What’s lunch without a little design challenge? Last week 250 of us gathered in sunny downtown Los Angeles for the 2016 Core77 Conference. After hearing a morning of talks on storytelling and human-centered design in the age of technology, we gathered for a lunch break in the Vibiana courtyard for a little head-to-head design competition. 

Each attendee was presented with a notecard outlining one of three design challenges. Each person was encouraged to sketch, sculpt or explain an awesome product concept solution in under an hour. Not only did everyone rise up to the challenge, they went above and beyond!

A view of the Idea Wall in situ

We gave the conference three different prompts to tackle of their choosing. Out of all of the submissions, we chose ten of our favorites, handing out a Core77 Designing Here/Now book featuring Core77 Design Awards winners. Here are a few of our favorite responses to the three design prompts:

QUESTION 1: To reduce food and environmental waste, propose a creative solution for edible food packaging that can both prolong the shelf life of food and reduce landfill.

The Edi-Pak by Ben Anik, Olivia Lee and Dipti Sonawane

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An interlocking coconut husk + honey shell, inspired by baseball forms & stitching. #Core77Con pic.twitter.com/z2ZJX6C2Yk

— Liam Gee (@LiamJGee) September 29, 2016

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This clever solution to edible ramen packaging really caught our eye with its thorough model and descriptive instructions. The concept includes conventional outside packaging that incorporates your silverware. The outer sheath protects a compressed shell made of a mix of different herbs and spices. Inside this shell rests the noodles, which can be dropped into a boiling pot of water—shell included—making for a completely edible package concept. 

Locking Coconut Husk by Liam Gee

This interesting solution inspired by the shape of baseballs combined both the organic with the technical by utilizing coconut fibres treated with honey and egg that can encase a complementary snack inside. 

QUESTION 2: Imagine a useful work robot friend for the year 2056—what does it do and how does it look?

The Jesterbot by IBM Design’s @whereismeersman + the Emotional IQ Robot by Peter B

A common concept we saw in the work robot categories were bots that helped extend one’s own consciousness, one being the “Jesterbot”—this little guy would hypothetically absorb many different cues from you and your environment to help you decide what needs to get done for the day. Another winner was a robot that learned to acquire emotional intelligence over time in order to help you with complex human-to-human problems you may be challenged with on a daily basis. 

Uni-Courier by Jeff Brummer 

We couldn’t help but notice this concept was probably inspired by the audience anticipation of the upcoming Hyperloop presentation that followed our lunch break—the “Uni-Courier” is a great concept for a robot that could help deliver packages to different recipients quickly and easily using the power of propulsion technology. 

QUESTION 3: Create a shoe that end users can grow, hack, or DIY using future technologies. How does technology allow consumers to improve their mobility or fulfill everyday needs?

Mystique by Frog Design

Frog Design really went all out with their submission, providing us with both a detailed explanation as well as some exploratory models. Their shoe concept incorporates different ‘modes’ for one pair of shoes with different terrains (looks like there’s an everyday, hiking and even an ice skating mode!)

Shoe Platform by Joel Fariss and Sabrina Dorsainvil

We were thrilled to see participating designers in this lunch challenge throwing out ideas that felt truly radical and thoughtful. The designers behind this shoe concept really turned the idea behind on the prompt on its head by proposing a digital solution that allowed consumers to have full control over the final form of their shoe, including customized arch support as well as a large number of stylistic choices for a hyper-personalized product. 

Join in on the fun: do you have a good solution to one of these prompts? Share your idea with us in the comment feed below!