The Department of Industrial Design at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (FADA) were very proud winners of the “Most Promising Institution” award at the 4th Annual Cobra Product Design Competition 2016, held on the 8th of September. The Department received this award due to the quality of student work submitted, but in particular, the superb efforts of 3rd year student Marcha Naudé, who was awarded 1st place in the student category, and alumnus Dumisani Tshabalala, from The Ideamongery, who was awarded 1st place in the professional category.
Lecturer, Stuart Windram said: “The project was a great opportunity for the students to engage with industry-linked design and for them to showcase their abilities. At the beginning of the project, the students were given a tour of the Cobra manufacturing facility in Krugersdorp, which demonstrates numerous manufacturing processes and is an exceptional experience – we are very grateful to Cobra Watertech for giving the students the opportunity of this competition!”
As the winners of the competition, Marcha and Dumisani will be flying to Italy to attend the Fiera Milano Trade Fair in 2017. The Department of Industrial Design were awarded R10 000 and a standing trophy. Head of Department, Angus Campbell highlighted: “This award is a feather in the cap of the Department, indicating the exceptional quality of our current students, graduates and lecturers! The prize will be put to good use in purchasing materials to subsides student projects undertaken in the Departments Rapid Prototyping Centre.”
Mr Windram said that, “At the Department of Industrial Design we strive to equip our students with the tools they will need to allow them to enter the workplace confidently as design professionals, and to contribute to the development of the design and manufacturing industry in South Africa and internationally.”
The 4th Annual Cobra Product Design Competition 2016 was open to students and professionals, and required applicants to design innovative products for public bathroom spaces. The focus of the competition was on improving public bathroom experiences and aesthetics, allowing for designers to explore these spaces beyond the usual taps and mixers.
The 3rd year BA Industrial Design students entered this competition as part of a project led by lecturers Ivan Brown (Engineering Media), Daniel Carstens, (Drawing Media) and Stuart Windram (Digital Media).
The learning outcomes of the project focused on students applying digital, drawing and engineering media to create free-form, complex organic designs, whilst accommodating standard internal bathroom fitting components. It was a fast-paced project, run over a five-week period, during which the students were working concurrently on other industrial design practice projects. Time management was therefore crucial for students to ensure that they were able to meet project deadlines.
More information on the competition can be found at http://www.cobrapdc.co.za/
