Third year Sustainable Product Design students at Falmouth University have been challenged by St Austell Brewery to create an innovative piece of pub furniture or the latest, essential piece of bar equipment as part of the company’s award-winning Quality Speaks for Itself campaign in support of its flagship beer, Tribute Cornish Pale Ale.
Working closely with the University’s Head of Sustainable Product Design, Drummond Masterton, a creative brief was put together to inspire the students to come up with an original idea for a piece of furniture or a bar item that might be used by customers enjoying a pint of Tribute at their local.
As Brewery Marketing and Communications Director Jeremy Mitchell said, “Our business is constantly evolving and reacting to changes within the industry to stay ahead of the game and while it is difficult to predict the next big thing, we know it will spring from creative minds such as those at Falmouth University. Working with these talented individuals on sustainable design means we get fresh ideas about how we can shape the future of our business with a real focus on quality and, at the same time, hopefully give these students something extra special in their portfolio to show prospective employees.”
Launched in September, the project will form part of the students’ final year studies at the university and the designs will be judged by a professional team from the Brewery and the University against a number of criteria including innovation, aesthetics, design, craft work and materials, to decide which item most closely fits the bill of creating an enhanced quality customer experience.
As well as enjoying the prestige of being project winner, the successful design will be showcased at next year’s Royal Cornwall Show and also earn the creator a cool £1000 prize put up by St Austell Brewery.
Commenting on the new project, Drummond Masterton said, “Linking academia to business in this way is an excellent way of preparing our students for the reality of the workplace they will be looking to enter when they finish their studies. Real life applications to their theory and practice are invaluable and we’re delighted to be teaming up with St Austell Brewery on what we hope will be the first of many such projects to showcase the skills and talents of our students.”
For more information contact chris.knight@staustellbrewery.co.uk .
Notes to Editors
Tribute is a light, hoppy and zesty beer that’s easy to drink and consistently delicious. It’s brewed using Cornish grown barley, water from St Austell Brewery’s own water supply and three distinct hop varieties which combine to create Tribute’s aroma and taste.
St Austell Brewery’s flagship beer has grown from strength to strength and Tribute is now firmly fixed as one of the UK’s leading premium cask ale brands in the UK. The 4.2% ABV beer was first brewed by St Austell Brewery’s head brewer Roger Ryman in 1999 as a short-term ale to celebrate the total eclipse of the sun. In 2001 Tribute was launched as a new permanent beer and has enjoyed a steady growth ever since.
Falmouth University is a digital innovation hub that takes a ground-breaking approach to Higher Education, research and enterprise. Applying our creativity, skills and knowledge, the institution is teaching, innovating and venturing to build solutions that meet the grand challenges facing local and global communities.
The portfolio of courses is responsive and agile to the needs of its students, industry and communities. Falmouth’s TEF gold standard teaching means its students get hand-on experience and industry connections, while they study; not only do they develop their technical skills and knowledge, they are also equipped to accelerate their careers or develop their own successful venture, after graduation.