FADA Dean’s Award Exhibition 2016

The work on this exhibition is of finalists nominated for the 2016 Dean’s Award Exhibition. Each department nominated a student, mainly B Tech and Honours candidates, who demonstrated innovation and creativity. 

The exhibition comprises bodies of work from the following disciplines; Interior Design, Architecture , Industrial Design, Visual Arts, Multi Media, Jewellery Design and Manufacture and Design Communication (Graphic Design). This year’s winner is Kuena Moshoeshoe, B Tech (Fashion Design)

This year’s winner is Kuena Moshoeshoe, B Tech (Fashion Design)

Kuena Moshoeshoe.

B Tech (Fashion Design)

Under Construction

The range is a ready-to-wear multifunctional collection designed using a user-centred approach consisting of main garments as outerwear and supporting garments. The outerwear is mainly reversible giving the wearers an option of how they want to wear the garments. It is aimed at young female architecture students who are exposed to the elements due to the nature of their cause that requires them to participate in site visitations. It is made up of 13 pieces that are heavily informed by the end users and their academic experiences. 

The range is inspired by architecture and makes a strong reference to the appearance of buildings. This is achieved by the use of neutral colours such as black, grey and white. The fabrics used have protection characteristics against weather elements, such as water-repellence and water resistance. 

The fabrics used include pvc, wool, faux leather, faux fur, mesh, cottons. The elements used to emphasis the inspiration of architecture are use of textures that have the look of architectural hatching which is used to identify different construction material on construction drawings. 

White binding on the see-through garments is used to bring out the design features of the clothing. Hardware are used as trims that represent the hardware used in buildings. Because the range was designed to meet the needs of architectural students, it is designed in such a way that they could relate to it from an aesthetics point of and functionality.  

Matthew Edwards

Industrial Design

BA Honours

TERA Football Boot

The TERA football boot is designed for the South African context. It is informed by South African footballers and experts on pitch types and is designed to be affordable, durable, repairable and suited to the pitches found in South Africa. The Human-centered design approach to designing to solve problems helped uncovering crucial aspects of the design. 

As a football player of 15 years, problems with durability and cost have been experienced first-hand. From games played in the baking heat of Pimville, Soweto to the dry turf in Mahikeng, as a designer and a problem solver I noticed a need for a boot suited to dealing with particular socio-economic and environmental contexts.

This study revolved around the research, design and development of a football boot that is suitable to the conditions of South African pitches and the countries current socio-economic climate. There is a lack of research into South African football in general with little done in terms of context specific research into pitch types found in South Africa and their relationship with the current design of football boots.

The Research conducted offered insight into the barriers faced by footballers in South Africa as well as the risks associated with wearing the incorrect stud types on various pitches. The literature review provided insight into the human-centered design approach on which the methodology of the study was based. The literature review also identified the technical elements of football boot design for manufacture. While, sustainability was a major theme in the research, framing information on remanufacturability and planned obsolescence.

The data collected and analysed from interviews conducted with South African footballers presented the following themes to inform the design of a suitable product: durability, field types, affordability and design for repair. This information provided a framework to base design concepts on, in an attempt to solve the problems at hand. The study, although successful in developing a context appropriate boot for South Africa, requires technical testing to validate certain elements like stud type, actual durability of the

boot and elements like ergonomics. It is also recommended that manufacturers of football boots are engaged with in order to validate certain design decisions.

The outcome of the design seeks to provide a boot designed, sourced and manufactured in South Africa for South African conditions without compromising the aesthetics and quality of what’s expected and desired by aspiring footballers.

Key Words: Football Boots, South Africa, Durability, Human-centered Design, Sustainability, Social Impact, Cost Effectiveness, Industrial Design, Design for repair, Contextual design.

Naseerah Essop.

B Tech: Multimedia

This is a design research project that is based on the principles of Human Centred Design, Experience Design, User-Experience Design and Design Thinking. These principles are important because I was specifically designing to alter user experiences in order to create a preferred experience for female university students. My design problem is the sexual violence within the University of Johannesburg. The recent uprising of sexual violence protests in South African universities has sparked my interest and has caused me to choose such a complex topic. This is a topic that challenges rape culture and attempts to understand the experiences of female students in the University of Johannesburg.

I have created a mobile based application called ASAP as the outcome and product of this project. This mobile application can improve the university experiences of female students by making it safer and more reliant. It allows female students to feel empowered, independent and a sense of being in control by helping them with incident reporting procedures, understanding necessary information, instantaneous contact and alerting tools. This mobile application has the potential to help more than just female students. It could also be used by other groups subjected to sexual violence within the university.

In order to understand the sexual violence issue in universities from a user viewpoint, I had to understand user experiences and motives. By understanding my users’ experiences and motivations, I have created a way to improve their experience and situations through design. I have applied a combination of literature and design theories in my design process and critically viewed the environmental, cultural and social aspects of the University of Johannesburg. This has aided me in creating a well-suited solution.

In the end, my primary focus was to make a difference and an impact on the lives of my users by providing them with a tool that could help them in situations of sexual assault. As a designer, I feel that design is a powerful force that can influence and shape how we experience life.

Alexia Ferreira

N Dip: Fine Art (2nd Year)

Crescimento

This body of work is a visual response to Stanley Kubrick’s film The Shining (1980). The protagonist (Jack Torrance) was my main point of reference, more specifically his addiction to alcohol. I fixated on this because my father is battling alcohol abuse, and working with this subject is a sort of catharsis for me.

I decided to focus on symbiotic relationships, specifically parasitism. Parasitism is the association between two different species where the symbiont (the smaller organism that lives in or on the host) benefits and the host is harmed. This symbiotic relationship in plant life can be translated into “human” form. The parasitic plant which I have chosen to depict becomes a representation of the alcoholic and his addiction. In this case the parasite is the alcohol and the host is the alcoholic.

This plant is made up of itself, with parasitic growths growing on top of other parasitic growths. This links to the notion of the alcoholic being so dependent on alcohol that the two “bodies” cannot be separated, despite the negative effects. These growths also link to the film’s use of psychological misdirection where it seems as if the protagonist is constantly reincarnated, thus suggesting that the plant is in and of itself.

Carnality

The tea set on display is linked to femininity and the sense of proper etiquette which finds its origins in the Victorian era. Through subverting the material and making it appear to be hair and skin, the tea set falls into the abject.

The physicality of the tea set is stressed, as one can imagine the feeling of it against the mouth when drinking from it. We have a familiarity with both tea cups and skin, but combined, it becomes unusual. It plays on our sensory experiences and blurs the boundaries between the living and the inanimate.

There is a sense of ‘humanness’ in the tea set.

Through its similarity to the surface of the human body the objects seem to be imbued with sexual connotations and has fetishistic qualities. This notion of the nakedness, exposure and ‘pleasures of the flesh’ links to women being the cause of the realisation of sexuality and ultimately temptation, as Eve once led Adam into temptation.

Discernment

The theme of this work centers on Familiar/Unfamiliar and how the ‘familiar’ work of an old master, Jan Van Eyck, is recreated and changed in order to become contemporary and thus ‘unfamiliar’ to the spectator.

The need to portray fertility becomes the basis of this artwork. The male figure is cast away as the female figure is the focal point. The focus lies on the dialogue as to whether she is pregnant or not.

Scenes from the Passion of Christ were depicted in the mirror’s medallions. This is changed to show the developmental stages of a foetus. This alludes to the idea that the female figure is pregnant and these medallions are in fact “ultrasounds” of the growth of her own child.

Painting on a mirror becomes about perception – how we see the female figure and how we formulate assumptions based on appearances. At the same time, the spectator sees their own reflection in the mirror, allowing them to interact and attach themselves to what they are seeing. The spectator becomes the other half of the portrait, causing them to formulate questions in themselves. What assumptions have they made of women?

By stripping the figure of its original context and omitting elements from the composition, a new meaning is created, one that creates a new domain of interpretation. 

Raquel Rosa Ribeiro

Design Communication (Graphics)

BA Honours

Get Tatt’d

The world we live in is ever-changing so why shouldn’t design portfolios be a reflection of the times? I decided to steer clear of the conventional booklet portfolio and opt for a much more exciting medium: skin. The temporary tattoo designs you see before you offer so much more than meets the eye. Each individual design provides a platform for the display of my work and online portfolio. The concept requires the viewer to apply the temporary tattoo to their skin. Once applied, the “Layar” app should be downloaded and used to scan the designs. The app will recognize the designs and load the relevant gif and button. Each tattoo design either links to an animated illustration or a gif of a portfolio piece, along with a small button that leads directly to my online portfolio. The exhibition space has been set up to give the look and feel of a tattoo parlour whilst providing an interactive portfolio experience.

The initial theme of tattoos was inspired by the chief creative officer and founder of The Grid, Nathan Reddy. Upon researching the company and its founder I noticed Reddy’s love for tattoos and decided this would be the perfect medium in which to briefly gain his attention whilst promoting my design skills. From here the idea expanded and became something more. The concept of temporary tattoos which are ephemeral, is linked to my trait of indecision as both a designer and a person. Therefore with my designs I have taken my indecision and rebranded it as a positive platform of self-promotion.

Mohau Moidi

B Tech: Applied Design

Architecture    

Thesis research study “Braamfontein night lifestyle”

Thesis title: Illuminating the city through fashion

The story of Braamfontein's rejuvenation has been in the spotlight over the past four years. People's living spaces and offices that exist side by side during the daytime are an endearing feature. Braamfontein is also home to what is fast turning out to be a fashion district on Juta Street, where well-known fashion designer David Tlale, among others, has relocated to. It is also home to two art galleries: Michael Stevenson and Afronova galleries.  The story of Braamfontein during the day is however well known and has been widely spoken about.

Then what about its night life?

Many of us have spent time in restaurants in Sandton, Rosebank, Newtown, Melville, Parkhurst, Midrand, Fourways, Yeoville, Norwood, Soweto, you name it.   But wining and dining in Braamfontein? The place, just like other spots in the inner-city in the not too recent past, was an area to avoid at all costs due to a number of reasons such as perceptions about crime, the city's deterioration and quite simply, the lack of modern, enticing places to chill at night, such as good eateries and hotels.

That is now something of the past.

This research study aims to manifest into a hybrid night driven architecture that’s interwoven with the urban fashion trends around Braamfontein and will accommodate a range of activities. These activities will include dining bars, clothing boutiques, clubs, public multi-use spaces and pop up store spaces. The building will also have a hotel housing typology that will primarily cater for the nightclub users.

The concept of the building focuses on one primary objective of people going out in the night.  More particularly, the subconscious tension between the male and the female in these exciting occasions. As most males look forward to hooking up with a girl at a club, the building also starts to express this notion in various ways.  For example the triangular voids on the south façade (which also give the building an environmental response of allowing and optimizing passive air ventilation), express the tension between the sexes at clubs.

The fashion attribute of the building is expressed through the stitching of a ramp to the building edge which also acts as a fashion runway for models allowing ample amount of interaction from the surrounding context. The main structure is crystalized through the 1950’s brutalist architecture which enhances the masculinity of the concept of men and this is juxtaposed with the faceted glass that shapes itself into a female figure which expresses the female sexuality.

In the words of Louis Kahn “light is really the source of all being. Between lighting design and light architecture, which will only come about through integration of lighting engineers concerns with those of the architect so that the space shaping power of light itself is realized.”

In achieving a successful night driven architecture, one of the design principals used to formalize this building was allowing the building to operate all day and all night.  A “living organism that doesn’t rest”. This ties back to saying “light is really the source of all being” applying it to my study it will read “light being a spine of the building that will start illuminating the city though fashion”. 

Ashleigh Wordsworth

B Tech: Interior Design

A multi-functional Craft Centre contributing to inner city skills education and entrepreneurship while promoting craft and skill to the johannesburg public.

This aim of this study was to design a multi-purpose craft centre in which to conduct skills training, production and sale of craft in Johannesburg. The design proposal produced was informed by the research conducted and problems identified within the craft industry. The research conducted included: literature reviews, case studies, and interviews with current craft training facilitators. The hypothesis of the study was that interior design could be used to create a more conducive environment for the training, production and sale of craft. The design was informed by concepts of urban renewal, adaptive re-use of industrial structures, multi-functional spaces and the current state of craft in Johannesburg. Architectural heritage and sustainability were key considerations throughout the design of the centre. All user requirements as determined through the research conducted were considered in the design.

The design proposal aims to provide effective spaces for craft skills training as a response to a demand for education and entrepreneurship in the inner city.  The perception of craft is addressed through the introduction of a public interface within the centre and exposing consumers to the craft process. This was done in order to assist in redefining craft amongst the public and facilitating an appreciation for the skill and value of crafted products. The study presents a design proposal for a multi-functional craft centre, in response to findings from research conducted into the craft industry and supported by the relevant technical documentation.

This is a design research project that is based on the principles of Human Centred Design, Experience Design, User-Experience Design and Design Thinking. These principles are important because I was specifically designing to alter user experiences in order to create a preferred experience for female university students. My design problem is the sexual violence within the University of Johannesburg. The recent uprising of sexual violence protests in South African universities has sparked my interest and has caused me to choose such a complex topic. This is a topic that challenges rape culture and attempts to understand the experiences of female students in the University of Johannesburg.

I have created a mobile based application called ASAP as the outcome and product of this project. This mobile application can improve the university experiences of female students by making it safer and more reliant. It allows female students to feel empowered, independent and a sense of being in control by helping them with incident reporting procedures, understanding necessary information, instantaneous contact and alerting tools. This mobile application has the potential to help more than just female students. It could also be used by other groups subjected to sexual violence within the university.

In order to understand the sexual violence issue in universities from a user viewpoint, I had to understand user experiences and motives. By understanding my users’ experiences and motivations, I have created a way to improve their experience and situations through design. I have applied a combination of literature and design theories in my design process and critically viewed the environmental, cultural and social aspects of the University of Johannesburg. This has aided me in creating a well-suited solution.

In the end, my primary focus was to make a difference and an impact on the lives of my users by providing them with a tool that could help them in situations of sexual assault. As a designer, I feel that design is a powerful force that can influence and shape how we experience life.

Karleigh Swanepoel

N Dip: Jewellery Design and Manufacture

(3^rd Year)

Colletion of work 3^rd Year.

I was inspired by my fascination and love of antique jewellery, in particular Art Nouveau jewellery created by Rene´ Lalique. I was inspired by the style of lines, balance and movement during the Art Nouveau era, as well as the simplicity and composition of contemporary Minimalist jewellery. My aim was to design and manufacture quality jewellery that is fresh, unique and beautifully crafted. I used visual references from nature and plants to create complex jewellery pieces which are also simple and elegant. Some of the jewellery I have created can be worn on special occasions to events and gatherings, and some of the jewellery can be worn on a day-to-day basis with more casual attire. As a designer, I wanted to show my versatility and adaptability in the jewellery industry.