1 Shadow Screen /
60 Submissions /
A Product Designer with a knack for collaborating
10 Shortlisted Designs /
293 Comments + Likes on Facebook /
1 winning design /

Shadow Screen was an exploratory process. Central Station worked with product designer Paul Kerlaff to create new patterns for the Shadow Screen service produced by his company, With Kerlaff.

Participants from all creative disciplines were invited to submit not only design proposals but also critical feedback, suggestion and comment. The idea was that the doors to the competition process were thrown open, to promote critical engagement and hence offer value to all who participated. 

In contrast to traditional competition formats, a long ‘shortlist’ were invited to show their proposals, for feedback by an invited panel of luminaries and by interested observers. There was one ‘winner’, but 5 of the shortlisted entries were offered a licence agreement for their pattern, alongside valuable exposure and feedback. Viewers were invited not to ‘vote’ in an X-factor style format but instead to use their powers of articulate persuasion to sway critical opinion.

Paul blogged regularly, as did the short listed designers. Read what they had to say, see their designs and find out more about the project by browsing through these:

Thoughts from Paul [With Kerlaff]:
Cutting out the Flaws of Competitions
Process Makes Perfect
Waiter: Social Media for one please
Shadow Screen Shortlisting – fly on the wall
Shadow Screen Judging – the Juicy Bits
Shadow Screen Winner

Thoughts from the shortlisted creatives:
My Shadow Screen Got Shortlisted by nothing
Shadow Screen Shortlist by Stephen Cappello
My Shadow Screens: Is Pattern Primary? by Titas
Smog Shadow Screen by daisymacdonald
Shdw Scrn \ The Man in the Moon by Dele_Adeyemo
Sublime Shadows by daisymacdonald
Shadow Screens – Does variety win? by Titas
Electric Bird x Shadow Screen by KavanStudio