UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 04 NOVEMBER 2020
Recent graduate of MA Product and Furniture Design, Zhe Zhu, is the proud winner of two prestigious European Product Design Awards.
Zhe’s Birdcage Speaker won in the Media and Home Electronics/TV, Video and Audio Equipment category. Combining modern and straightforward geometric design language, it consists of a birdcage-shaped shell and a sensor-equipped speaker with a small bird in the centre.
When you open the birdcage, the music plays, mimicking the way a bird will sing when their cage is uncovered. Similarly, the music will stop automatically when the cage-shaped shell is replaced, as if the bird inside has fallen silent.
The judges also selected Zhe’s Impossible Chopsticks as the winner in the Home Interior Products/Tableware category. This range of customised chopsticks explore the concept of implausible eating. 
Altering the traditional elements of the chopstick shape, Zhe presents three different features and functions. A chopstick for dipping can be used to dip and mix various sauces, with the texture of the head designed to enhance the eating experience. There’s a chopstick which can be used both to grasp food and drink through like a straw. And finally, a chopstick for cutting food using a curved and pointed head shape which allows it to be used like knife and fork.
Course Director for MA Product and Furniture Design, Nuno Lourinho commented: “We encourage and support our students when participating in design competitions as it will benefit their employability. I am grateful for all my colleagues who supported Zhes’s award applications but all merit to Zhe on finding extra time to do so during his studies.”
See more of Zhe Zhu’s work on Instagram.