Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019 - 24

Plastics industry awards 2019

young designer of the year

Getting in the mix

(From left) Motan Colortronic MD Karl Miller, Ben Capern, and Shaun Williamson

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he winner of the of the Young Designer of the Year award was Ben
Capern, who took the prize for his
mixing bowl design intended to help people with low dexterity.
Named 'Flow', the mixing bowl is
mounted on legs which can be clicked into
various fixed positions to allow one-handed operation, whether mixing or pouring.
Speaking about how he came up with
the idea, Capern said: "I was looking to design an inclusive kitchen product. I spent
time with someone who suffers from impairment and that gave me a great insight
into possible areas I could tackle."
Continuing, the designer explained
that he chose to work on a baking solution
as it is a social activity, shared between
family members. This means inclusion is
an important part of the process, both for
people with impairment and for children
just starting to learn about cooking.
According to Capern, it was the mixing
bowl which created the most problematic issues when carrying out the activity,
so the idea was to make it a centrepiece
with which both adult and child could get
involved.
As for the name, Capern explained: "It
represents the ease and simplicity of the
product. It allows parent and child to have
a flowing, bonding experience."
In deciding to make Flow out of plastic,
he explained that while people are becoming more aware of the environmental
impact of the materials, plastics play an

important role in design. When used effectively, they can make a huge difference
to society.
While realising that plastic has a poor
reputation, this is largely due to irresponsible usage by some industries. He added:
"I think the next generation of designers
will have to be more aware of the materials
they propose, how they will be recycled."
Moving forward, what's next for Flow -
could this be the first in a series of related
products? "I don't know about a range of
products, but I do hope to see more inclusive products being designed in a way that
makes them sit within the mainstream
market.
"I found that there is a big stigma related to 'disability' and how that is reflected
in the products. I believe that a different
approach to how those products are designed can make them more desirable
and more accessible to people with difficulties," he said.
Together with his trophy, Capern took
home a cheque for £1,000, courtesy of
category sponsor Motan Colortronic. He
says that he will use the money to buy
some new tools to help with future designs, and to replace his mother's mixing
bowls, many of which were sacrificed in
development of the Flow product.
Since developing Flow, Capern has
received his degree from the University
of the South of England and he is now
working for Duku Design in Cheltenham,
Gloucestershire.
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Plastics & Rubber World - November/December 2019

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