Dezeen promotion: a personalised flower generated by an algorithm has won the wallpaper category in the Samsung Mobile Design Competition.

Created by Finnish designer Kalle Järvenpää and titled Garden of Galaxy, the work would give every Samsung Galaxy user the chance to grow a virtual flower, unique to their device, on their screen.

The look of each flower would be determined by an algorithm, which draws on a sequence of randomly generated "genes" as well as contextual factors around the user, such as their environment.

Each user would receive a unique "seed" when they register their Galaxy device, which would grow over time and bloom after one month. The flower would regularly bloom at the same time each month, until it finally dies and is replaced by a new sapling.

Users would be able to select a preferred colour for their flower, but otherwise the appearance of the plant will be random and unique to the user's device. However, users would be able to share cuttings of their flowers with other users, in order to build up a collection of different flowers on their device, or even cross-breed cuttings to create new flowers.

The flowers displayed on the screen would also react to contextual factors. The leaves and petals of the flowers would droop at night, while water droplets would appear on the flower when it rains, which the user would be able to remove with a shake of their mobile device.

While Järvenpää's idea sounds technology-focused, he stresses that the main purpose of the project is to offer users "something peaceful" and "a respite from the constant buzz applications generate".

"Technology is not the proposal's essence," he told Dezeen. "The main driver is to afford a brief refuge from the deluge of data, demand for attention and hectic pace of change that characterise modern smart devices, and the second, to offer us a reminder, even if artificial, of the beauty and importance of nature."

The judges named Garden of Galaxy the winner of the Next Mobile Wallpaper Paradigm category, which asked entrants to come up with creative ideas for wallpaper for Samsung Galaxy devices.

The designer beat four other finalists to emerge in first place after they each presented their work in front of a jury of experts in London.

Second prize in the competition went to Portugal's Andre Cardos, whose wallpaper, Approachability of Galaxy, interacts with wallpapers on other devices when they are in close proximity.

The third place getter was Malaysia's Guan Hong Yeoh and his wallpaper Blossom of Galaxy, another nature-inspired design, but one whose appearance would change with the time of day.

The top prize is $10,000, with $5,000 going to second place, and $3,000 to third, from a total prize pot of $40,000.

As well as the Next Mobile Wallpaper Paradigm category, the competition also looked for the best accessory design ideas for Samsung Galaxy devices through another category, titled Next Mobile +. The winner of this category was announced yesterday.

The jury — made up of designers Stefan Scholten and Paul Austin, executives from Samsung's IT and Mobile Communications division, and Dezeen editor-at-large Amy Frearson — revealed the top three in each category at a live judging in London on 25 September.

The top three designers travelled to the Samsung Developer Conference from 29 to 30 October in San Jose, USA, where the top prize was announced and mock-ups of all of the finalists' designs were on display.