Every year, Carrol Boyes celebrates innovative design in The Carrol Boyes Metal New Designer Search. The 2009 leg, themed ‘Fruitful – Design beyond the bowl’, saw artistic creativity, design and African inspiration unite. With the lucrative title of Best New Designer, and a piece of R90 000 in prize money in sight, 182 aspiring product designers submitted their metal creations. The top prizes were awarded to Christiaan Van Aardt, Oupa Vusimusi Mokwena and Martin Doller for their Fruitful designs.

Christiaan Van Aardt, a product designer from Stellenbosch, was awarded third prize and R15 000 for his design “bubbly”. Van Aardt took his inspiration from the image of droplets of water on leaves. “I wanted a design without the closed feeling of the normal bowl – allowing the circulation of air and light around the displayed fruit” he said.

In second place, innovation meets tradition in a truly African design called “The swivel Tsonga”. Oupa Vusimusi Mokwena was awarded R25 000 for his bowl design which resembles a peanut. “Peanuts are a favourite ingredient in many African dishes” says the designer. He was inspired by traditions of the Tsonga Tribe, and incorporated their use of serving bowls and recipes into his design. The Tsonga traditions of dance movements and energy are manifested in the “twist” element of the piece. Mokwena was also a finalist in Metal 2007, and currently runs his own company “Which Craft – design art and lifestyle”.

Martin Doller took the prestigious first prize and R50 000. Doller is a 27 year old freelance industrial designer based in the Western Cape. A graduate from Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Doller has a good knowledge of prototype disciplines with a particular talent in concept development and visualisation. “Ga-mi”, his winning piece, is a Japanese influenced design based on the aesthetics of Origami. The design is angular, without sharp edges, to prevent the bruising of the fruit, and has vertical slits for air circulation. It employs Doller’s eye for design and his knowledge of technology.

“The origami design is a play on shadows, with the angular facets forming a geometric pattern in shades of white and grey. White powder coating of the bowl represents both paper and purity and cleanliness”, Doller explains. “It is an innovative yet functional piece of work that allows for ease of manufacturing”, says Boyes of the winning piece.

With a new year brings a new theme, and the Metal 2010 New Designer Search is themed “Vase, a lifestyle”. For more information, and to view the 2009 winners and finalists, visit http://metal.carrolboyes.co.za