Designer of the Future
Not many students can say that they have created their own piece of furniture at the age of 17, nor that their piece of furniture is aesthetically pleasing, completely functional, and award-winning. But William Clark certainly can!
Will Clark, 17, is a boarding student at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School and is currently studying for A Levels in Chemistry, Physics and Product Design, but his interest in his subjects extend outside his studies. Will entered a Product Design competition hosted by Tech Soft on a whim. The competition hadn’t been entered by another student at his school, but Will wanted to challenge himself.
He asked one of his teachers if he could take part and they were happy to support him by giving access to the School’s state-of-the-art technical equipment and providing the materials he needed for his project, a full-sized chair.
Head of Design & Technology, Ms Kate O’Flynn, recognised instantly that Will’s talent would be a natural fit with the competition’s brief. Ms O’Flynn said, “Will produced an industry quality laser cut ergonomic chair which forgoes any fasteners, screws or fixings. The sheer scale of engineering and design development required to produce this was extensive but Will happily took this challenge on independently.”
Will’s entry was very impressive and was recognised as such by Tech Soft. He was awarded first place in his category, beating forty other entries from across the country. As part of his win, Will was awarded a £50 Amazon voucher and a £100 voucher for the School to purchase additional Tech Soft products.
Sam Flippance, Sales and Support Manager at Tech Soft, said of Will’s win, “William created an amazing full size chair. It was designed entirely using 2Ddesign and manufactured on the school’s laser. He hand-finished it and assembled the piece. William was able to ensure each part was designed with accuracy, using various contouring, mirror and repeat routines. The parts were then assembled to create a highly attractive and functioning chair. We hope William continues to enjoy his DT education and pursues a career where his CAD skills can be developed and shown off for the world to see.”
Will happily received his certificate and prize in front of the Design & Technology Department, and was delighted to explain the process undertaken to create the chair. The whole Department were obviously proud of Will and his achievement, with Ms O’Flynn commenting “Will is an excellent student who is incredibly committed to his work in design. He produced an outstanding project at GCSE and AS Level showing innovation and flair, and as such we have always recognised that he is a unique talent. We will continue to work with Will this year to support him in his efforts to achieve an excellent A Level. He will be one to watch out for in the future in the design world!”
20 September 2018
