You’d be forgiven, if, on arriving at King’s Cross for double checking, possibly even triple checking you were in the right place. For decades it has painfully limped along in its dubious proclivities, being ignored by all of London’s polite society, but no longer. We’ve seen the station appear on big screens everywhere every term due to the world’s favourite student wizard orphan; one of the most extravagantly-embellished Victorian hotels renovated and brought up from the ashes like Dumbledore’s Phoenix; we’ve seen The Guardian move their London head-offices from trendy Farringdon to a brand spanking glass building; and last of all, the world renowned creative force that is Central St Martins University of The Arts, settle comfortably, and suitably stylishly, into the once run-down Granary in the once dead space of King’s Cross that borders Somers Town. How much more evidence do you want of King’s Cross being the next big sparkly jewel in London’s crown?

So, what would be more fitting than another internationally well-loved (and much drunk) brand to seek out talented product designers at CSM for a collaborative design competition than Nespresso? Design is very important to Nespresso which probably comes as no surprise to anyone who already is familiar with the brand. Not only well known for their choice of A-list celebrity campaign endorser (swoon), but for the hermetically-sealed shiny coloured cylindrical pods that deliver fresh coffee with every brew. Nespresso have also enlisted the services of French interior and product designer Andrée Putman for a range of cups and accessories. As a company, they’re always keen to support aspiring designers and this time it came in the guise of a project complete with its own shiny casing. Not just any old design project, this one was both financially rewarding and a bonus of the winning student’s design appearing lifesize at the opening of Nespresso’s first London Boutique on Regent’s Street. Now that’s what I call a prize. The only catch was to come up with a relevant design that encapsulates a London coffee experience. Hmmm, tricky.

Now, I know you all want to know where I come into it, eh? Well, wonder no longer. A little bit out of my ‘normal’ world of styling, I was asked to be a trained and ‘learned’ (obviously, your honour *doffs cap*) design-eye to the proceedings as part of the judging panel to help choose the winner. It was so interesting to see how varied and creative the interpretations of the brief were and mostly, how well executed the ideas were in their realization. The high level of standards did not ease my task. The brief was indeed broad; as broad as London is wide to be honest, so it was no mean feat. After a tour of the entire class’ work, some coffee (of course) and a spot of lunch, we, the judges, had the seven students (that had made it through to the 2nd heat) in turn, present their ideas and design process to us to win a place in the final three. This enabled us to whittle the seven down to three (with a fair share of blood, sweat and tears); a winner and two runners up. To be Continued…