Category Winners 2020

Friends of The Dowse Fashion Design Award Winner

Erana Kaa | Massey University - Te Kākahu ō Te Kaikaranga

Kaikaranga: Research will focus exclusively on the role of the kaikaranga during tangihanga. This is usually when karanga is at its most affective. It is often an arduous and emotionally relentless role, testing the skill of the kaikaranga and her commitment to serve.

Kākahu: Creating apparel for kaikaranga more intimately expresses the physiological and spiritual systems occurring within and around her. Examining customary apparel of Māori women will create an appropriate foundation. Including other methods of personal adornments, such as tā moko, haehae, and body painting may offer a more comprehensive understanding of customary apparel.

Māori Visual language:I will approach apparel as a means of conveying ancient knowledge through visuallanguage, revitalising customary values in relation to everyday apparel and normalising tikanga Māori.

View Video

ECC Lighting Design Award

Courtney Naismith | Victoria University - Lustrious Lights

The complex plastic problem does not have a one size fits all solution; however, additive technologies and design can aid in the transition towards a circular economy and apply outputs to niche applications. The introduction of a 3D printed upcycling system can reutilise unwanted waste plastics, gain control of the material life-cycle and repurpose them into higher-quality products.

A materials-led investigation with Air New Zealand’s old polystyrene coffee stirrers resulted in a range of 3D printed artefacts with novel visual, tactile and structural qualities. The filament produced has a spectacular crystal quality which was utilised through designing a 

surface texture that resembles traditional Māori taniko patterns. The printed light shades were combined with aluminium fastenings and chrome fixtures to complement, yet remain a focus on the elegant light shade patterns. 

Lustrous Lights are designed for the Air New Zealand International Koru Lounges within Airports to showcase the airline’s sustainable efforts and engage a wide audience with the possibilities of 3D printed upcycling. The geometric freedom of 3D printing enables the ability for each cylinder dimension and pattern arrangement to be modified, designing a unique piece for each Koru Lounge space.

ECC Furniture Design Award

Andrew Roberts | Victoria University - Te Wheke

The primary challenge for this project was to design an innovative item of furniture that represents the values of the Living Pā and also fully exploits the qualities/opportunities of CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing). The brief proposed a considerable challenge, to both navigate between the requirements for sustainability and the requirements to integrate digital manufacturing technologies.

Ultimately, the design should consider mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) and use appropriate materials in a creative manner, perform a defined task and be resolved to a high level of visual sophistication that makes a succinct statement supporting the objectives of both the Living Pā and the Living Building Challenge.

Through a trimester long process of design sketching, physical experiments and concept development, a polished design concept that integrated the capabilities of CAD and CAM technologies and recognizes the values of the Living Pā, was the most desirable outcome.

ECC Product Design Award

Lucy Grunfled and Saskia Jamieson | Massey University - Shape Shifter

The design we created was inspired by the classic shape sorter, with key focuses on modularity and transformability. The toy will begin its life as a shape sorter, helping the child differentiate between shapes and colours and then will grow to become more of a building toy as the child gains motor skills. It encourages children to use their imagination to build anything.

Our toy consists of sets of: four different coloured panels with geometric shapes cut out of them; five different types of interlocking connectors; and a wheel component which can be inserted into the connector pieces in order to encourage more complex building and explorative play.

The panels have been water jet cut from offcuts of acoustic panels (made from 60% recycled plastic bottles) to create a soft, durable, child-friendly touch value. For our 1:1 prototype, we used the university's 3D printer to create the connector pieces. These were designed in CAD with a focus on form language and usability for children. We have achieved this by designing larger connecting pieces with protruding edges, which help children while they develop their dexterity. For mass production, we envision that these would be injection moulded using a plant-based plastic.

Friends of The Dowse Visual Communication Illustration Design Award

Russell Hooton-Fox, Jack Whitehead, Case Dakota, Desmond Cheong | Media Design School - Woven

Woven is a hands-on weaving experience, created to connect the public with Māori cultural values: Manaakitanga and Kaitiakitanga.

Through research and conversations with Māori mentors, Dr Jo Diamond (PhD Weaver) and Johnson McKay (Fly Studio), we concluded that values can’t be fully understood through words alone. Values are a living thing, they need to be experienced. To provide this experience, we crafted a guided weaving experience with context in Māori values, delivered through conversation:

Kaitiakitanga; working with harakeke (flax) and following Tikanga (customs) pays respect to our naturalresources.

Manaakitanga; face-to-face learning provides a strong foundation for hospitality, where woven creations become assets for the community.

When approaching the visual treatment, we found our public audience carry preconceptions, and hesitance for cultural interactions. Guided by our mentors, we shaped a visual narrative for Woven; combining vibrant colours and symbols with welcoming spatial graphics to draw curiosity. Through graphic panels, we tell a story of values and people.

Friends of The Dowse Surface Design Award

Imogen Zino | Auckland University of Technology - The Materiality of Winter

The Materiality of Winter is a multi-sensory audio-tactile installation made up of three-and-a-half-thousand individually handmade ceramic pieces.

This installation brings together people, materials and craft to create a unique and engaging experience. Each ceramic piece is similar in form yet unique and varied, coming together to create a whole. There is a conscious variance in size, with similar pieces clustered together in order to enhance the range and playfulness of the acoustic experience. The smaller pieces produce a higher pitch and the larger, a much lower one. The individuality of each piece generates an organic topography and creates an undulating surface. Many hands came together to create the pieces that make up the surface of this work, and while the installation is designed to promote community engagement, it also provides a unique experience in both its fabrication and realisation. The Materiality of Winter is a living space that engages with touch and responds both audibly and dynamically with it. The textures of sound, shape and surface activate our perceptual selves, immersing us in and connecting us to the world. In this state the self is transient and open to feeling happiness. With Winter in my mind, I have created an immersive experiential work that seeks to elicit a sense of awe-filled wonder.

The Village Goldsmith Jewellery Design Award

Simon Smale | Otago Polytechnic - Fairtrade?

Fairtrade? is a scale replica of a discarded banana box in cotton fabric and brass which responds to the exploitive practices of banana production.

I believe that through the object, jewellery is the only discipline that thoroughly integrates the body/subject with the world around them in an embodied way. Through my series ‘Fairtrade?’, of which this piece is from, I have attempted to bring attention to the underrepresented practices and conditions of the production of a seemingly innocuous everyday food stuff. The banana, and just as much the banana box, is a ubiquitous item of everyday life- the box a frequent storage facility in untold homes. My piece ‘Fairtrade?’ takes this form, and reproduces it to scale in the discarded, dilapidated form I had often found them in. Seemingly innocent, I utilise the cut-out shapes of the handles and ventilation holes to evoke a startled face- an attempt to draw the viewer into dialogue with the human narrative at the heart of the work.

I often use unconventional production methods; here I utilise a water jet to cut the brass before hand finishing it. Drill holes are then added to allow the attachment of the cotton canvas section. While the canvas section is itself sewn by machine, its attachment to the brass is by undertaken by hand.

Tuatara Ceramics Award

Eva Ding | Otago Polytechnic - This Is Us

A large number of unglazed ceramic sticks made of different materials are fired in different atmospheres. Each represents an individual who, together, constitutes our multi-cultural society. 

I have a strong interest in different clay materials of ceramics. The beauty of glaze is incomparable; however, the natural power of clay itself, which comes from the earth and nature, has always attracted me. I used earthenware, stoneware, porcelain and different grogs, and batch fired in Cone4, Cone6, Cone10R, Cone08R Raku and Cone6R Sagger, which allowed me to get different colours and textures. Instead of using glaze, I tried to exploit as much diversity as possible in the clays themselves. They derive from nature, they have open displaying mode, and there is no necessary fixed pattern. I came to New Zealand seven years ago and became a permanent resident. I love this country, not only for its unparalleled natural scenery but also for its diverse cultural atmosphere, which enables me to live in freedom and happiness. It is an open society, where equality, love, acceptance and tolerance are all involved. I use the coiling method made these "sticks". They are multiple colours; speak various languages; eat their lunches; follow their favourite Instas; watch their movies; sing their songs; pursue distinct goals; dream different dreams. Yet, they are so closely related, and their differences constitute a diverse and infinity world. 

L’affare Innovation in Sustainability Award

Matthew O’Hagan | Victoria University - Scale Seat

Discarded plastic fishing gear is becoming increasingly detrimental to the marine environment. Effective 3D printing upcycling initiatives that reuse plastic fishing gear within a circular economy could provide a solution to the problem, as it would provide the commercial fishing industry with a responsible recycling scheme for their equipment, materials would be continuously reused within the economy, and more plastic waste could be mitigated from the ocean or landfills. The Scale Seat is an example of this upcycling initiative. For the design, used buoys from New Zealand’s commercial fishing industry ‘Sanford’ were collected, cleaned, granulated and formulated into 3D printing filament. The seats form focuses on 3D printed hollow areas for fast production as well as using subtle details to accentuate where the materials came from. These details include utilising the negative space of the chair to resemble a fish fin and having a unique fish scale texture wrap around the entire chair. Overall, the Scale Seat aims to introduce New Zealanders to innovate, localised, and circular solutions to domestic plastic waste streams and to raise awareness on ocean pollution. (The shared design is a small scale prototype of 115mm x 135mm).

View Video

ECC People’s Choice Award

Liam Nguyen (Quang Long Nguyen) | Auckland University of Technology - Sacred Animals

Sacred Animals is a set of postcards about Vietnamese architectural decorations and stories behind them. The keywords for my project are cultural understanding and the effects of modernisation. Firstly, the Viets are not one of the biggest communities in New Zealand. I want the outsiders to know more about our presence and culture, especially our traditional architecture. The animal decoration at our temples are sacred, mysterious and symbolises many positive values in life. Secondly, another aspect I intend to deliver is modernisation that has slowly killed traditions and cultures, namely postcards. Postcards were popular means of communication to New Zealanders in the 19th century, but it died away because of telephones.

Acknowledging these two socio-cultural contexts, I have designed a contemporary-looking set of postcards that people can get at museums, Vietnamese restaurants and temples as gifts. Each illustration is a metaphor of the animal’s origin, meaning and contribution to human life.

The illustration style is inspired by thick and thin calligraphy strokes, colours of traditional architecture, and elements of a Vietnamese typeface. Key materials are thick black cardboard, textured pale grey paper and translucent paper. In terms of techniques, I created vectors on Illustrator, printed them on paper and attached them to the front and back of each cardboard using spray glue.