NEWS
RMIT designers selected as finalists in Premier's Design Awards
Proving that RMIT is truly a university of design, innovation and technology – staff, students and alumni have been selected as finalists in the 2017 Victorian Premier's Design Awards.
A diverse array of RMIT projects were selected as finalist this year, from a commercial textile design collaboration to an amazing range of industrial design prototypes and from a variety of communication design projects to an architectural installation at the NGV. These projects showcase the unique design talents that power RMIT’s design community.
The Bachelor of Arts (Textile Design) project ACMIxRMIT focused on designing and producing a fresh range of merchandise to be sold online and in-store at ACMI.
Claire Beale, Program Manager of the Bachelor of Arts (Textile Design), said the collaboration helped RMIT students gain live, direct experience within their future profession and feel ‘work ready’ before graduation.
“It was important to find a balance between giving the students creative license to develop their ideas, while ensuring the commercial consideration of the client’s brief were achieved,” she said.
Finalists for the 2017 Victorian Premier's Design Awards were determined through the First-Round Online Jury process involving a panel of Australian and international design experts where entries had to achieve a ranking of more than 60% to progress to the Finalist stage. Only the top 40% of entries progress as Finalists.
The student textile designers with their merchandise at the ACMI Shop. Left to right: Jane Merrylees, Jarnah Montersino, Aliya Murray and Bridget O’Rourke.
In preparation for the future. The MPAV is fully autonomous and does not require a driver to operate the vehicle. This feature eliminates the need for space for the operator and more space for passengers and luggage.
“The MPAV is fully autonomous and doesn’t require a driver to operate the vehicle. The interior configuration can be easily adjusted to carry a maximum of ten persons,” said Ghazali.
“The MPAV addresses mobility issues within the current transportation systems and provides more opportunities for people to access public transportation in regional areas.”
Bachelor of Industrial Design (Honours) graduate James Walsh and Associate Degree in Design (Furniture) graduate Ash Allen partnered together to create a new material project titled ‘Igneous’. The product is generated from the waste materials of the bluestone quarrying process, and this project has already won a Vivid Design award.
Three international students studying the renowned Bachelor of Communication Design have seen their individual third year projects entered into the finals.
A mix of conceptual ideas and well thought out design strategies created a series of unique works including contemporary beverage packaging, typography and unique ideas for the illustration and translation of ancient text, and interpretations of conference posters.
Graduate Eslyn Heng Jeen Yii’s entry Water Our World Conference was a brief to create and design a conference for a professional field by using details extracted and translated from an interview with a professional in the industry.
Bachelor of Communication Design graduate Eslyn Heng Jeen Yii extracted four key details to create a language/code that the audience could understand.
“After undergoing a few thorough interviews with the professional, I extracted four key details related to his field – a language/code that he and his peers understood,” said Eslyn.
“Using these details through a conceptual approach I was able to shape the conference and its design.”
In further great news, three third year students studying Communication Design have been announced as finalists for this year 2017 Australian Graphic Design Association Student Awards. The winners will be announced in November.
M@ STUDIO Architects transplanted a familiar object (a suburban carwash) into an unfamiliar surrounding (the art gallery) allowing the user to explore ideas of ‘uncertain conditions’ and ‘dematerialisation’. Photo by: Peter Bennetts
The venturous design work of RMIT’s architecture community was acknowledged through M@ STUDIO Architects winning the 2016 NGV Architecture Commission Haven’t you always wanted…?. The research-led project team behind the commission is comprised of RMIT architecture staff, students and graduates.
The pavilion addressed the question of how to display architectural ideas and research in the gallery through the architecture itself. It appealed to a wide range of audiences as an engaging and playful object which activated the quiet Grollo Equiset Garden at the NGV whilst also exposing audiences to the more significant research questions.
All finalists will now undergo a second round evaluation where selected members of the Jury meet face-to-face to determine which entries receive both the Victorian Premier's Design Award Best in Category (awarded to the best project in each of the eight categories), and the coveted Victorian Premier's Design Award of the Year (awarded to the overall best project in the Awards).
The Victorian Premier's Design Awards Ceremony will take place at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in mid-November.
Story: Scott Knight