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A Portsmouth product design student so impressed his bosses on work placement they asked him to design a universal knife sharpener for major housewares brand Salter. Adam Clark, 23, was asked to come up with a safe-to-use knife sharpener which required no skill to use and which would fit all major brand knives. He had spent a year on placement with Salter as part of his BSc degree in computer aided product design and designed two kitchen scales, one incorporating a chopping board and the other a large mixing bowl. Both are due to go on sale this year. When Adam returned to university to complete his studies in autumn 2007 the firm contacted him again with a commission to design a new knife sharpening tool. It will go on sale next year. Adam said: "When they contacted me last September I was really chuffed. I love the constant evolution of ideas involved in designing something new to meet a need or fill a gap in the market. You have to morph your ideas over and over to evolve innovative designs in an effort to meet the brief." Adam has just graduated with first class honours from the university's Department of Mechanical and Design Engineering and is a member of the Institute of Engineer Designers. His course enables students to take an optional year out on work placement after two years of studying and then return to complete their degree in their fourth year. He said: "I am passionate about design and attention to detail. The prototype knife sharpening storage case not only looks beautiful but it also does the job; it does what they asked it to do - it is functionally correct in terms of material selection and manufacture, incorporates novel sharpening and safety mechanism designs, is safe to use, requires no skill and fits all knives. "In an ideal world I would find a job with a product design consultancy once my course is finished - I love the creative problem-solving part of the job and being expected to deliver on time and in budget." Adam's project supervisor at university, Dr Barry Prichard, said: "Adam is a natural designer and I am delighted that his design will go into production; it is a true measure of how we teach and encourage our students. In recent years we have run a number of very successful industrial projects, but this is a singular result. "Adam has used advanced modelling techniques in our CAD system to evaluate the performance of the sharpener that would have been very difficult by any other means. He has been able to achieve a superb solution in an efficient and timely manner." Karen Brown, design and technical manager for Salter, said: ""Adam's mature attitude and youthful outlook combined to produce some exciting yet practical designs. He will undoubtedly go far with his career and we are delighted to have been instrumental in giving him his first experience of a commercial product design role." Adam's portfolio can be viewed at http://www.adamclark-productdesigner.moonfruit.com/ Salter will celebrate its 250th anniversary of constant innovation in 2010. News Source: www.port.ac.uk |
