Today’s Optimism post comes from Freddy, one of the designers here at W+K, who recently spent time running a creative workshop for Graphic Design students at Edinburgh University. Read on to learn about the creative brief he set the students, and their brilliantly outlandish responses.

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be invited by Edinburgh University to speak and set a two-day creative brief for the first, second and third year Graphic Design students.

The brief was simple: in groups of two to five, invent a Chindōgu — an creation which works but is intentionally inconvenient to use. Think: a household duster sewn to a baby romper, so as the baby crawls, the baby cleans.

The responses were as irreverent and as absurd as I’d hoped for, with five well worthy of an honourable mention here:

The Never Alone Arm

A jumper designed with an attachable arm and hand, so single people have something to hug and hold.

The Biopirspire Garden

An underarm deodorant that comes in the form of portable plant jars.

The Safety in Numbers Coat

A coat that prevents the wearer from being attacked. How? With two fold out, flat friends that give the impression you’re not walking home alone.

The Never Alone Sheets

A bed sheet that comes with pillow-soft limbs, for the lonely sleepers out there.

The Always Find Your Socks Socks

A pair of socks attached by string, preventing sock loss across the globe.

In addition to the students’ collective energy and competitive spirit, it was really encouraging to see spontaneous collaboration across the programme’s three years. It’s pretty rare to find a university without hierarchy, where final, middle and first year students can share ideas and work together so freely. The result, it seems, is an environment without egos, where students are capable of taking on any brief thrown their way.

— Freddy Taylor