2 July 2009

Judges give a damn about graduates design

A pair of University of Dundee graduates who created an innovative web service that helps charities reach out into the digital world, saw their efforts recognised with a double award at a prestigious design competition.

Jamie Shek and Kyle Montague, who graduated from the University last week, received two prizes at the Northern Design Competition in Leeds. Their project, iGiveADamn, won the Digital Media award - for which they received a total of £1100 - and the Thompson Brand Partners Real World award.

The latter 'seeks to find the exhibited entry that would most likely change the world if made a reality.' iGiveADamn allows charities to create an online profile which will keep their supporters interactively informed at all times. By subscribing to the iGiveADamn web service, charities can add news feeds, videos of their work and post events.

This information can then be communicated directly to supporters who can download an application from standard online marketplaces such as the iTunes App Store. They will then receive regular updates or news from their chosen charity direct to their phone, social networking homepage or desktop widget.

The latest news feed of each charity appear immediately on the www.iGiveADamn.org.uk home page for, so whether it’s a small regional charity or a large national one, they all receive an equal share in the profile.

Jamie (23) is originally from Kirkwall, Orkney and graduated with a BSc (Hons) Interactive Media Design. He explained the inspiration behind iGiveADamn. came about after he bought the new 3G iPhone last summer.

'I really liked the way I could pick and choose from applications on the iTunes store, which got me thinking about creating my own application,' he said.

'Straight away it clicked that if a charities logo appeared on an icon on the iTunes store then it would generate thousands of downloads. From then on I was motivated to develop something around this, but the idea really started to come together when talking about it with Kyle.'

'It was during one of our discussions that Kyle came up with the name 'iGiveADamn'. As soon as he said it we both knew it was perfect.'

Burntisland-born Kyle (21), who graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Applied Computing, said the awards came as something of a surprise to the pair. 'Even to reach the final of a competition that attracted over 3000 entries is amazing, but to win it is totally fantastic,' he said.

'We’re in the process of registering as a company at the moment, and once we’ve done that all the money we won will be invested in the business. It’s great to have this recognition, particularly as it acknowledges not only the design, but also the fact iGiveADamn really serves a purpose.'

The Northern Design Competition is run by Leeds Metropolitan University, and was launched in 2006. The competition highlights the wealth of talent in the north of England and Scotland, and has establishing itself as one of the nation’s premier contests for up and coming designers. The awards also give employers the chance to view the work of future faces in the creative industries.

Judges praised Jamie and Kyle for their design, saying that iGiveADamn exploits many of digital's unique opportunities to provide a useful service which will enable charities to effectively and efficiently reach out to people via the media.

The pair have secured a position within the University of Dundee’s Greenhouse Incubator, and have now spent several weeks working on further developments for the application.

The facility is free for the first six months, and includes an office space, computer equipment, software, telephone and Internet connection, printing facilities and stationery to help students and staff develop innovative ideas with real potential for commercialisation.

Jamie said the pair were excited about future developments, and added, 'The main benefit of the Greenhouse is that it provides us with a secure base to work and trade from.'

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk