Celebrating the work of young New Zealand designers

14 November 2014

Celebrating the work of young New Zealand designers

Congratulations to the winners of the Henry Hughes IP awards at the end of year exhibition held by Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design. The exhibition is open to the public until 16 November 2014.

Henry Hughes IP director Margaret Doucas said that the firm of patent and trade mark attorneys wanted to encourage young and aspiring designers, so the firm set out to support an organisation which nurtures excellence in original design work.

“We heard of and saw so much superb work originating from the Victoria University School of Design that we decided to sponsor four awards at the School of Design's end of year exhibition”, said Ms Doucas.

The winners of the Henry Hughes IP awards were:

Master of Design Innovation winner: “Desirable Prosthetics” by Zach Challies

A distinctive prosthetic nose created using 3D printing, this device is a departure from traditional prosthetic devices which aim to look lifelike. It does not seek to disguise what it is and in doing so meets the viewer’s curiosity face on.

Media Design winner: “For Fear of Being Hunted” by Samantha Dowling, Zak Gatara and Molly Parker

Inspired by the defence mechanisms of animals, “For Fear of Being Hunted” is a dress with an unexpected difference. Piston-powered spikes extend outwards towards anything that approaches the wearer due to a motion sensor built into the dress. The dress is beautiful as well as imaginative.

Culture+Context winner: “Water Safety & Drowning Prevention in Swimming Pools” by Sean Harris

An innovative solution to New Zealand’s shocking drowning statistics. Underwater sensors installed in the wall of a swimming pool detect if a swimmer is in trouble by monitoring his or her movements and, if the swimmer is in trouble, use a video screen above the water to show coloured bubbles around a picture of the swimmer to alert onlookers and lifeguards.

Industrial Design winner: “The HERD stool” by Sebastien Voerman

Taking its inspiration from a herd of animals, “the HERD stool” is an interlocking three-part stool which can be disconnected to form three standalone stools. This stool brings together style and practicality.

ENDS

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