Creative Bath Award 2023

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Product and Furniture Design student designs Creative Bath award

Congratulations are in order for Bath Spa University’s final year BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design student, Bo Neville, who has designed this year’s Creative Bath award.

Bo was the winner of the annual competition, open to all students based at Bath Spa University’s Locksbrook campus in the Bath School of Design, to design the trophies presented to winners of the Creative Bath Awards. 

Bo was inspired to enter the competition for the first time in their first year of university after witnessing the success of previous students. The competition was a unique opportunity to meet the people behind Bath’s exciting creative industry. Although initially unsuccessful, Bo refused to admit defeat and persevered in their second and final year at Bath Spa.

After submitting their designs, the entries were whittled down to four and pitched to Creative Bath themselves. 

Proving that the third time really is the charm, Bo was delighted to hear that their design had been selected by a panel of university and Creative Bath professionals. The design, inspired by an aerial view of The Circus in Bath, was an ode to designer John Wood, the city’s famous Georgian architecture, and the sculptural disc shape of the Circus itself.

Speaking about how the experience has shaped their work, Bo said:

“It was a great opportunity for me to work on a project for a real client with a budget and design constraints - something I haven’t had the opportunity to do before. But it also allowed me to design and make something that just looked cool! It has definitely pushed my creativity, which I’m sure I’ll take into future projects.”

Bo brought their idea to life with a range of different materials. Linking to the famous cluster of trees that sit in the centre of The Circus, Bo used Sycamore as the base of the award. They then fashioned the sculptural slats from MDF and acrylic, choosing to honour the blue attributed to Creative Bath.

Explaining what’s next for their creative career, Bo said:

“As a course, we’re exhibiting our final major projects at New Designers in London next week, which I’m really excited about! It’s a great opportunity to make industry connections and showcase our hard work.”

You can see more of Bo’s work on their website and follow their exhibition at New Designers on Instagram.

The Creative Bath Awards ceremony, organised by MediaClash and sponsored by Bath Spa University, took place on 28 June 2023. Bath Spa was proudly presented with Bo’s trophy after winning the award for Creativity for Good.

Academic lead at The Studio and Professor of Cultural and Creative Industries, Kate Pullinger, also took home the award for Inspirational Person at the ceremony.

Anna Walker, Deputy Pro Vice Chancellor (Business Development) at Bath Spa University, said:

“We’re incredibly proud to take home the award for Creativity for Good. It’s a win for the whole University and references our social value work across the University, including our distinction in The People & Planet League, our Skills Bootcamps, our Emerge residency, and so much more.”

The wins are a testament to Bath Spa’s goal of bringing creativity, curiosity and confidence to the University’s day-to-day work.