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Students show off their innovative designs at prestigious New Designers exhibition

Monday 20 July 2009

Product Design students from L to R: Dale Glen, Jenard Dyer, Brandy Wright, Naresh Chandra, Victor To, Man Luong, Damien Barthelemy

Stylish and pioneering designs by the University of East London (UEL) students were on show at the New Designers 2009 exhibition, held at the Business Design Centre Angel Islington from the 9 to the 19 July.

The exhibition is at the forefront of graduate design and showcases the stunning original work and talent of hundreds of young designers from across the UK.

Students from UEL’s degrees in product and textile design displayed their final year projects and met agents and representatives from a variety of International design companies.

Brandy Wright, 26, from Walthamstow said: “The initial inspiration for my project ‘Opu’ was taken from the opuntia cactus. It is an interactive play set designed for NHS medical waiting room environments. I designed it because I read about the Health Service removing toys from waiting areas due to bacterial spread.”

Victor To, 26, from Custom House is studying for a BA in Product Design. He said: “My project is called ‘Re: Flect’ and it is a garment that can be worn within the construction industry and it is very versatile, it can also be used by cyclists, so it’s multi-purpose. It is connected by zips so the sleeves can be changed to long, short or none at all. There’s also a hood which can be detached.

“My inspiration was to limit the amount of textile wastage and bring awareness to the average life-span of a garment. My garment will last longer than the standard 3 years because the parts can be replaced.”

Paul Lighterness, lecturer in Product Design at UEL said: “This Year’s students have been working on some very exciting projects that are very socially aware, designed for key user groups. The underlying themes of projects have been looking at safety and the improvement to users’ day to day tasks or working environments.

The success of the students work has been reflected by the interest shown by potential employers. I wish them every success with their designs in the future.”

The winners this year were Paul Roden from the Glasgow School of Arts for his eclectic approach to textile design and Nicola Morgan from Northumbria University for her crossover fashion and product design collection called ‘Alterpretations.’

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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