LONDON, June 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

An ingenious solution to a major problem which keeps hitting the headlines: just one of the new designs to be unveiled at this year's prestigious Royal College of Art graduate show.

Upon hearing that the average British household annually throws away food worth an annual £480 - a total of £12 billion or over 8.3 million tonnes of disposed food across the UK every year - design student Oliver Poyntz immediately wanted to tackle the growing problem.  

The brilliant young designer has now developed a new sustainably-produced line of containers to prolong the shelf life of food. Using Oliver's patented device - made from naturally occurring substances - food stays fresher for longer. In future, Poyntz wants to see all food producers offering the device inside packaging.

Sam Jewell, studying innovation design engineering, was struck by the difficulties faced by the over 2 million blind and partially sighted people in the UK in accessing the internet.  Currently, special software is currently available to 'read out' web pages, describing the source code using a synthesized vocal engine. 

"The problem is that this lacks the ability to differentiate between important content and everything else" says Jewell. "Having every single word read out is hugely time-consuming - especially when all you want to know is the main headline!"

Jewell's devised a novel way of overcoming the problem: software which delivers content in a completely innovative, highly nuanced form. The listener is able to get directly to the information they need. Using the richness of sound to change speed, pitch, voice, accent and tone, the computer interface is completely transformed. 

The students' professors at the Royal College of Art say that this is exactly the sort of design thinking that the College promotes: innovative ways of looking at and then solving problems. The two designs can be seen, along with hundreds more, at the Royal College of Art when it opens its doors today to the public for its eagerly awaited annual graduate show. 

Counting the likes of Sir James Dyson amongst its alumni, the RCA is confident that this year will see even more of its graduates make it all the way to the top. In doing so, these brilliant young designers will be helping put Britain back where it belongs - at the forefront of global design and manufacturing. 

As Chancellor George Osborne noted in his budget speech, the words "made in Britain, created in Britain, designed in Britain, invented in Britain" need to be at the heart of a British economic recovery. 

He could easily have been talking about the Royal College of Art. 

Notes: 

The Royal College of Art's 2011 graduate summer shows will take place simultaneously across the College's two campuses in Battersea and Kensington.

Open to the public: 24 June - 3 July
http://www.rca.ac.uk/show2011

FREE ADMISSION 

For more information: Aine Duffy - aine.duffy@rca.ac.uk - +44(0)20-7590-4127

SOURCE Royal College of Art