The super Sofa.com Emerging Designer Award

I love it when big brands do good stuff. And the Emerging Designer Award hosted by Sofa.com, in which the winning student designer will bag £3,000 and see their design put into production, is very good indeed.

But who would you pick? These are my favourites. Today at least. There is lots of talent and 15 brilliant shortlisted entries in total.

Natalie Raines from Nottingham Trent University, was inspired by Swedish 1960s textiles to create this chirpy repeat pattern, which began as a drawing of a stem of grapes

Sophie Berry, from Bath Spa University, has entered this graphic interpretation of cutlery in clean, simple monochrome.

Harriet Popham, at Swansea Metropolitan University, drew on traditional blue and white Dutch porcelain for this intricate, striking design

Ruth Duggan, another Nottingham Trenter, studied moths around a light to create the original drawings for this digital print.

Yvonne Shore, is the second Swansea Metropolitan shortlister. I think the combination of wool, muted, sludgy colours and bold black lines, look fantastic mocked up on the sofa.

Louise Coleman, also at Nottingham Trent, has played with the theme of the Mad Hatter's tea party, combined with inspiration from the Norfolk countryside.






Although the winner will be picked by a judging panel next month, there is a People's Vote (with the chance to win £1,000 to spend at the store): voting is a marvellously simple button click, and you can see all the shortlisters here.