CLINTON HILL — Three students from Pratt Institute Professor Katrin Mueller-Russo’s senior product design studio won prizes at the 2011 Collab Student Design Competition, an annual event held in conjunction with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, for their innovative overnight bag designs. 
 

German exchange students Silvia Terhedebrugge and Elisa Boell took home first and second prize, respectively, and Jeannie Wu (Class of 2012) was awarded first honorable mention. A total of six of Mueller-Russo’s senior-year undergraduate students participated and won three of five prizes. 
 

There were 115 projects from seven different design schools that were submitted overall, the largest number of entries in the competition’s history.
 

This year’s theme was based on the museum’s exhibition “Zaha Hadid: Form In Motion,” which celebrates the artist’s work in the fields of urbanism, architecture and design. Students were asked to design an overnight bag that inspired fun and functional travel. 
 

The winning students and Mueller-Russo attended an awards presentation event in November at the museum with famed architect Zaha Hadid also in attendance. 

First-prize winner Terhedebrugge was recognized for a fashion-forward piece of luggage titled “UnderCover OverNight” that is fashioned as a cape with visible pockets on the outside and secret pockets on the inside that can hold items for overnight trips. In addition to holding one’s overnight items, the cape also protects the wearer from wind and weather.
 

Second-prize winner Boell was recognized for an inventive design, “Urban Bundle,” that is a modern version of the travel bundle. The design features a tube with three separate containers that store toiletries, makeup and personal belongings that is then rolled up with the user’s clothing items and secured to a close with an elastic band. The design, without the tube, can also be transformed into a pillow.
 

First runner-up Wu was recognized for a beautiful crocheted comfort accessory for traveling titled “Amethyst.” It is embedded with a neck and back support system and has the capability of holding hot and cold packs to further relieve neck and back pain. The design is accompanied by a shawl that functions as a garment and as a blanket.
 

Pratt Institute’s industrial design program is ranked among the best in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report’s most recent ranking of “America’s Best Graduate Schools” and DesignIntelligence’s 2012 publication “America’s Best Architecture and Design Schools.”