Barnes & Noble and Kikkerland Design Honor Pratt Institute Students Isabela Nery and Iris Guo04/04/2024

New York, April 4, 2024 - Barnes & Noble announced Isabela Nery as the winner of the Academic vote for the Kikkerland Design Challenge during a live event at their Union Square flagship bookstore in New York City on December 14, 2023. Isabela is currently a student at Pratt University where she created her winning design, the Book Voyager, which will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble bookstores in the fall of 2024.

Kikkerland Design's design competitions originated in 2009 as a collaboration among the company, an established design academy and a major retailer to elevate the work of young designers by giving them the opportunity to have their creations produced and sold globally.

This past fall, students enrolled in the course Prototypes I: Kikkerland Design Challenge at Pratt University were tasked with designing an object for book lovers. The students' portfolios were presented to members of the school faculty who selected a shortlist of students from which representatives of both Kikkerland Design and Barnes & Noble would choose an overall winner.

"It's an honor to collaborate with Pratt and Kikkerland, and to highlight the work of such talented students," said Jackie De Leo, CMO of Barnes & Noble. "They have put so much thought and care into these designs and it's a pleasure to finally see their ideas materialized. We're so excited to bring their innovations to readers across the country."

Isabela Nery, is an Industrial Design student at Pratt University. She was raised in Brazil and spent much of her time reading a popular comic series, Turma Da Monica as well as the classic adventures of Jack and Annie in the Magic Tree House series. Growing up, she envied the ability to jump between worlds as the characters in her stories could. So, when the opportunity presented itself to build a product for readers, Isabela focused on creating a device that could transform any setting into a reading haven - the Book Voyager.

This portable book stand features elegantly crisscrossing panels that securely hold any book in place while open, then seamlessly folds into a slim sleeve for convenient on-the-go travel. "We truly loved this design because we have yet to see a book cover that doubles as a stand in the marketplace," said Kali Dellaguardia, Senior Merchandise Manager at Barnes & Noble. "Not to mention, it is adjustable in angle and allows for the customer to go entirely hands free without having to alter their reading experience at all."

"Working with students from Pratt Institute, led by Professor Constantine Boym, and Barnes & Noble's team has been an amazing experience," said Jan van der Lande, Founder of Kikkerland Design. "We've created fun book-related products with Kikkerland's signature twist. This partnership isn't just about being creative-it's also about making thoughtful designs that last and imparting our knowledge sustainably."

In addition to the Academic Choice, the Popular Vote was awarded to Iris Guo for her product, the Hourglass Reading Lamp. This unique lamp is shaped as an hourglass and as time passes, the illumination gradually shifts from one end to the other. Users can invert the lamp once one side goes dark as the base itself is a charger. The circulating stream of light continues to flow to keep book pages lit for readers all night long. Iris hopes to continue to develop products that convey an emotional impact on the people who use them.

Products will debut during design week this spring at the NYC x DESIGN Festival. They will be exhibited at The International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at the Javits Center May 19-21. They are expected to become available for purchase in Barnes & Noble stores and online at bn.com by fall 2024.

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About Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest retail bookseller in the United States. The Company has over 600 bookstores across the United States, as well as its online bookstore at bn.com, the Nook Digital business which offers both e-books and an audio book subscriptions service, the SparkNotes educational service, and the publisher Union Square & Co. General information on Barnes & Noble, Inc. can be found on the Company's website at www.bn.com.

About Kikkerland Design Inc.
Since 1992 Kikkerland Design has established itself as one of the top companies in the world offering unique, well-designed products to inspire our customers and their needs. Offering the world's largest collection of ingenious items combining form, function, and delight in equal parts; Kikkerland designs can be found in thousands of stores around the world, including museums, independent specialty stores, bookstores, department stores, grocery, garden and hardware stores.