JDD x Coventry University Project Reflection
Here at JDD Furniture, we are spearheading a project module in collaboration with Coventry University to address the problem of excess waste in our manufacturing processes. The module looks for ways to reduce the amount of material waste by repurposing it into other products. We wrote a brief for the second-year students, challenging them to create innovative designs that reflected the needs and behaviours of our flexible, shared workspaces. They were then to investigate, devise, and present a range of evolved concepts to us.
With our current project collaboration with Coventry University coming to an end, let's look back at what we, together with the second-year design students, have achieved.
Donating materials
In October 2024, we worked alongside Coventry University to rehome our scrap MDF and Plywood, allowing them to use it for their students. Educational sectors are often short-changed regarding funding, so we wanted to help provide the students and lecturers with practical materials to support their work.
Tim Ball, a senior lecturer at Coventry University, said: "A huge thank you to everyone at JDD who made today's delivery possible and for helping unload it.
We're delighted to have the structural ply/MDF offcuts we anticipated and many bonus items that our technical team is already eyeing for other projects! Consequently, we're most grateful to have these materials to support and extend students' work across the wider school."
JDD HQ Visit
At the end of October, we had the pleasure of hosting the second-year product design students from Coventry University at our headquarters for a morning filled with talks and demonstrations. It was wonderful to share our expertise with the next generation of designers, and we were fortunate to have so many talented and engaged students with us. We divided the students into three groups, allowing each to:
- Take a manufacturing tour with Dom Boniface and engage in hands-on stool-making with our upholstery team member, Sam Pearson.
- Gain insights into the product design process in a commercial environment, focusing on sustainable practices with our Product Designer, Henry Watson, and Sustainability Expert, Sadie Millermaggs.
- Learn from our production designers, Charlie Adlem and George Hopkins, about assessing manufacturing feasibility, addressing challenges in the design process, and taking a design from imagination to installation.
Graham Powell, a lecturer from Coventry University who accompanied the students, provided fantastic feedback on the day: "A huge thanks for an excellent experience. The students thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated it all. The event was very well organised, and we truly valued everyone's hard work and warm welcome. Now, it's over to the students (and us)!"
Design in Practice
Following a successful visit from Coventry University students to JDD HQ, James Mercy and Henry Watson were invited to engage with second-year design students. The visit included marking and providing detailed feedback on the student's work and delivering a presentation highlighting their design journeys. Their contribution offered a blend of professional insights and practical advice, directly connecting academic learning with real-world industry experience.
The day began with a session where the second-year students presented their mobile trolley design concepts to James and Henry. Each student showcased four design concepts tailored to various agreed personas and aligned with specific design briefs. James and Henry provided thoughtful and constructive feedback, applauding the effort and creativity evident in both the designs and the prototype models. The prototypes, in particular, demonstrated the students' ability to translate abstract ideas into tangible, functional solutions, a critical skill for aspiring designers. The session celebrated the students' achievements and provided them with actionable insights to refine their work further.
In the afternoon, James and Henry shifted the focus to their journeys in design, delivering engaging and personal presentations. They shared stories from their early days as university students to their current positions at JDD, weaving in anecdotes about their challenges, milestones, and key learnings. Their openness about navigating the design industry gave students a clearer picture of what to expect in their future careers.
The presentation sparked a lively Q&A session, during which students sought advice on overcoming hurdles they might face, whether during their studies or as they transition into the professional world. James and Henry's honest reflections and willingness to engage created an inspiring and memorable experience, leaving the students motivated and better equipped to pursue their design aspirations.
In reflecting on the day, Tim Ball said, " A huge thanks again for your time, support, and enthusiasm today. We are really looking forward to how the project progresses next and will keep you posted. Speak again soon."
The Finale
James and Henry returned to the university in January 2025 for the final stage of the project, which focused on designing trolleys tailored to specific personas, including food technicians, teachers, and mechanics. While the trolleys' core functions remained similar, their execution varied significantly to suit different environments and user needs.
The students began by presenting their work, explaining their design decisions, and detailing the thought processes that led to their final products. Awards were presented to the students who met, challenged and surpassed the detailed aspects in the brief:
- Best for prototyping by JDD
- Best alignment with JDD's sustainability principles
- Most innovative design
- The best embodiment of JDD's visual brand language
- Best manufacturability – most efficient use of materials for cutting, finishing, and assembly
- Best presentation of the design process
- Most human-centered design proposal
James and Henry shared their expertise, reviewed the students' impressive work, and awarded projects that met the criteria and demonstrated outstanding innovation and creativity.
This collaboration has been an inspiring experience, and we are proud to have supported the next generation of designers in their journey.
Henry Watson added, "It's been a pleasure seeing the design concepts produced by the 2nd year design students at Coventry University. Each proposal demonstrated real consideration of how their chosen user would interact with the trolley. This was communicated in every stage of the design process, right through to the 1:1 prototype.
It's also amazing to see such a diverse range of concepts all produced at a 1:1 scale (crafted entirely from the offcuts we had donated previously), another achievement that all the students should be proud of.
A big congratulations to those who won the awards. As the day passed, choosing a winner for each category became increasingly difficult."