Once again, relative material and conceptual simplicity wins the day in the Pratt & Umbra home product design competition – a little thought, clever idea and easy execution go a long way.

From Design Milk:

“The 7th Annual Umbra x Pratt Design Competition recently took place and the winning design is just too cute. Designed by Jeff Rubio, the ‘Clutch Clip’ is a stylish clip that resembles a handbag handle that can be placed on paper bags or other items and used to transport them.”

“The students whose winning designs are determined by the Umbra design team to be eligible for production and meet Umbra’s criteria of quality and affordability, will be given the opportunity to work with Umbra’s team to create a prototype. If a design is manufactured, it will appear in Umbra’s catalog and earn royalties for the student designer and Pratt Institute.”

Jeff Rubio and his Clutch Clip carried off first prize – a clever but decorative and easy-to-grasp way of adding a handle as well as visual accents to a stack of papers or even a dull brown paper lunch bag.

Umbra Pratt Competition Winners

Second and third place runner-up awards went to a tea cup with a twist (an insulated mug with a niche specifically for a tea bag string) and a multi-pronged, suction-cupped bathroom coat hanger solution.

Clutch clip retail packaging

“Clutch Clip is a bag clip that was produced as a collaboration with Umbra and Pratt Institute,” says the designer. “It is inspired by other products in the Umbra product line and was sold in retailers such as Container Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Umbra.”

“The annual Pratt Umbra Design Competition sponsored by Umbra provides an invaluable educational experience for Pratt’s industrial design students to develop their skills as designers, to work with a distinguished client, and to see the possibility of their designs going into production.”