Weeks of hard work, research and attention to detail paid off in a big way for Western junior Justin Lund on March 19.

Lund received the Gold Award at this year’s Northwest Design Invitational in downtown Seattle.  Lund, 34, is an industrial design major and entered a project he completed in the fall with the encouragement of his professors.  He found out via e-mail that he had won first place in the student category for a design he has dubbed BEEP. Lund said he named the design BEEP because it acts as a timer

BEEP is a small device that hangs off the back of a laptop screen and is designed to promote healthy computer usage in children by setting a 30-minute time limit. It has a small screen with a pair of wide eyes on it.  

The children-friendly computer accessory plugs into the USB port of a laptop and warns children when 15 minutes have passed, then 25 minutes and finally at 30 minutes by slowly but surely closing its eyes on the small screen.  BEEP quietly puts the laptop into sleep mode after half an hour, ending the child’s time on the computer without argument and with fair warning, Lund said.

“Lund’s design is unique, fun and connects parents and children, and it is socially engaging,” said Arunas Oslapas, industrial design professor.

The design invitational takes place every two years.  This year, about 90 entries were spread throughout 10 categories, said competition director and Western alumnus Alex Diener.  

A panel of three prestigious judges from all over the country made up the jury that determines the winners.  Competitors answer about 14 questions and submit a portfolio of photos and an explanation of their design, Diener said.  It takes about one day for the jury to get through all of the submitted projects.

“It is certainly a big feather in the winner’s cap," Diener said. "They can say they have been recognized by a panel of judges, and that their work is compelling."

Lund said he spent about five weeks developing BEEP in professor Oslapas’ industrial design class.  The assignment was to create products that promoted a healthy digital lifestyle for a local computer accessory company called Allsop.

Receiving the Gold Award can help with networking, building a resume and gaining exposure for other projects, Diener said.  

Lund used his own experiences at home with his 6-year-old daughter Vega and his wife, Nico, as inspiration for the concept of BEEP.  

“I talked to a lot of parents about issues they had with their kids and computers, but ultimately it was arguments I had with my own daughter that led to the idea for BEEP,” Lund said.  “One day my wife said, ‘Why don’t you just make a timer?’ and I thought, ‘Oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense."

Industrial design professor Jason Morris said it has been about three or four years since a Western student has won at this West Coast competition.  

“I always encourage students to enter their projects," Morris said. "I just help them represent it well and help them make the points they want communicated."

While BEEP was a conceptual design, Lund said he would love to see it actually made and is thinking about getting a patent for the idea.

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