Final year Industrial Design student Tom Walters became Brunel’s Best Sketcher on Friday 18 January when he won Made in Brunel’s first live Design Sketch Off competition.
Tom said: “The Sketch Off was a fantastic opportunity to compete alongside the best designers from each year, witnessing the talent and skill of each student. I am grateful to have won as it justifies the many hours spent practising!”
Organised by the final year student-led Made in Brunel team, the competition was designed to give students an opportunity to meet and impress their potential future employers. Made in Brunel Directors Georgia Williams and Samuel Gutheridge said: “The event was a massive success and the excitement from both the judges and the students made the event lively, tense and competitive.
"First, second and final year students competed against each other to find the best product sketcher. Drawings included; an ideation challenge stylising a Joseph Joseph feather duster, a draw and render of the Anglepoise Lamp and a story board which explained how to take a book out of the library or doing your laundry. The final challenge was to draw a 3D exploded view of a power tool, which was revealed on the night."
Guests from industry were invited to judge, including two product developers from Disney, the design director at Geometry Global, and Brunel alumni who founded Tone Design Consultancy.
Head of Design, Ian de Vere said: “In 2013 we launched a new curriculum initiative to focus on the development of core design skills at level 1. This involved a specific programme of sketching exercises which has been highly successful in developing the tools for creative design. The current final year students were the first to experience the new curriculum, and it makes me very proud that their passion for design sketching has led to this competition.
"All of the competing students have done exceptionally well to challenge their insecurities when drawing in front of a large audience of peers and industry representatives. The judges were highly impressed with the standard of drawing, especially considering the short lead times for each elimination round. This exciting initiative will now become an annual event and we are already looking forward to Sketch Off 2019."