2024 Galleries

The Spark Gallery pages are one of our most popular design destinations, with thousands of visitors each year. Check out some of the latest Spark entries, in the galleries below.

Frea

Winner - Bronze

Competition: Spark:Fall Concept
Designer: Ziqi Wang
Design Type: helmet
Company / Organization / School: Art Center College of Design
Website: kiki-wang.com

Female climbers are a big growing market. Frea is a helmet designed for female rock climbers who are also active Instagram users that allow them to climb with safety and style. During the research, I reached out to 6 interviewees. I found out that the current helmets don't provide enough side and back impact protection. It's easy to make hair messy. Moreover, they take away the aesthetic look and feel of climbing. I designed Frea to address the above concerns. The helmet has back hair passage and inner silicone hair holder that help keep hair in place. Meanwhile, the flexible D3O 2nd layer stretch fits the users' head, so it is very easy to let the hair go through. It hugs around the head but also gives space to breathe. The 3-layer structure provides a full round protection. The hard outer shell prevents the debris; The 2nd D3O layer further prevents the impact; the last microlattice polymer layer takes multi-impact and absorbs energy. The helmet comes down lower on the side of the head and covers a larger area than many current designs. Lastly, it fits the climbing style and is good for taking Instagram photos.