Cal State Long Beach graduate design student Matthew Schwartz won the Electrolux People’s Choice award on Sept. 7 for his portable microwave concept, but fell short of earning one of the contest’s top three prizes.
Schwartz, who was one of eight finalists chosen in this year’s Electrolux design competition, was sent on an all-expense-paid trip to London, where prizes for the top three entries were given out after contestants made 10-minute presentations.
His design, the Onda Portable microwave, is a small device that is made to slide over pre-packaged meals, break their packaging seal and heat the food inside. It received 29 percent of the 17,269 votes that were cast by the general public via Facebook. The poll closed Sept. 7.
Schwartz hopes his success in the competition will make a positive impact on the design department, which, along with 23 classmates and studio instructor Max Beach, supported him with ideas and critiques during the process.
“Matthew rose to the occasion and filled his objectives to round himself out as a starting professional,” Beach told the Daily 49er before Schwartz left for London.
The first place price was awarded to the Portable Spot Cleaner, which does exactly what the name implies — it cleans ink, oil and food spots from clothing. A student from Slovakia designed the winning entry, beating out 1,300 designs from more than 50 countries. The first place winner was awarded a paid internship at the Electrolux global design center and €5,000, or $6,888.
Second place went to Ribbon, an all-in-one hotplate, warming device and cooler for portable use designed by an Australian design student. The award for second place was €3,000, or $4,125.
Third place went to the Smoobo Blender, a portable and environmentally-friendly smoothie maker designed by a student from New Zealand. Third place received €2,000, or $2,750.
All the designs entered in the competition had to abide by Scandinavian design values, meaning they had to be sensitive to the environment, provide intuitive ease of use and aesthetic appeal.
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