Way back in April, we ran a competition with cult brand Momiji to find a new talent to create a limited edition range of designer toys. Momiji chose us to run the competition as they had found their previous guest designer on our site. Jo Zhou won a Don't Panic poster competition with her design 'Harajuku Army', which was subsequently seen by one of the new-talent team at Momiji. Zhou has worked with the cult doll maker for more than a year, developing two new ranges for the company in 2008.

So, we joined forces with Momiji to find the next success story and after a whopping  16,000 votes were cast we arrived at our top ten finalists. We then held a bit of a knees up, drinking plenty of mojitos while we waited for the winning announcement. Jo Zhou, Nick (our noble leader), Pop magazine, Mr Jago, Selfridges buyer Geraldine James and a few others judged the event to find the worthy winner from the 400 entries we received.

The judges voted unanimously for Yota Sampasneethumrong and the limited edition range of 200 sets will be hitting Selfridges this Friday. Now the competition must have given Selfridges some inspiration, as not only are they putting the designer toys on sale, they have created an entire Designer Toy Lounge, where anyone with a fetish for small vinyl objects and crazy Japanese and graffiti fusions will be able to whet their appetites. So we thought with all this exciting stuff happening we would have a chat with Jo to see what she did next.

So, what projects are you working on at the moment?

I'm busy working on a new doll collection for Momiji and its related zakka! Since finishing university I've travelled a lot and caught up with various personal projects so I feel my style and general life outlook has evolved quite a bit. Of course, the penchant for kawaii-ness has remained the same, and will be more than apparent in my upcoming work. I've also started a job in a Viennese design agency and enjoy the contrast between cute personal work and the corporate design world.

Who or what is currently inspiring you?

I've been looking around for poster artwork and really like the illustrations by Kozyndan. The style is subtle enough to decorate a room yet incredibly detailed and cute. I'm also inspired by Kaikai Kiki, Takashi Murakami's art collective who create some beautiful, subversive pieces. Unfortunately it's really tricky to get hold of any of their prints in Europe. Following my current obsession with interior design, I'm in love with Tord Boontje's garland lamp... anything shiny, delicate and flowery is an instant winner.

Will you be working with Momiji in the future?

Definitely! Working with Momiji has been an amazing experience and it's given me the chance to explore areas of that kind of design. Each new project is an opportunity to create something based on concept, function, colour and emotional appeal. It never gets dull for me because there are so many different combinations to try out. I've already completed several projects, including gashapon capsules and Christmas cards, set to be launched later this year.

So, was it helpful doing that poster for us way back in '06 for our Counterculture theme?

Gaining exposure through Don’t Panic has really been the most significant turning point of my career. My friends and I loved the free Don't Panic packs at university so I decided to enter when I found out about their poster competition. My 'Harajuku Army' entry nearly didn't come about since I had so much other work. In the end I stayed home an entire weekend making the entry, though actually winning and seeing my design printed redeemed every bit of the stress. They also kept the poster design on the website so it was quite a surprise when I was contacted by Momiji over half a year later! To this day I really appreciate Don't Panic giving artists a chance based on creativity over experience or fame. I was also given the chance to contribute to their online magazine, an option that was open for many issues thereafter.

Aww thanks! Got any tips you can give on budding designers who are trying to get noticed?

As a design student, it can be very daunting to know where to start finding exposure since it feels like you're competing with hundreds of others. But in reality most students are actually too busy with coursework to promote themselves outside of university. From experience, if you try hard enough to find a job then it will happen. I sent a lot of work to magazines and websites, often unsolicited, but surprisingly got positive replies from many of those places.

I also found competitions a good entry point for exposure... even if you don't win, you definitely know that industry people have seen your portfolio and gained valuable practice. Obviously along the way you may get ignored or rejected, but if you believe in your work and enjoy what you do, then persistence will pay off.  Remember that everyone improves with practice (and the people picking your work are only human with different tastes) so just because you weren't successful with a certain magazine or competition doesn't mean they'll never accept your work in future.