I’ve just received the press kit of the Graduation projects at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. I’m still reading through the material and burning my eyes on the 50+ photographies. Reluct has followed the event closely but here are some more snippets:

For adults only, by Jan Beltman, is a vacuum cleaner disguised as a small, four-wheeled toy tank. A radio control box turns vacuuming the room from a tiresome chore into a game.

Jeroen Wesselink’s Flocomachine is one of the most unexpected piece of design i’ve read about for a long time. In each house with a central heating system is an expansion tank that should be replaced within ten years. He designed a machine allowing the owner to transform his old tank into an eccentric stool. The Flocomachine is a manually driven installation that cuts off the top of the tank. The cut-off part becomes the base of the stool, and the exposed rubber ball its seat.

Virtureel, by Jelte van Abbema, is a word processor that explores the boundaries between man and machine by ‘listening’ to the pressure of the touch. A light touch is represented by a small font, a stiff touch by a large one. In time, the letters in a text document shrivel up, a clear reference to the (non-) topicality of the text.

Because of their low voltage, the white LEDS of Techne: the secret life of circuits are harmless. The touch lamps can be switched on and off by … touching them. The lamp is carried out in heat-resistant paper that can be folded, crumpled up, or cut in any desired form. Designed by Catharina ten Haaf.

Photos 1, 2 and 3 by Rene van de Hulst. Photo 4 by Marjan Holmer.

Also among the graduation projects: Chocolate hats for autistic people, by Ann de Gersem .