Electrolux announces this year?s top nine Design Lab finalists in its global competition with the iGeneration theme.

Electrolux, a global leader in home appliances, has chosen nine finalists to compete for first place in Electrolux Design Lab ?08 finals in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 9, 2008, where an international jury of renowned designers and experts will judge the entries and select a winner. For Design Lab?s sixth edition, Electrolux invited undergraduate and graduate industrial design students to create tomorrow?s home appliances for the Internet generation. Submissions should be for 2-3 years into the future and address food storage, cooking, and/or washing. More than 600 entries were received from 49 countries around the world. The main criteria are the originality of the concept, loyalty to Electrolux brand values, the creativeness of the design, consumer insight, and the degree to which the concept reflects such iGeneration core interests and concerns as mobility, convenience, time, materials, personalization, entertaining, technology, and sustainability.

Electrolux, a global leader in home appliances, has chosen nine finalists to compete for first place in Electrolux Design Lab ?08 finals in Zurich, Switzerland, on October 9, 2008, where an international jury of renowned designers and experts will judge the entries and select a winner.

Group shot of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

For creator Stefan Buchberger, a design student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, the idea grew out of a semester-long theme about keeping personal space clean and tidy. ?I decided to create Flatshare fridge because there is nothing more disgusting than a dirty fridge in a shared flat,? he says. ?At the time, I was living in such a flat!?

The fridge consists of a base station and up to four stackable modules. The modules allow each individual user to have his or her own refrigerator space and can be customized with various colorful skins as well as with add-ons like a bottle opener or a
whiteboard.

Handles on the sides of the modules make them easy to transport. ?If you move to new flat, you can just transport your module like a suitcase and hook it up to the base station in your new flat,? Buchberger explains.

E-bag: the kinetic energy-powered cooler bag, by Apore Püspöki, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design, Budapest, Hungary. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Coox: the rollaway cooking table, by Antoine Lebrun, L'Ecole de
Design Nantes Atlantique, France. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Vesta: the foldaway cooktop with RFID scanner, by Matthias
Pinkert, HTW Dresden (FH) University of Applied Sciences, Germany. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich

Stratosphere: the sanitizing clothes rack/valet, by Atilla
Sáfrány, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design, Budapest, Hungary. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Sook: the social networking recipe generator with electronic
tongue, by Adam Brodowski, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Scan Toaster: the USB toaster that prints news, weather and
snapshots onto slices of toast, by Sung Bae Chang, Sejong University,
South Korea. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

iBasket: the Wi-Fi-connected clothes hamper and washing
machine, by Guopeng Liang, Tongji University, China. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Drawer Kitchen: the desk-drawer hotplate and fridge, by Nojae
Park, Chiba University, Japan. One of the nine finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab competition 08. This global design competition challanges industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future. This year's theme was appliances for the i-generation that is three to five years out. The Electrolux Design Lab final was held in Zurich.

Website: Designlab