IMM Cologne - [D³] Contest

A highlight of any IMM is the [D³] Contest for young designers. A chance to get exposure and perhaps even get picked up by a manufacturer, it is always a well curated, simple white zone that allows the design to speak for itself. The surprising thing this year was just how many of the pieces we had seen before (not that we weren't pleased to see them again) - has the cult of "star designers" filtered down to recent graduates? David Derksen and Lex Pott's Transience Mirrors popped up at Mint during London Design Festival. Kim Thome's Reflection Range was at the RCA Show in the Summer, followed closely by the the new Platform gallery in the Habitat store on King's Road and PAD London in October. A sure sign the boy will do well.

The same could be said for Dennis Parren's CYMK light (a special version was shown at IMM), which is racking up a huge following after exhibiting at Rossana Orlandi in Milan and Interieur Kortrijk. By the way, you can now order your own CYMK light directly on from Dennis' website.  

Of the pieces we hadn't seen before, we lingered over the Dear Disaster cabinet by Jenny Ekdahl. With doors composed of 2000 veneered and painted discs, the concept is to allow the owner to create and re-shape an image, "creating a tactile and rhythmic interaction with ever-changing images and underlying meanings".

London-based Florian Schmid presented C58 Dressing Table and Stool. A simple geometry, the dressing table intersects the mirror giving you a table top mirror and full-length mirror in one.

Camilla Richter's And A And Be And Not room divider almost stole the show. Graphic and colourful, it created a wonderful light play and appeared different each time we passed. Rumour has it the screen has already been picked up by a very famous Italian design brand. Watch this space.  

The eventual winner of the [D³] prize was Swiss designer and ECAL graduate Lucien Gumy for his L'étagère-en-bois. Flat pack wooden shelves - sounds simple, right? It was and that was the beauty of it. Notches in the edge of the shelves grip tapers in the uprights, so no screws, glue or tools are required. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best and it would appear that everyone agrees, as it was impossible to take a photo, so these photos come courtesy of Dezeen.