The final six designs for Scotland’s Baby Box initiative have been revealed.
The shortlisted designs were announced by the Minister for Childcare and Early Years, Mark McDonald, during a visit to the University of Dundee’s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, where he was joined by the finalists and judges.
The shortlisted designers are Grace Brown, North East Scotland College; Marwa Ebrahim, Glasgow School of Art; Ruth Hamilton, Edinburgh College of Art; Lena Sakura, Edinburgh College; Monika Stachowiak, North East Scotland College and Leanne Young, Edinburgh Napier University.
The winning finalist will receive a prize of £1,000 and mentoring from Scottish designers Holly Fulton and Scott Jarvie.
The Baby Box concept will see every newborn baby in Scotland receive a box of essential items including clothing, nappies and books. The box is also suitable for babies to sleep in.
A three-month pilot scheme is currently underway in Clackmannanshire and Orkney and will be rolled out across the country by summer 2017.
Mr McDonald commented, “This competition has absolutely captured the imagination and creativity of young designers throughout the country and I am extremely impressed by the exceptionally high quality of all the entries we received.
“The Baby Box is a simple idea with a proven track record in tackling deprivation, improving health and supporting parents, and I’m extremely pleased we are now another step closer to introducing it throughout Scotland.
“It is a fantastic initiative that will play a major role in realising our wider government ambition of giving all children the best possible start in life and I look forward to working with my fellow panel members to ensure the box itself has the best possible design.”
The competition is being run by the V&A Museum of Design Dundee on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Philip Long, director of V&A Dundee, added, “Over the winter our shortlisted Baby Box designers have been working hard to develop their designs based on feedback from our expert judges. Selecting a winner will not be easy!”
The winning design will appear on every box produced from summer 2017 until March 31 2019.
