Industrial design students highlight potential of digital finishing

This special project, promoted by Highcon, asked students to design real world products that would best show off the Highcon Euclid. The industrial design students were divided into 10 groups, each of which formed a studio to plan paper and cartonboard products that would both answer market demands and be suitable for production on the Euclid today and tomorrow.

The students were encouraged to stretch their imaginations and the results ranged from jewelry, toys and pop-ups to everyday household products and futuristic designs.

At a recent graduation ceremony, third-year students showcased the products they had designed with digital finishing in mind, resulting in a ‘spectacular demonstration of what happens when design and production come together’, Highcon said.

Yaron Eshel, Highcon applications specialist, and a former graduate of Shenkar, said: ‘Using our machine as an industrial manufacturing platform, and with no preconceived ideas of the traditional production limitations, the students took their design concepts to the extreme. The ideas they came up with were innovative, artistic and yet highly functional. They took the use of cardboard and paper to a whole new level of functionality.’

Highcon will be producing a limited number of the best products and showing them to relevant brand owners and design agencies, as well as Highcon converter, trade finisher and printer customers to turn the project into real live production.