Kendall College students achieve "per-feektion" in design competition

It's hard to imagine a better college assignment than being part of a design competition where you are given carte blanche to create anything you can dream of using an amazing material called Feek.

That is basically what students from Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University (KCAD) recently experienced when they participated in Trendway Corporation's inaugural design competition, exploring the creative possibilities with Feek, a very unique coated foam product.

Top prize was taken by a team composed of Jordan Eastwood, Amanda Lumley, Hannah Snyder and Linghom Wang. Their winning design, Eco, introduces a set of elements for use in pediatric waiting rooms, including a butterfly, dragonfly and bee shapes.

Trendway President and CEO Bill Bundy, who also served as a judge, says the teams were given a ton of latitude with the competition. "We imposed very few limitations," he says. Instead, competition organizers let the student teams work through the entire design process, including extensive research on Feek, and then set them loose to create their own designs for whatever industry they deemed would be a good fit.

Bundy says Trendway holds the North American license for Feek and introduced the product in 2013. He says Feek especially lends itself to "whimsical, creative and fun" designs, which is exactly what he was looking for from the students since the winning design from the KCAD team will be featured in Trendway's Chicago Showroom during NeoCon week, June 15 through 17.

Trendway Corporation is an employee-owned company in Holland, Michigan. The company offers many products, including panel systems, filing, storage, case goods, seating, and architectural solutions with moveable walls, glass storefront and raised floor. Bundy says the firm is growing with several open positions, including a new job for someone specifically to expand and champion Feek throughout North America.

Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor.