Core77

Edward Austin took top prize in the 2008 Design Directions competition's "Ceramic Futures" category, sponsored by the UK's Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). While Royal College of Art student Austin is undoubtedly a young buck, the contest itself is the oldest we can think of--it's been around since 1924! (Previous winners: Leonardo da Vinci, "Rock Drawing Slate;" Unknown Caveman, "Wheel.")

Austin's winning design is for a vegetable peeler and cheese slicer made from zirconia (the stuff that, in crystalline form, cheapskates can use to propose marriage). We like that Austin's design not only considers the end product, but also thinks heavily about the manufacturing process:

[Austin's designs] include sections that can be sacrificed in the [manufacturing] process, specifically to hold the fine blade edges in place during firing. This enables the pieces to be fired upside down, which minimises warping and keeps the blades straight. These sections are removed in the sharpening process, using progressively finer grinding media on a wheel.... The pieces are also only fired once, saving fuel costs and adding environmental credibility.

The RSA Design Directions winners site has just gone live today, and while it's no fun to navigate, you can check out the winners and runners-up in the fifteen other categorieshere.