Some 50 works by University of Singapore (NUS) Industrial Design graduating students, undergraduates and alumni were recently on show at the National Library. We look at some of the highlights.
May 29th, 2014
Top Image: Willow by Afzal Imram
The annual exhibition of works by Industrial Design students from School of Design and Environment at NUS was held from 23 to 25 May at The Plaza at the National Library Building. The projects were wide ranging, covering creative designs relating to medicine, social interaction, culture, communication, lifestyle and education.
Here were some of the highlights:
Ascend Cane Tip by Jamie Yeo
While the walking stick is meant to help improve the mobility of the elderly, some shun is, seeing it instead as a reflection of a deterioration of their health.
Ascend is an adaptive cane tip that senses the walking information of the elderly such as the number of walking steps, walking speed, distance, pressure placed on the aid, and also calories burned, and gives feedback in the form of a mobile phone application to show the elderly the positive effects of using a walking stick. This data can also be shared with the physiotherapist who can use it to better understand the patient’s progress and recovery.
Yeo says that Ascend has been designed with the “future elderly” in mind, people who already “have experience and knowledge with a smartphone.”
She adds, “The needs of the future elderly are very different from the current elderly because they are exposed to trends, fashion and also to a knowledge of healthy living. Thus, Ascend will be useful to them in time to come.”
Bloom by Tricia Chean Xuan Hui
Bloom aims to redefine the treatment process for patients suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.
Based on the therapeutic qualities of crafting, Bloom has been designed as a sensitive and non-invasive solution that removes the fear of stigma, while providing a structure to crafting that effectively guides the patient through treatment sessions. The motivation to create functional items is also meant to drive patients on the road to recovery.
“Crafting has been scientifically proven to improve mental health,” Chean explains, “Bloom is a beginner-friendly kit that enables patients without any prior crafting experience to [easily] enjoy the therapeutic benefits of crafting.”
Nurture by Felicia Clare Paul
Nurture is a new soft structured baby carrier that enables and encourages mothers to sustain their breastfeeding efforts by instilling confidence and security when they breastfeed in public.
By ensuring proper posture for the baby, the carrier ensures a proper latch, which is crucial for breastfeeding. The design allows for an easy switch from a carrying position to a breastfeeding position through the use of a drawstring mechanism, allowing mothers ease in bringing their baby to the breast.
Paul says that one challenge was to look at ways to lower and orientate the baby. “There are many ways to achieve this but the challenge was in finding the best way and checking repeatedly with mothers for their feedback and advice. There was also a need for the design to be versatile enough to cater to mothers and babies of different shapes and sizes. There was no shortage of mothers who were interested and keen on helping and for that I am very grateful.”
Willow, Sofia, Eva by Afzal Imram
This collection of furniture, made up of a chair (Willow), a cabinet (Sofia), and a lamp (Eva), is a result of an investigation into connections in furniture and is inspired by various elements of fashion.
This collection aims to illustrate the notion of instinctive and familiar experiences of interaction with furniture, whilst evoking a certain sense of sensuality and tension through the interaction between the fabric and the structure.
“I wanted to work on the experience of the interaction between the user and the furniture, and so for these three pieces, I searched for ways to add a little familiarity, softness and a sense of intimacy, perhaps even sensuality,” says Imram.
I think these three pieces share those qualities, although embodied in slightly varying ways, through the materials used, the form, as well as the way the user interacts with it and the gestures these furniture afford and encourage.”
He continues, “One of the things that drew me to fashion was a certain emotiveness to certain garments and how they interact with the human figure, which inspired how the fabric interacts with the metal structures in my furniture.”
“I was also drawn to the way people adapt and manipulate their clothes which inspired the idea of manipulating the furniture to suit one’s self, [which would then bring] about a certain intimacy and connection between the user and the furniture.”
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