased that two of our designs have been selected as finalists within the Product category, with the Elevare Shower Step and Classical Fingers being nominated. There are only nine finalists in total, which made the announcement even sweeter! We look forward to the Awards Presentation Ceremony in September this year.

The news of the Premiers Design Award finalists follows on from our recent award at the Good Design Australia Awards held in Sydney earlier this year, in which Classical Fingers took home a Good Design Award. Additionally, Classical Fingers was also selected as part of the prestigious Powerhouse Museum selection, where it will be added to the permanent collection of Australian Industrial Design and exhibited in "Success and Innovation" gallery for one year.

We want to congratulate and thank our clients Elevare and Cloudbreak Music for allowing us the opportunity to develop these amazing products. Be sure to check out both the Elevare Shower Step and Classical Fingers websites for more information on each product.

Ideas that could change your life - Charlwood Design's concept for a better future for Melbourne

Charlwood Design's Director, Paul Charlwood was recently featured in an article in The Age Melbourne Magazine showcasing innovative design research for the future of Melbourne.

What is it? Commonwealth Avenue - a conceptual design for Kings Way that would create a shared transport route for trams, cars, bikes and pedestrians and incorporate water and solar energy collection.
Who's doing it? Charlwood Design - who created the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games Queen's baton - came up with the concept as an internal exercise to try and add beauty and function to a major traffic feeder into the city. The team wanted to bring different modes of transport - bicycles, cars, trams and pedestrians - together in a sustainable way. "It's a reflection of Dandenong Road and the avenue down there," says Paul Charlwood. "I always loved the old overhead tram poles that are Victorian structures in their own right." The joint carriageway would be better than Copenhagen-style lanes "that are an afterthought", he says. "Kings Way is crying out for something to be done and this could be a great example - making a feature out of the overhead tram poles so they are more elegant and then the water and solar collection are the sustainability side. They could feed down to street plantings or parks nearby."
Could it work? With government backing, Charlwood believes construction could start within a couple of years. "It's already starting to look more logical and contemporary. As we start to swing out of the GFC," he says, "sustainability issues will come back onto the agenda."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/ideas-that-could-change-your-life-20130312-2fxo6.html#ixzz2ODktjs7w

More on the project: http://charlwood.com.au/sustainability/commonwealth-ave-concept.aspx

Charlwood Design's Director discusses the Victorian Governments New Design Strategy in the Age

Charlwood Design's director, Paul Charlwood was recently interviewed in the Age regarding his opinion on the new design strategy launched by the Government.

Besides being the director of one of Australia's leading design consultancy, Paul is also a councillor and government liaison of the Design Institute of Australia.

A short excerpt of the article:
''We need someone in the 'C' suite - whether the chief executive or chief financial officer - as opposed to someone behind the engineering team going, 'I understand design, I've got a black shirt','' he says
It's those decision makers who need to adopt design, Charlwood says.

Additionally, encouraging international companies to establish design offices in Victoria and sending our designers to overseas expos are the measures Charlwood looks to.

''It's not a massive move on [from the previous government strategy],'' he says.
''The proof will be in if they can actually engage business and offshore.

''In Australia, design answers to the engineering manager, so if these programs can assist in getting businesses to incorporate design rather than just being a styling thing at the end, that will be positive.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/premier-finally-raises-the-curtain-on-his-grand-design-20120913-25usx.html#ixzz26lydnko2