Otago Polytechnic has claimed multiple medals at the Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards 2018.

Bachelor of Design (Product) graduate Tania Turei won a Gold in the Ngā Aho section for her “Pae” seating entry, the judges loving the simplicity and modularity of the laminated wooden bench, which they described as having “some subtle cultural references to manaia and a haka stance”.

Another Bachelor of Design (Communication) graduate, Erin Broughton, claimed Gold in the Student Graphics category for “Bones”. A series of magazines for student radio station 91FM, “Bones” was described by judges as “thought-provoking and challenging”.

The innovation of Otago Polytechnic’s Food Design Institute was also recognised through a collaboration with creative agency Geometry Global for client Sanitarium – which won a Gold in the Exhibition and Temporary Structures category.

Lecturers Tony Heptinstall and Timothy Lynch and a team of staff and students worked with Sanitarium to produce the “So Good Garden of Goodness”, comprising 3000 edible products at Auckland’s Britomart in February.

Bachelor of Design (Communication) graduates Michael Smith, Becki Jones, Jaimee Caffell and Sherman Sreedhar won Bronze in the Student Moving Image category for the 3D animated backdrops they developed for the Fortune Theatre production of “Into the Woods”.

Fraser Dixon, a Year-2 Bachelor of Architectural Studies student, won Bronze in the

Student Spatial category for “Chaos and Order”, a series of architectural concept studies.

A wide range of Otago Polytechnic School of Design projects were among the finalists in the Best Design Awards, an annual showcase of excellence in graphic, spatial, product, interactive and motion design.

“We are really proud of the award winners and finalists,” says Caroline Terpstra, Acting Head of College – Art, Design and Architecture.

“The Best Design Awards are a platform for students and graduates to present their work to an audience of design professionals and to have their work evaluated alongside outstanding student design projects at a national level,” Caroline says.

“The results reflect the commitment, passion and expertise of Otago Polytechnic’s Design lecturers as well as the support staff who are an indispensable part of our teaching and learning environment.”

Entries this year included group and individual projects and collaborations with a range of Dunedin institutions, among them a recent Otago Museum exhibition, “Things Change: Martin Phillipps and The Chills”. The result of a collaboration between museum staff and Otago Polytechnic Communication Design students, it was a finalist in the Spatial-Exhibition section.

“Previous Best Awards finalists and winners have built on their success to launch their design careers in New Zealand and overseas,” Caroline says.

Last year, Otago Polytechnic third-year Product Design projects claimed two Best Design Awards – a silver in the student product category (Glo wheelchair) and bronze in the student product category (Cactus Hammock). A first-year Communication Design student claimed Bronze in the student graphics section (Roller Derby zine series).

Otago Polytechnic award winners and finalists in the Designers Institute of New ZealandBest Design Awards 2018:

Award winners

Gold – Nga Aho, Student: Tania Turei, Pae seating (lecturers, Machiko Nimi, Andrew Wallace, Tim Armstrong).

Gold – Graphics, Student: Erin Broughton, Bones (lecturer, Matt Galloway).

Gold – Exhibition and Temporary Structures: Geometry (in collaboration with Otago Polytechnic’s Food Design Institute), “Garden of Goodness”.

Bronze – Moving Image, Student: Michael Smith, Becki Jones, Jaimee Caffell, Into the Woods (lecturer, Jon Wilson).

Bronze – Spatial, Student: Fraser Dixon, Chaos and Order (lecturer, Ross T Smith).

 

Finalists

Product, Student: Ian McDowall, Francis Bingham, Yellow Eyed Penguin monitoring system (lecturers, Machiko Niimi, Tim Armstrong); Tania Turei, Pae seating (lecturers, Machiko Nimi, Andrew Wallace, Tim Armstrong)

Spatial, Student: Joshua Weir, Bare (lecturer, Ross T Smith).

Graphics, Student: 2017 Cohort, Dust (lecturers, Leigh Paterson, Matthew Galloway). 

Spatial, Exhibition: Otago Museum – Things Change: Martin Phillipps and the Chills (in collaboration with Otago Polytechnic School of Design lecturer Martin Kean and year-3 Communication Design students Mitchell Allen, Josh Caldwell, Sean Funnell, Jessie Hamilton, MJ Heap and Scott Kingsbury).

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Published on 24 Sep 2018

Orderdate: 24 Sep 2018
Expiry: 30 Jun 2019