QUT graduate's bright idea wins international prize - 2008

04 July 2008

An energy-saving exit sign designed by a Queensland University of Technology graduate has won the award for "Excellence in Sustainable Design" at this year's Australian International Design Awards.

It also received an Australian International Design Mark and is part of a select group of nine products to be exhibited at the Australian Powerhouse Museum.

The Slide Connect G2 Emergency Exit Sign, originally designed for Legrand, an emergency lighting supplier, was co-designed by Formwerx, a consultancy firm founded and owned by Scott Cox, who graduated from QUT with a degree in Industrial Design in 1987.

The exit sign uses 70% less energy than traditional fluorescent lights, and lasts up to six years longer, meaning less maintenance.

The precision optics designed by Formwerx enabled the Slide Connect G2 to achieve a dual classification as both an exit sign and an emergency lighting fixture.

"It was a real challenge to optimise the optics and to ensure the light complied with all the relevant standards," said Scott.

"Normally these products use a fluorescent lamp but our brief was to use a single three-watt light-emitting diode (LED) yet still create illumination across the display areas, as well as directing enough light onto the floor to achieve an emergency lighting classification.

"I entered it in the competition knowing that it was a unique product with excellent energy saving and reliability features, but we were up against some stiff competition, as this was the first year the awards went international.

"For a small consultancy firm like Formwerx, getting an award like this is a benchmark: people go to the bigger companies and see that they have won awards, so this puts us on the same level and in the running for more prestigious projects.

"The Powerhouse Museum exhibition in Sydney is something that was decided on separately, they were looking to display iconic products for 2008 and this was one of the ones they selected, which is excellent."

Legrand now has over 800,000 existing Slide Connect fixtures in the Australian market alone.

As well as using less energy than traditional fluorescent lamps, the Slide Connect G2 Emergency Exit Sign also incorporates wireless technology to remotely monitor the performance of the light, check for any faults and report back to a central computer.

Traditionally this has been done by a technician who walks around the building testing each sign manually each year.

Mr Cox set up Formwerx in 1999, after spending 10 years post-graduation working as an industrial designer in the UK, then three years as design manager for a Brisbane lighting manufacturer.

Scott can be contacted on 3366 0670 or scott@formwerx.com. Media contact: Sharon Thompson, Media Officer - 3138 4494 or sharon.thompson@qut.edu.au