Pitching Day coming up!
Now that we’ve got our shortlisted products, it’s almost time for one of the most rewarding events in the Design Ventura cycle: our annual pitching event, held at Deutsche Bank’s own headquarters in the City of London on the 19th March 2024. Make sure you keep an eye on our Twitter to see what we’re getting up to.
In front of a live audience including our panel of expert judges from across the design and business world, shortlisted state schools will each present their product and have a live Q&A session, and the top schools in our Independent & International category will submit a 3-minute pitch film. Teams will have the opportunity to receive feedback personally from individuals with real-world experience and understanding of successful product design.
Meet our judging panel, starting of course with this year’s brief-setter…
Kangan Arora
A designer specialising in print and pattern design, particularly textiles. Kangan lectures in Jewellery and Textile Design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design alongside her work with a variety of brands such as TATE, Heal’s, Floor_Story, and IKEA. She constantly collects and experiments with different pigments and print processes to apply new visual language and techniques to products ranging from soft furnishings to acoustic panels, and is passionate about sharing inspiration across communities.
Sebastian Conran
An aspiring inventor even as a child, Sebastian studied Industrial Design Engineering at Central St. Martins, where he designed record sleeves and posters for The Clash. Since then he’s led hard-goods development at Mothercare, taught furniture design at the Royal College of Art, and founded Sebastian Conran Associates design studio in 1986. Today he is a trustee of the Design Museum, chair of the Conran Foundation and Conran + Partners, Visiting Professor of Design & Innovation at Bristol Robotics Lab, and Designer in Residence at the University of Sheffield engineering facility.
Max Fraser
Editorial director of Dezeen. Max has worked as a design commentator across digital and print media (including the Financial Times, Wallpaper, Surface, and London’s Evening Standard) as well as exhibitions and events, aiming to broaden the conversation around contemporary design and architecture. He is the author of multiple design books including Designers On Design, which he co-wrote with Sir Terence Conran. More recent titles include the London Design Guide series. He’s got experience as a judge, too – prior to taking on his current role, Max has judged on the Dezeen Awards several times!
Preena Patel
Senior Buying and Product Development Manager of the Design Museum Shop‘s in-store and online range. Preena is an advocate for sustainability as standard in retail, with over a decade of experience in retail positioning, licensing, brand buying and product development. Her creative and commercial approach is aided by her training in fashion design, and an obsessive passion for product. Alongside her role at the museum, for the past 3 years Preena has worked as a freelance retail consultant and product developer/strategist for multi-disciplinary artist and designer Yinka Ilori.
Christoph Woermann
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for Deutsche Bank’s Corporate Bank division. The Corporate Bank comprises commercial client banking business with transaction banking products and services for both; corporates and financial institutions, including domestic and cross-border payments, risk mitigation and financing international trade; and the provision of trust, agency, depositary, custody and related services.