Hard work really does pay off…

Sophie Hickman (OW 2018) won the Habitat Future Design Award at the 2021 New Designers awards ceremony.

Simon O’Malley, Head of Design & Technology enjoyed seeing Sophie back in School inspiring current students: ‘We are delighted that Sophie’s talent has been recognised and all of her hard work rewarded by this national award.”

Keen to hear more about her recent success, we invited Sophie back to School. This gave her an opportunity to revisit the Design & Technology department where she had spent so much time during both her GCSE and A Level studies. Sophie also talked with current Year 8 and Lower Sixth Design & Technology students, sharing her experiences of School and Birmingham City University, where she successfully gained a BA (Hons) Degree in Product and Furniture Design.

New Designers is the UK’s leading exhibition of emerging design talent, providing a unique platform to connect graduates with industry professionals, creative businesses and consumers, for creative exchange, career opportunities and collaboration. The Habitat Future Design Award –Furniture, Product, Industrial & Spatial Design brief called for designs that could sit alongside Habitat’s curated collection of beautiful, sustainable and functional products and furniture.

Sophie’s design impressed the Habitat judges as she explored the use of tactile organic forms, specifically curved plywood, to create an elegant pill-shaped shelf. Her use of colour combinations exhibited how colour can change the mood of the user and how stress and clutter can affect the mood in the home.

Sophie will receive mentoring from Senior Designers at Habitat and subsequently gain invaluable industry experience. As if the accolade of winning such a prize isn’t enough, Sophie’s design may even go to commercial development and production – what a great achievement!