Professor Hua Dong
MADE IN BRUNEL 2021
Professor and Fellow of DRS - Dean of Brunel Design School We are proud that Brunel Design School has been recognised as one of the best places in the world to research and study design by the 2021 QS World University Ranking by Subject. Made in Brunel is a differentiator for us, and it contributes so much to our students’ unique experience at Brunel University London. As a student-driven innovation showcase, Made in Brunel has been highlighting Brunel talent since 2006. Every year we produce a book of design innovation, known as ‘the best design show books.’ Made in Brunel (MiB) has evolved to become a brand of Brunel Design, a cornerstone of the College of Engineering, Design, and Physical Sciences, and a Universitywide symbol of student excellence. The unique brand of MiB 2021 is ‘Above the Fold’, appropriately reflecting we are producing headline material. Under the pandemic restrictions, our MiB team has managed to engage Brunel students and beyond through podcasts, a virtual ‘Sketch Off’ competition, a ‘24 Hour Design Challenge,’ and a fun ‘Bake Off’ competition. It is unbelievable that the 24 Hour Design Challenge took place in the virtual Michael Sterling Building, home of the Brunel Design School. One of the MiB team
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members, Ollie, was determined to create this extraordinary experience for students, and he delivered. Brunel designers manifested creativity, competence, ambition, and attention to detail through such initiatives. MiB 2021 marks the first anniversary of the Brunel Design School. Both design and digital media projects are shown side by side in the book for the first time. Our Co-Directors, Joe and Joanna, have led the MiB team through a year full of uncertainties, and I am deeply impressed by the legacy the MiB team of 2021 has created. “Design is the jewel of the crown of Brunel”, stated our Vice-Chancellor and President Julia Buckingham, and our student work is ‘above the fold’. I thank Paul Turnock, our retired senior lecturer and Honorary Fellow of Brunel, for his continued support to Made in Brunel and for offering the MiB team an unforgettable introduction to the spirit of Brunel design innovation. Many colleagues have provided guidance and support to the MiB team, especially Paul Josse and his technical team. To them, I say thank you.
Joanna Power & Joe Ground
WELCOME TO ABOVE THE FOLD
Made in Brunel Directors each other through adversity, we have built relationships that have encouraged success and offered comfort in an otherwise isolated year.
It’s no doubt the last year has been full of frontpage stories; Brunel is no different. This year, we entered a new era, breathing fresh life into the Brunel Design School as Product/Industrial Design and Digital Media united, led by Professor Hua Dong. Connecting like-minded innovators to empower the next generation of forward-thinkers, Brunel holds the badge for one of the top universities for design. We take pride in what we do, and firmly believe that the work we produce is headline material.
Along their journey at Brunel, the students showcased in this book have designed for countless world-leading brands, creating products to suit a wider purpose. Many will have worked towards saving lives, tackling global issues, and changing the world before our eyes. Incalculable hours have been poured into their major projects this year, and the outcome has been undeniably outstanding. This is Made in Brunel. We are Above the Fold.
Printing a new chapter in the Made in Brunel story, Above the Fold was created. It could not have been done without the grit and resilience of this year’s team. Following on from the years before us, the team has faced many challenges, adapting to host the first online launch, merchandise shop, Sketch Off, and 24 Hour Design Challenge. We were also proud to debut the Made in Brunel Podcast, and the Bake Off. Through all of the hard work, we have gained an understanding of the collaborative community at Brunel. As a cohort, we have a drive and passion to succeed. By supporting
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Paramveer Bhachu & Yasmine Fell
ABOVE THE FOLD BRANDING
Made in Brunel Branding Managers Inspired Made in Brunel is directly influenced by the new developments and designers of today and tomorrow. Tangible At its core, Made in Brunel is about interaction and the physical world - something which should be emphasised now more than ever. ‘Above the Fold’ is a classic newspaper term, now widely used in digital media. Only the top half of a broadsheet is visible on newsstands, thus requiring important titles to be continually placed above the fold. Brunel designers have a knack for problem-solving and producing work which is consistently headline standard. This year’s brand identity has stemmed from our five core brand principles: Adaptable Made in Brunel doesn’t conform to standards, allowing it to lead the new wave of designers and overcome obstacles. Connected The ideas and designers that form Made in Brunel are intrinsically linked together, becoming ever more critical as we venture toward the digital. Innovative Made in Brunel fosters designers for the new world and pioneers the evolution of design.
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With a fantastic team of graphic designers, photographers, and render artists this year, it was more important than ever to create a brand that could be expressed through these mediums. Our new identity sees the return of the iconic Made in Brunel orange, coupled with playful shades of mauve and teal to add a vibrant personality to the brand. Presenting this alongside a new custom typeface and a range of assets, we have brought Made in Brunel into a new era and elevated it Above the Fold.
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Ellen Parkinson & Tobias Crabtree Made in Brunel Events Managers
ABOVE THE FOLD EVENTS
either, adorning Brunel’s iconic lecture centre with two gargantuan Above the Fold banners. We like to think they really tie the campus together. However, we’re still unsure how Paul managed to swing it with the University’s building custodian.
As Made in Brunel’s 2021 Events Managers, we faced the challenge of reinventing the classic Made in Brunel events to be fully digital in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Signature Above the Fold events were also added to the calendar this year, utilising the existing skillsets of Made in Brunel team members, in addition to building on our own. Above the Fold Brand Launch Through a sea of reverb and over the crackle of headsets, the Above the Fold brand was revealed on the 4th of December 2020. Launched digitally for the first time in Made in Brunel’s history, students, alumni and faculty all tuned in to see the much-anticipated launch video for this year’s brand. No doubt enabled by Made in Brunel’s very first signature cocktail, this year’s launch was a lively affair, truly representative of the Adaptable, Connected, Innovative, Inspired and Tangible brand values that Above the Fold embodies. The event also played host to a live design challenge featuring Senior Lecturer Steve McGonigal and Made in Brunel’s very own, Joe Ground. Despite performing admirably as a last-minute stand-in for Course Director Eujin Pei, Joe suffered a bruising defeat that he is still recovering from. This year’s team wasted no time making their mark in the physical world
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Final Showcase The team were ecstatic when in April, planning for the final showcase began in earnest. Display stands were dusted off, and floor plans were finalised as we prepared to celebrate ten years at the Bargehouse, but more on that later. This year we’re introducing limited-edition merchandise and live-streaming highlights and student interviews across the 4-day event, which features the outstanding work that has been produced by students this year. We would like to thank everybody who attended and supported our events this year, and we are excited to see what the next generation of Made in Brunel holds in 2022.
SKETCH OFF The Above the Fold team kicked off 2021 with a staple event from previous years; the Made in Brunel Sketch Off. Comprised of a number of time-restricted knockout rounds, the Sketch Off gives students the opportunity to test their mettle in a series of increasingly difficult rendering challenges. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions of the Coronavirus lockdown, we were unable to host the Sketch Off physically this year. However, this didn’t stop us from live-streaming the entire event on Made in Brunel’s YouTube channel. Judging this year’s contest were incumbent lecturers Steve McGonigal and Marjan Angoshtari, and former Made In Brunel members Sam Roberts and George Hopkins. Our panel gradually whittled down this year’s contestants to a top three in what can only be described as the Hunger Games with Copic Markers. Huge congratulations go out to our runners up Augustė Žukaitė and Noorulameen Khan, alongside eventual winner Henry Leeson! Finally, we’d like to thank this year’s judges not only for their expertise, but for also tolerating the incessant rambling from the event’s hosts, Tobias Crabtree and Paramveer Bhachu.
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24 HOUR DESIGN CHALLENGE Made in Brunel’s iconic annual 24 Hour Design Challenge returned for its 7th year in February, this time fully digital. We revolutionised the classic format of the challenge, creating our very own virtual Michael Sterling on Gather.town. Competing students were able to create their own avatar and explore the new virtual campus whilst completing the given industry briefs. This year’s briefs were entered from a range of companies, including Cambridge Consultants, therefore, and Quagga Design. Students collaborated with fellow Brunel Design School peers to produce innovative design solutions within their teams, showcasing the high standard of work at the Brunel Design School work to industry. Digitising the 24 Hour Design Challenge was a definite change to how the event has traditionally been run; however, we put our own twist on this classic event. It will surely be remembered for years to come.
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BAKE OFF April 2021 brought Made in Brunel’s first-ever ‘Bake Off’ event, challenging students across the University to create either a ‘Brunel’ or ‘Design’ themed sweet or savoury bake. Students across the University picked up their mixing bowls and whisks, ready to bake up a storm and fold their way to victory. Submitted via Instagram, entries ranged from Polaroid cameras made entirely of cake to a gingerbread Lecture Centre! Winning students were presented with exclusive Above the Fold merch (including the first-ever Made in Brunel apron) and the honourable title of Star Baker! We hope that our Bake Off event will be continued in future years and join the list of iconic, highly anticipated annual Made in Brunel events.
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Paramveer Bhachu & Yasmine Fell
ABOVE THE FOLD MERCHANDISE
Made in Brunel Branding Managers Made in Brunel aims to create a memorable brand around student’s work by hosting events and showcases throughout the year. An extremely popular way to reinforce the brand in the past few years has been the availability of merchandise, which we aimed to continue. Considering COVID-19 restrictions, we took the opportunity to launch the first-ever online Made in Brunel store, allowing students to access merchandise directly - representing Above the Fold and Made in Brunel’, wherever they may be located. The Above the Fold merchandise collection was created to showcase and complement the brand. By bringing in elements of streetwear design, we created iconic pieces of bold clothing that are still fundamentally Made in Brunel. The ‘Fold Modern’ t-shirt features the renowned folded ‘A’ asset with which Above the Fold has become synonymous. The distinctive wraparound design has resulted in one of the most popular items of clothing Made in Brunel has ever produced. The ‘Classic Embroidered’ sweater is quintessential attire for any designer’s wardrobe. The Above the Fold and Made in Brunel logos have been placed to contrast with the deep black of the base sweater, resulting in a clean and modern style, suitable for even the most mammoth of design challenges. ‘The Singletone’ sweater was designed to be a physical representation of this year’s brand, embodying the sense of razzmatazz that Above the Fold is known for. Named after Ollie Singleton, the inspiration for the Singletone can be seen in the brand’s launch video.
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The ‘MiB 8888’ t-shirt was a limited edition creation for the Bake Off event and features the Made in Brunel spatula in prime position, chosen for its ability to fold mixtures during the baking process. The ‘MiB 8888’ design is a technical drawing, considered a designer’s recipe, and features no less than ten easter eggs. To celebrate the banners on the Brunel Lecture Centre, and a fondness of Lego across the MiB team, we designed a limited edition Brunel Lecture Centre model built of Lego. Showcasing the iconic architecture of the brutalist building, the set features the ground floor windows, two symmetrical staircases, and the bright orange banners with printed stickers. Presented in a MiB designed box and including 381 pieces, it’s a great build. And don’t forget, please fold responsibly.
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Paramveer Bhachu & Tobias Crabtree
THE MADE IN BRUNEL PODCAST
The Made in Brunel Podcast Hosts Made in Brunel has constantly sought to connect and inspire design students, and in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued to do just that. This year we have reached out to the wider design community more personally than ever before, endeavouring to keep the conversation going through the launch of the first Made in Brunel podcast.
With each passing episode, we discover more about what it truly means to be Made in Brunel. We’ve also tried to have a few laughs along the way, from Enya’s questionable ‘knock knock’ jokes to frightening revelations regarding Microsoft Word’s editing capabilities. We sincerely hope that you’ve all enjoyed listening to this year’s podcast as much as we’ve enjoyed producing it.
‘Unfolded’ is a fortnightly podcast hosted by Tobias Crabtree and Paramveer Bhachu. Supported by guest hosts Carys Bowen and Alison Tuffin, ‘Unfolded’ explores the world of design through a series of stories, interviews and games.
Finally, a word of advice for next year’s hosts: try to plan some episode ideas in advance. It’s surprisingly difficult to do so on the fly.
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“Thank you so much for listening. We’ll see you in two weeks.”
Dani Cropley & Noah Woodman
THE MADE IN BRUNEL BLOG
Made in Brunel Web Managers Since the very first meeting about the website, both of us felt strongly about writing a consistent blog that encompassed current design topics. This blog was created to improve engagement on the site and, most importantly, to share resources with other students. We aimed to keep everyone informed about the Made in Brunel team’s activities and the wider design community. This year’s focus on expanding Made in Brunel’s digital platform allowed us to create some engaging and informative pieces with the help of some other team members. Over the course of the year, we released tutorials for user experience design and Keyshot, helping
final year students bring their major projects to life. We also wanted to share advice we have learnt over our four years at Brunel University London. We achieved this through interviews with final year students about their placement experiences, important books for design students, as well as chatting about our design highlights of the year. The Made in Brunel website features more than just the blog; discover a timeline of the organisation’s history and find updates from the team and events. The site also features an archive of our students work, past and present!
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BRUNEL DESIGN WORKSHOPS REVIEW
Paul Josse & Stanley Binns Technical Manager & Digital Fabrication Technician Design Workshops 2021 - Paul In last year’s book, I wrote the lines ‘I hope that next year will see a return of students to workshops’. This turned out to be partly true. Although we have seen some students this year, the ongoing pandemic has once again sadly curtailed our normal workshop activities. Despite it having been a very tough year for everybody, I would like to focus on some of the very positive aspects. In term one, we started our workshop experience course with our first-year students. After seven months with no students, it was fantastic to open our doors and see them back in the workshops again. It was all slightly surreal with small groups and an almost empty campus, but anybody passing the workshops in the towers would have seen enthusiastic students enjoying the chance to do something different. We also ran some evening courses during the term which focused on traditional craft skills. These offered a welcome break for the students both from their screens and from the troubles and isolation of the pandemic. We have a legacy of craft at Brunel, and with 40 students signing up to do the course, it was great to see that there is still a huge interest in this type of hands-on, creative work. Although digital manufacturing plays a much larger part in how we make things nowadays, the craftbased evening courses are likely to become a regular extra feature in what we offer from our workshops. Returning from Christmas, lockdown essentially ruled out workshops for our final year students. However, it has been heartening to see the spirit of the Design students shine through, with many producing prototypes from their rooms and homes.
The innovation shown in finding alternative manufacturing techniques in the absence of workshops confirms that problem solving and inventiveness are key attributes of Brunel Design students. Made in Brunel has also been very much alive in the toughest of years. It has culminated in both this book and a final showcase at the Bargehouse in London. The team’s determination against the odds has been nothing short of inspiring. A Year in the Design Workshops - Stanley This past year I have been carrying out my placement as Brunel Design Workshops’ Digital Fabrication Technician, a role that the college offers to a student every year. From the start of term one, we needed to find a consistent and reliable way of providing students with physical prototypes and development models despite restricted workshop access. This pushed our focus towards 3D printing. We put together the entirely new 3D Printing Hub, which allowed us to keep up with the demand for prototype parts. In addition to this, we developed the Digital Fabrication Lab app, which offered students the ability to see the status of their orders, and learn more about the 3D printers and build materials that we offer. This opportunity has given me the chance to work closely with students on their design work, offering suggestions on how their parts could be produced via 3D printing and CNC machining. Working with a team of highly skilled technicians has allowed me to gain invaluable experience regarding different materials and manufacturing techniques. I will put this knowledge to good use in my final year and when working in the design industry.
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Carys Bowen & Alison Tuffin
WOMEN IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN
Made in Brunel Publications Manager & Communications Manager As a part of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day in March 2021, Alison and Carys hosted a Women in Design series featured on The Made in Brunel Podcast. The series saw some special guests, including Jo Barnard, Lauren Bell, and Solveiga Pakštaitė. It was great to hear some of their inspirations and role models, as well as some of their funniest experiences during their time as a design student at Brunel.
designers in industry are male. Along with this, it stated that women in the design industry earn 18% less than their male counterparts. In the Women in Design Podcast Series, the team aimed to shine a light on some of the best female design alumni of the Brunel Design School. It encourages our listeners to break boundaries, ignore the norm, achieve their best, and be a part of changing those statistics for the better.
The series was inspired by some shocking statistics that the team were made aware of back in December 2020, from a Design Council Survey released by the Design Economy in 2018. These statistics stated that despite women comprising 63% of students studying creative arts & design at university, 78% of
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Joanna Power
BRUNEL STUDENT COMPETITIONS
Made in Brunel Director Designers at Brunel constantly push their ability to innovate and produce products and services that could be the next big trend and bring change for millions. Many of the modules at Brunel help nurture a concept into a developed prototype that addresses real-world user issues. This gives students the foundations to build strong concepts into marketable solutions. Students and design graduates have the unique ability to bring fresh perspectives from places all over the world, and design competitions help cultivate this creativity and excellence by offering near limitless possibilities. Over the years, many students have been awarded equipment, funds, and philanthropic investments. These competitions are a great way to receive the real-world feedback.
This feedback is often crucial for design development and client understanding. Exposure to such feedback ensures students are better prepared for their future in industry. This year we have celebrated many student success stories, all of which championed products that address significant social and environmental problems. The following pages cover some of the highlights of 2021.
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BRUNEL STUDENT COMPETITIONS
Tianli Hu is studying Integrated Product Design MSc and is currently shortlisted for the Royal Society of Arts’ Bridging the divide award. Tianli’s project, Ambient, aims to reduce the increasingly polarised views of social media. The proposed device plays different sounds based on the user’s status, energising, soothing, and improving their focus. Hanna Hoch is studying Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc, and is currently shortlisted for the Royal Society of Arts contest. COSM is a virtual world designed to connect community members and support the local economy by promoting online and offline interaction via gameplay. It paves the way towards more cohesive communities by connecting random local users to play collaborative online games, earning local business vouchers in the process. Alex D’Souza, in their final year of Product Design Engineering BSc, was the winner of the Keyshot X RenderWeekly Animation Contest. He produced an animation of a retractable craft knife by Slice, developing a workflow that included a tracked handheld camera animation to provide extra realism. Paramveer Bhachu and Joanna Power are in their final year of Product Design Engineering BSc. In December 2020, they were the global winners of the Red Bull Basement competition, earning a feature in a Forbes article. Their brand, Lava, created a portable washing machine for students that uses filtered shower water to wash clothes. The device includes a removable water tank, which is placed on the shower floor like a mat. Once the tank is returned to the base, the water is filtered and used in the laundry process.
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During their placement, Product Design Engineering BSc student, Sam Supan won the Creative Innovator Award in the Hubbub contest Design by Nature. Sam’s brand, Sew Conscious, is creating a foldable, smarttechnology sewing machine with a recycled plastic exterior. The Sew Conscious sewing machine and online platform create a simple and approachable sewing machine experience that promotes customisation and encourages people to repair their clothes, rather than buying fast fashion. In their placement year, Product Design Engineering BSc student, Louie Harvey was the winner of an international competition to design furniture for neglected communities. He won with ATLAS, a piece of dynamic furniture designed to enable multifunctional living within small homes throughout India and Africa. It can be produced within any local community, at an affordable price, and be hand-assembled.
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With the lack of in-person events this year, our social media team revolutionised MiB’s digital presence. From left to right, top to bottom: 1000 Posts! This is the 6th year of @madeinbrunel that we have been running Instagram. Sketch Off Prizes The digitised event rewarded 1st place with a 3D printer, 2nd place a 3D pen, and 3rd place a craft set. 24 Hour Design Challenge The event was still held this year despite having to be completely digital. ATF Bake Off A new chapter in Made in Brunel’s history, calling designers to use cake and spatulas as their creative tools. Limited Edition Bake Off Prizes Alongside the new event, MiB released limited edition merchandise for the winners. Final Showcase The Bargehouse will once again have Brunel design students showcasing their work.
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10 YEARS AT THE BARGEHOUSE Our return to the Bargehouse this year marks our 10th show at this iconic venue. Located on the Southbank, the OXO tower development has been part of London’s skyline since the 1930s. Originally a site to store the royal barge, to a generator station for the post office, the Liebig’s Extract of Meat Company, now known as OXO, purchased the site and built the complex we all know and love today. Soon after, the tower was added, with the iconic OXO lettering implemented as an architectural feature to bypass the planning and advertising laws of the time. Throughout the 20th century, the site was primarily used as a warehouse. After undergoing a large redevelopment in the ’90s, the OXO tower is now a mixed-use site, which hosts housing, galleries, and a series of design agencies and shops. The Bargehouse was given a new lease of life as a gallery, keeping many of the warehouse features from its original use. The showcase at the Bargehouse is a point of pride both for the Made in Brunel team and the whole of the Brunel Design School. Exhibiting at the venue gives our students a platform to present their work to the wider design community and acts as a conclusion to their academic journey at Brunel University London. Our first show at the Bargehouse was the Colour of Innovation showcase in 2011, and we eagerly await our return for Above the Fold in 2021.
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Professor Hua Dong Professor and Fellow of DRS - Dean of Brunel Design School
THE BRUNEL DESIGN SCHOOL
Brunel Design School was established in 2020, bringing together the Digital Media Division from the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, and the Design Department. We offer five undergraduate design programmes, four postgraduate programmes and three PhD programmes. All our undergraduate design programmes are accredited by the Institute of Engineering Designers, and our design graduates are ranked by the British Industrial Designer Association as among the very best in the UK. Our digital media undergraduate programmes are accredited by ScreenSkills, the industry-led skills body for the UK’s screen-based industries. Our staff members are highly active in the research fields of additive manufacturing and 4D printing, creative computing, digital design, human-centred and inclusive design, and sustainable design, generating international impact through high-quality publications and collaborations with UK and global partners. Brunel has a long-standing track record of running design innovation programmes in collaboration with industry, including, ‘CoInnovate’ funded by the European Regional Development Fund; ‘Impacting Business by Design’ funded by Research England; and ‘Design Plus’ funded by Brunel University London. Collectively these programmes cover a full range of businesses from start-ups to multi-national corporations. Brunel also hosts the ‘Design Factory London’, connecting to the Design Factory global network. Made in Brunel (www.madeinbrunel.com) and Brunel Digital (www.bruneldigital.net) are student-driven initiatives, showcasing our
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students’ talents. Founded in 2006, Made in Brunel has evolved into an innovation brand for the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences and is a University-wide symbol of student excellence. Our students are involved in Made in Brunel throughout their time at Brunel. Made in Brunel truly embodies our values of: innovation, leadership, entrepreneurship, craftsmanship, teamwork, and sustainability. Our culture of design innovation underpins the research and educational programmes that are delivered by staff with world-class reputations in research, teaching and professional practice, in partnerships with a wide range of creative industries. Many of our graduates are awardwinning design leaders and entrepreneurs who have shaped the Brunel Design School into one of the most recognisable brands across the world for design innovation.
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RESEARCH AT BRUNEL DESIGN SCHOOL
Dr Vanja Garaj Director of Research at Brunel Design School Brunel Design School continues in the footsteps of the former Department of Design by placing a strong emphasis on research. The School’s research activities cover a broad range of topics under the shared goal of utilising design research to achieve a positive societal impact. The research is carried out through five research groups:
technology interfaces and content, digital audiovisual production tools, design for health, assistive technology, and digital arts.
01 Inclusive Design Bringing together design and engineering, human-computer interaction, healthcare, and social science expertise to understand different factors causing exclusion, develop methods and interventions for improvement, and advance the knowledge of design for inclusion.
AHRC is funding StoryFutures China: UKChina Transnational Strategic Partnership for Immersive Storytelling in Museums and Cultural Institutions; StoryFutures: Gateway Cluster Partnership for Audiovisual Digital Creativity; and StoryFutures Academy: Industry Centre of Excellence in Immersive Narrative.
02 Creative Computing Engaging in research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and machine learning, serious and fun gaming, and cognitive modelling to explore the application of creative computing techniques in different real-world scenarios.
EPSRC is funding UKRI Interdisciplinary Centre for Circular Metal and Inclusive Immersion.
03 Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing Conducting research on 3D printing processes and programmable materials targeted towards the development of 4D-printed applications. 04 Brunel Digital Design Lab Undertaking user-centred research projects aimed at design, development and evaluation of innovative digital and digital-physical systems, products, and services. The areas of focus include inclusive design of immersive
05 Design for Sustainability Working on solutions that foster environmental, socio-ethical, and economic sustainability in fields ranging from materials and manufacturing to products, services, business models, bottomup initiatives, and socio-technical systems. The School is currently involved in a number of externally funded research projects.
NERC is funding Systems Analysis Approach to Reduce Plastic Waste in Indonesian Societies. FORMAS Sweden is funding Special-purpose Money: Complimentary Digital Currencies and the Sustainable Development Goals. As the Brunel Design School continues to grow, we are seeking to expand our research portfolio by developing new partnerships across the UK, Europe and globally.
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Additive Manufacturing and 4D Printing Dr Eujin Pei
Inclusive Design Professor Hua Dong
Brunel Digital Design Lab Dr Vanja Garaj
Creative Computing Professor Marios Angelides
Design for Sustainability Dr Fabrizio Ceschin
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FUTURE OF THE BRUNEL DESIGN SCHOOL
Professor Hua Dong Professor and Fellow of DRS - Dean of Brunel Design School We are the Design School that embodies I. K. Brunel’s visionary and practical approach to innovation, entrepreneurship and pursuit of excellence. Our mission is to inspire future design leaders and create value and impact through design innovation. Brunel Design School thrives by putting people first. Staff and students are our most valuable assets. We aim to create a more inclusive culture, more transparent processes, and more collaborative opportunities to ensure that our community will realise their potential and perform to the best of their ability. Quality of education is at the centre of everything we do. We have been revising the undergraduate design programmes and will launch a new integrated MDes, as well as a new MSc Digital Design programme in 2022. The revised undergraduate programmes build on the strong foundation of Brunel Design tradition and emphasise four core themes: technology, human-centred design, business and strategy, and sustainability.
Research and impact are key to our future success. Staff members are encouraged to undertake cutting-edge research and use research to inform teaching. Industry links will be further strengthened to engage more academics and students. The new Brunel Design and Digital Hub will integrate the Design Factory London space, rapid prototyping facilities, an AI Lab, Immersive Dome, Green Room, creating an exciting open lab for all to co-create with different disciplines. We are developing strategic partnerships with leading international universities, which will bring opportunities for new educational modes and research collaborations. Our aim is to be one of the best places nationally and internationally to research and study design. We aim to produce excellent designers, design researchers and design entrepreneurs of today and the future.
The proposed changes will:
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Promote integration of knowledge and skills.
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Reflect the changing context and the role of designers for today and tomorrow.
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Further enhance digital skills and engineering knowledge of Brunel designers.
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Give students more choices for developing their design specialisation.
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Offer training to our students to be effective lifelong learners.
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PLACEMENT MAP Most students elect to complete a placement before they begin their final year. From consultancies to in-house design teams, hundreds of placements are offered to students, seeing them relocate all over the world. Working in industry allows students to work on live projects, learn new software, and develop new skills before returning for their final year.
83 UK Placements Lotus, Armour Home, Mattel, GE, Gozney, dpa Lighting Consultants, Sixth Sense Events, Hoopla, Polar Gear, Suntech Ltd...
4 International Exchanges
24 International Placements
Politecnico di Milano, TU Delft Exchange, and SEK International Schools.
In Germany, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, India, Nigeria, Spain, France, Vietnam, Finland, China, the Netherlands, and the USA.
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47% London-based Placements IBM, therefore, Shark Ninja, Haberdashery, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, Chanel, Dior, FutureGov, PA Consulting, Firefly Lighting Design, WITH Creative...
London Placements | Brunel Design School | 045
PLACEMENT HIGHLIGHTS Gozney Working as a product designer for Gozney, who manufacture stone floored, wood and gas fired ovens for commercial and domestic markets. My role during this year consisted of producing and testing models and prototypes for Gozney’s new products, using sketch modelling, sheet metal fabrication and 3D printing. As the year progressed, I moved into working on some more creative projects, designing new packaging, user manuals and products for Gozney. The highlight of the year had to be working next door to Gozney’s studio kitchen and sampling some of the recipes the Developmental Chef was working on. A great year for design, less good for my waistline. - Andy Nagel-Smith
Haberdashery & Batch.works Product Designer in the Contemporary department of a multifaceted lighting atelier, and Volunteer Designer at a small sustainable 3D-printing company, both based in East London. During my 12-month placement at Haberdashery, I was entrusted to develop new and existing lighting products. I was involved in amazing installations at the London Design Festival and Maison et Objet in Paris. During the pandemic, I had a 2-month furlough where I worked with Batch.works, making NHS PPE. I stayed on, designing for workflow efficiency, which led to a collaborative Major Project idea (an incredibly serendipitous moment)! If I may impart any wisdom: if a good opportunity appears, take it and run with it. Both jobs were very hands on, with plenty of workshop experience that has been invaluable to my final year. - Ariane McCormack Jones
046 | Brunel Design School | Placement Highlights
dpa Lighting Consultants Interior and architectural lighting designer working on a range of projects including high-end private residential, hospitality, and public realm. Over my placement I was on a small team of lighting designers, helping prepare architectural plans for tender, conducting lighting simulations, and preparing visuals for concept work. One of my favourite experiences was going to networking events, especially the [d]Arc awards. For this, we had to work as a team between our two different studios to create a lighting installation in collaboration with a lighting manufacturer. It was great to see other companies and their work, as well as other people in the lighting design industry. - Daniel Fredericks
Sixth Sense Events Junior Creative responsible for developing bespoke assets for a London based, experiential marketing firm. Founded by Brunel alumni Bradley Smith in 2018, Sixth Sense Events are an experiential brand agency. By blending a mix of brand strategy, science and innovation, Sixth Sense Events have consistently delivered immersive marketing activations across Europe. As a creative lead in Sixth Sense’s in-house design team, I was responsible for the development of bespoke assets for clients including Jose Cuervo and Kraken. My placement was a unique opportunity that enabled me to engage with all facets of the design process in a dynamic, commercial environment. - Tobias Crabtree
Placement Highlights | Brunel Design School | 047
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UndergraduAte
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EmbedDeD sys For Design
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Dr Federico Colecchia Lecturer in Creative Electronics and Programming - Module Lead In simple terms, ‘embedded systems’ involve ‘singlechip computers’ that can be found in a multitude of products worldwide.
This module requires a significant commitment in terms of time and effort, extending way beyond the duration of the weekly lab sessions.
In Term 1, the module offers a series of practical labs to acquaint you with a mid-range PIC microcontroller – this includes the implementation of algorithms required for passive hardware to be turned into a smart device. Whereas Arduino is often used for developer-friendly rapid prototyping, PIC is an example of a microcontroller that can be found in commercial products.
The module provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, practical design skills, and other attributes in the following areas: 1. Practical applications using embedded systems design techniques; 2. Use of appropriate technologies based on industry-provided data; 3. Understanding of embedded systems theory and design principles; 4. Ability to propose, design, build, programme, test, and demonstrate a completely custom-made product independently.
The Term 2 project offers a chance to explore PICrelated technologies of your choosing to design and build a custom embedded system for any application you like. This is a demanding project intended only for students who are comfortable with year 2 electronics, CAD and fabrication techniques, C programming, and the application of mathematics in practical situations.
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Ariane McCormack Jones Industrial Design & Technology BA
Wave Cave An interactive lockable box for your phone to keep your number one distraction out of arms reach. Complete the 3D puzzle to open the box! Equipped with three levels of difficulty. Put your phone in the cave and say, “wave you later!” Wave Cave aims to provide an alternative way to process the importance of time by offering a visual and kinetic sensory response with an added benefit of playfully training one’s memory cognition. It is specifically designed for, but not limited to, people with ADHD of all ages, as studies show these types of stimuli positively engages the brain. This is also helpful for those of us that are addicted to our small screens. Once powered on, you will be met by ‘Wavey Cavey’, your virtual assistant that will help kick that phone addiction to the kerb! Select your age with the rotary toggle in the centre. When ready, lift the lid and place your phone in the cave until you are ready to wave! Leave it for however long you can or are willing to… The device will enter sleep mode after 30 seconds of inactivity. You can then interrupt Wavey Cavey’s naptime by pressing the green button, and the puzzle sequence begins! Wait for the LEDs to show the sequence, then repeat by waving your hands in front of them and the corresponding sensors – in order, of course. Get ready for the 10-second countdown! If you are correct – woohoo, it’s the return of the phone. If not – boohoo, you can try again in 5 minutes. Make sure to turn the device off by the rocker switch before you get back to that well-earned phone life.
054 | Undergraduate | Embedded Systems for Design
Eloise Ball Product Design Engineering BSc
House Plant Monitor Autonomously designed to monitor the environmental conditions for indoor house plants. It informs the user if the plant is positioned in the ideal location required to maintain and promote growth. Every species of house plant requires different conditions and environments to maintain its health and growth. Even within the same species, these can vary greatly; for example, some succulents burn and die when placed in direct sunlight for too long, whereas others thrive in these surroundings. By monitoring conditions using a light sensor, RTC and temperature sensor, the correct location for a specific plant can be determined. Simple LED lights are used to indicate the results of the condition tests, allowing for quick and efficient feedback to be provided on the plant and its location. The house plant monitor is designed to help users understand the best areas or rooms for their plants. It allows the user to indicate the required sunlight levels for the plant, which the light sensor coupled with a RTC records throughout the day, establishing if the plant will thrive in its current position. An LED will be lit if the potentiometer requirements are fulfilled. The device also indicates if the room is at a sufficient temperature. All house plants require temperatures between 15 and 24 degrees to thrive; therefore, if the temperature is insufficient, the LED indicator will be turned off. The device is battery powered and will switch to sleep mode during the night to preserve its battery life.
Embedded Systems for Design | Undergraduate | 055
Gabriele Grigaite Product Design Engineering BSc
Fruit Ripeness Measuring Device The device helps users to find out the ripening stage of their fresh produce. The system captures fruit proximity to the sensor and measures gas concentration in the air. The handheld device determines the ripeness state of fresh produce and helps users to reduce their food waste. The idea for this project came about from a complex contextual issue - forgotten food in the fridge and poor fresh produce stock management. The initial concept was a mobile product that could move around the refrigerator and capture the physical state of fresh food. This idea had to be adapted and simplified to fit the Embedded Systems module requirements. Therefore, the prototype developed into a handheld device that captures whether the object is in correct proximity and measures ethylene gas concentration in the air around the fruit. The state of the ripeness is then displayed on an LCD screen. Components used for the system include an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor and an MQ-6 butane gas sensor. An Ethylene Gas (C2H4) sensor, which can evaluate fruit ripeness, should be used in an actual product instead. As butane sensors are widely accessible and cost-effective, this type of gas sensor has been used in testing to capture and communicate change in the gas concentration. The Ultrasonic Distance sensor recognises if the object is within the correct proximity, starts a 30s timer for the gas sensor to heat up and only then a precise gas measurement is taken and displayed.
056 | Undergraduate | Embedded Systems for Design
Isabel Rees Product Design Engineering BSc
Washing Line Weather Station A weather station designed to be placed on an outdoor washing line. A colour signal is used to inform the user if it is appropriate to dry their laundry outside. This product is designed to predict changing weather conditions, informing the user when it is safe to hang up their washing. You can simply clip the device to your washing line using the O-ring clasps that are attached to the top of the weather station. The humidity, temperature and light will be measured, and the forthcoming conditions will be classed as good, bad, or changing. The device will then glow a green, red, or yellow colour accordingly. When the green light shows, it indicates that the weather will offer good drying conditions. The yellow light shows that the weather is either reasonable or changing and you should continue to monitor it. The red light shows that you should not hang up your laundry outside. This means that with just a glance, the user is able to check their washing and the drying conditions. For more detailed information, the LCD screen shows real-time accurate readings for the temperature, humidity, and light. The device is battery powered and there is no need to turn the device off as it will automatically enter sleep mode when there have been no changes to the weather, and it will turn back on automatically when there is a change.
Embedded Systems for Design | Undergraduate | 057
Jayda Bailey Product Design Engineering BSc
Domestic Water Testing Device A domestic water quality and temperature testing device for in-home fish tanks to help owners better take care of their fish. Household fish tanks for domestic fish need to be able to accommodate the appropriate climate in order to keep either cold-water fish or tropical fish successfully. Water filters and pumps can be very space consuming and expensive for someone who might live in a cityscape and do not have the physical space to accommodate one. This prototype is a small and simple alternative that will assist the customer in maintaining the appropriate water climate for their domestic fish in a small fish tank. The device is placed along the wall of the fish tank where the water level does not pass the identification mark on the in-water module. Within the module, a turbidity sensor will detect the growth of algae and the build-up of dirt within the water that can make the fish tank less hospitable for a fish, whilst a temperature sensor measures the temperature of the water. Turbidity measures the extent to how transparent water is due to suspended particles. When the water quality or temperature falls out of the ‘ideal’ threshold for the domestic fish, this information is fed back to the microchip within the main body of the device and alerts the owner that the water in the tank needs adjusting or the tank needs cleaning. The device routinely carries out these tests on an hourly basis or when the user initiates the test button. The device assists with the care and maintenance of domestic fish without the need for large and expensive tank equipment.
058 | Undergraduate | Embedded Systems for Design
Joanna Power Product Design Engineering BSc
Lava Lava is a portable washing machine for students that use filtered shower water to wash clothes, offering a sustainable solution to expensive on campus laundrettes. A recent study found that students waste a lot of water. The most significant amount of wastage was directly related to showering, with students wasting 190 litres per week. Why not reuse this water to fix one of the most prominent issues students face - washing facilities? This product gives them an alternative by providing a compact and portable solution to the current laundry issue that saves up to 20% of their daily water use. Lava is a portable washing machine, that uses filtered shower water to wash clothes, reducing total water use. The device includes a removable water tank, which is placed on the shower floor like a mat. Once the tank is returned to the base, the water is filtered and used in the laundry process The design uses a PIC 16F877A, L293D motor driver, submersible water pump, LCD, 12 V DC motor and BMP280 pressure sensor. The design also includes two PCBs placed in the base and top of the product to allow for easy interaction. The wires are then routed to the base of the product. The machine features 3 settings; a quick wash that runs 800rpm for 15 minutes at a water temperature of 30 degrees. The second button runs at a 1000rpm for 20 minutes at a water temperature of 40 degrees. The final button allows for extra water to be removed and runs at 1200rpm in both directions.
Embedded Systems for Design | Undergraduate | 059
Matthew Reeves Product Design Engineering BSc
Handwash Buddy A contactless way to dispense soap with an engaging musical handwash countdown timer to promote proper, thorough handwashing as well as keeping track of daily handwash habits. With the Coronavirus pandemic currently in circulation around the globe, good hygiene is more important than ever. A simple but effective way of preventing the spread of the virus is to wash your hands for 20 seconds, as per WHO guidelines. Using the theory learnt from the Embedded Systems module, sensors and outputs were interfaced with the PIC16f819 microcontroller in order for the outcome to meet the functionality requirements of the final solution. A custom PCB was designed for the final solution. Arduino based testing was undertaken to verify the functionality of the components and the system before a CAD model was created to provide an aesthetic housing for the electrical system. The solution provides a contactless way to apply soap, reducing the risk of transmission via surfaces, with a programmable musical handwash countdown timer. Once the soap is dispensed a 20-second countdown on the LCD display is triggered, along with a 20-second musical melody of the user’s choice. This keeps the user engaged for the full 20-seconds to ensure proper handwashing. The device also keeps track of the number of times the user washes their hands in a day, gamifying the task to encourage more frequent handwashing.
060 | Undergraduate | Embedded Systems for Design
Moritz Hedrich Product Design Engineering BSc
Breathe Smarter A simple add-on for any mask which makes the user conscious of their breathing by quickly conveying information about rate and carbon dioxide through a lighting colour change. Research has shown correct use of breathing patterns can enhance the conscious interaction of physiological processes in the body. The “breathe smarter” project shows that it is possible to create a low-cost product offering simple feedback to any user. For ease of use, the device clips on to any mask. It is then simply turned on and worn for a brief ‘warm-up’ period upon which the breathing rate is automatically recognised. Heavier breathing will produce warmer colours alerting the user of increased carbon dioxide levels, whilst calmer breathing will lead to cooler colours conveying lower levels. This can be beneficial for optimising athletic performance or simply to have a more mindful interaction with bodily stress responses. Every individual is different when it comes to their physiological responses, so the product has been designed to reflect this. A sliding switch can be set for a respiratory base rate according to user preference. Charging from a micro-USB port allows for easy recharging, and the charging state is displayed through an additional light. By making use of the functionality of the latest available processing technology, multiple data streams are switched by the microcontroller in quick succession. This allows for accurate readings and feedback but also for future developments in miniaturisation and connectivity with external devices.
Embedded Systems for Design | Undergraduate | 061
Paramveer Bhachu Product Design Engineering BSc
Aura Aura is an intelligent personal cooling fan that reacts to room temperature changes, allowing the user to create and maintain a unique ambient environment of their choosing. Proper ventilation has been shown to make people more productive; however, a single central air conditioning system does not allow customisation from the user. Aura has been designed for workspaces, homes, and hospitals to provide greater comfort and make life better for the user. Its wireless controller improves the user experience by detecting room temperature changes and altering the fan’s speed accordingly. The controller has a simple user interface that allows users to specify their target temperature. The current and target temperatures and humidity values are displayed through a 16x2 LCD screen which can be turned off whilst not in use. Being wireless, the controller can be placed in non-traditional locations, allowing for greater accuracy when measuring the ambient temperature, and reducing the user’s direct interaction with the fan. The system is controlled by two PIC microcontrollers, which are programmed to react to ambient temperature changes. The system wirelessly drives the fan through a transmitter and receiver, outputting air thermally regulated to the desired speed. The primary electronic components are stored in the base of the fan, enabling the user to take full advantage of Aura’s adjustable design, altering the inclination and azimuth of the airflow.
062 | Undergraduate | Embedded Systems for Design
Will Hardy Product Design Engineering BSc
Distance Matching Game The aim of the game is to replicate the measurements you see on screen. The game tests the user’s ability to replicate numerical distances in a physical way. The game helps train CAD users to recognise the real-world scale of the parts they are designing. Despite working on a dimensioned part, people can often be surprised by the physical dimensions once manufactured. While this isn’t an issue when creating parts with fixed dimensions, if any dimension is left to the user, the individual will often over or undersize a part. The project uses an ultrasonic sensor for accurate reading of measurements on any surface. The product is ‘pocket sized,’ and battery operated so that it can be taken on the go. It has two modes, the first reads out a dimension on the screen of between 50 and 400mm and asks the user to find it, using their hand to indicate the distance. If the user is within 10mm of the requested length, their answer is considered correct. The second mode simply displays the current ultrasonic sensor reading on the screen. By being asked to replicate varying lengths with their hands, users should quickly become better at visualising the real-world scale of an on-screen part, leading to less mistakes on the job.
Embedded Systems for Design | Undergraduate | 063
Human Factors
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Dr Gabriella Spinelli Reader in Design - Module Lead Human Factors is a level 3 module for Design students. The module introduces and guides students to systematically understand and apply factors related to the human body, such as anthropometry, biomechanics, physiology and knowledge of perceptual systems. This module focuses on the human sensory systems, the perception of display and control, and notions of cognitive psychology such as information processing, human performance and errors, task and activity analysis, workload, and stress analysis. This enables students to develop a more complete and integrated understanding of people, groups, and community they will consider in their design interventions. In addition, the module offers opportunities to apply human-centred design methods used at all stages of the design process, with emphasis on requirements elicitation, and evaluation stages.
Students engage in two key assessed tasks in the module. In Term 1, a group-based task brings students to identify an area of human activity that is either not supported or partially supported by existing products and services. Analytical concepts and frameworks are applied at this stage to pinpoint requirements and attributes that are developed later. In Term 2, students work individually to develop detailed concepts, through a human-centred and iterative design process that involves real participants. Considerations related to Human Factors are relevant to the design of physical products, services, and systems. This module competencies to the development of competences and sensitivity that capture the multifaceted nature of the human experience, and to ensure that Brunel Design graduates are competent in designing products and services that originate from and fulfil people’s requirements.
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Barney Twine Industrial Design & Technology BA
Hygiene Standards in Festival Food Areas This redesign project focused on improving hand washing stations to encourage and promote better hygiene practices at food preparation areas therefore, reducing the spread of bacteria and illness. Despite being entirely avertible, food safety is high-risk at outdoor events. Whilst it is essential for food vendors and their staff to be suitably trained and aware of the risks of cross-contamination and basic food preparation, a combination of factors ranging from high demand by attendees to frequent use of temporary staff, often mean safety regulations are ignored or forgotten. Hand washing is one of the most important and effective ways to prevent the spread of germs and bacteria whilst handling and preparing food at outdoor festivals. However, the risks of potential food poisoning by staff are greatly amplified at festivals due to poor hand washing facilities and a lack of space available. This project’s goal was to redesign staff handwash stations which are commonly found in festival settings. User-centred design principles and relevant primary research was applied to gain critical insight into the barriers staff encounter when attempting to wash their hands. This was achieved using semi-structured interviews and an additional thematic analysis to break down participant responses into key themes. The final design is a more convenient and accessible hand-wash station for staff to wash their hands with during food preparation. A fold-up sink and mirror have been integrated into the design so that it can easily be moved and transported when required. Hot water and soap are released in unison when triggered by the motion sensor, minimising the spread of bacteria to the hand-wash station itself, making it easier and safer for staff to wash their hands.
066 | Undergraduate | Human Factors
Eloise Ball Product Design Engineering BSc
Home Electrical Safety System An app and linked device system aimed at improving electrical safety within the home, providing information, instructions and reminders to encourage regular checking and safe maintenance of appliances. Appliances are the main cause of electrical accidents in the home, with around 12,000 fires caused by faults, misuse, and unmaintained or old products. Changing how users behave in terms of fire safety in the home will help to prevent these accidents, create a safer environment for people and remove one of the leading causes of appliance fires. This system encourages homeowners to check and maintain their appliances using an app that provides informational instructions and device notifications. The concept consists of an app and small bug devices. It focuses on reminding the user when and how they should perform checks and maintenance on their appliances to reduce the risk of electrical accidents caused by lack of upkeep. Once the free app is downloaded, the user can set reminders that activate the system’s key features. The bug devices, which can be purchased through the app, are fixed to appliances in the home. When the app displays a reminder, the bug device will also physically signal the reminder via a flashing red light. To ensure the task is carried out, the reminder system is set to continuously notify the user until it is completed. The user can physically switch off the associated bug which is connected to the app. The app also instructs the homeowner on the appropriate maintenance tasks at a range of user skill levels in addition to what to look for during checks.
Human Factors | Undergraduate | 067
Jaskaran Singh Pawar Industrial Design & Technology BA
Online Charity Donation Service Redesign To help increase the amount of ‘frequent’ online donations, this project re-designed the ‘Online Charity Donation Experience’ to create a more personable, simple service to make ‘donating’ more fulfilling. This project explores the issues of ‘infrequent donors’ which is a cause for the fluctuating levels of support received by charities. The underutilisation of online resources is shown, as online methods only provide 10% of all donations. This project intended to help redesign the online charity donation service to provide better user experiences to make the online donating process more appealing and satisfying for the user. This project helped find ways to provide the user with more information about how their donations will be used, ensuring the user feels connected to the charity and that their donations are being put to good use. It also made the process simple and clear, whilst remaining personable to each user. All of this done to ensure users are glad to donate online, and do so more frequently, which in turn helps charities stay open to help those in need. The approach of this project was double diamond design with human-centred focus and techniques which led to the solution. This concept presents a personalised donating experience by enabling the tailoring of donation users provide, and visualises the impact they create. Additionally, gifts and incentives are integrated that appeal to both users and charities. The service concept is cohesive, thorough and explains the impact that users make to encourage frequent donating. The design is elegant and does not challenge users’ natural affordances, the interface has effective saliency and has emotional elements to help connect with the user.
068 | Undergraduate | Human Factors
Jessica Cooper Industrial Design & Technology BA
Household Extension Lead Safety An electrical extension lead that inspires a safe product-user relationship through enhanced danger identification and perception, minimising fires and power surges caused by uninformed use and human error. Cables and plugs are responsible for the leading number of domestic electrical deaths per year. A major contributor is extension leads, which are commonly misused as permanent wiring solutions. Heavy reliance results in dangerous conditions of overheating and electrical arcing; however, fuses and surge protectors can only provide emergency safety once. There is rarely any effective feedback to alert the user of dangerous scenarios, and appliances can still be used unknowingly without protection. A market analysis was performed and users were interviewed about their appliance usage. To further direct design thinking, both a qualified electrician and health and safety representative were approached to ensure the solution aligned with domestic safety needs and requirements. The final design integrates current (Amperage) and temperature monitoring to aid danger perception and promote safer usage with extension leads. The current monitor uses a traffic light system to show the overall Amp load against the safe limit of the extension lead. When a new appliance is inserted, which causes the total current draw to exceed the warning threshold, an LED in the corresponding warning colour flashes to alert the user of potentially unsafe conditions. As an additional element of safety, a heat sensor utilising an internal thermistor activates both an LED and buzzer alarm when the unit becomes critically hot. This emergency trigger allows the user to respond to the danger before a major fire occurs. This design is suitable for those with visual impairments due to tactile plug placement guides and audible button feedback.
Human Factors | Undergraduate | 069
Joanna Power Product Design Engineering BSc
Cinema Immersion Device A cinema seat headrest that aims to reduce the impact adjacent cinemagoers have on the immersive cinema experience from disturbances such as phones and noise. Alternative information streams such as phones, talking, and smells were found to be the main cause of the reduction of immersion during the cinema. These then caused a negative reinforcing loop that then amplified the audience’s reduction of immersion. This was because as each user lost immersion, they would seek alternative entertainment and then distract nearby cinemagoers creating an iterative process, making things worse and resulting in a disengaged audience. The product tackles this by using speakers that would be synced up with the speakers in the cinema room allowing for sound to feel closer to the body to improve immersion and drown out other sounds competing for the user’s attention. The design also includes polarised acrylic to the sides of the headrest that blocks out the light rays from blue light sources such as phones that compete for the users’ attention. The product also includes a cushioned pillow allowing the user to be free to move and lean on the product without feeling uncomfortable for the duration of the film. The Velcro straps on the back of the headrest allow for adjustability so any user could place it at the correct height when seated. This product gives the user an immersive and comfortable environment to enjoy a movie.
070 | Undergraduate | Human Factors
Sayo Adelakun Industrial Design & Technology BA
Shopping Cart Abandonment The ‘Custom-sized Packaging’ extension seeks to reduce shopping cart abandonment by providing e-commerce shoppers with a tool that allows them to save money simply by adjusting packaging size. Abandonment is an e-commerce concept that refers to a visitor who leaves a web page without making a purchase. The most common form of abandonment is shopping cart abandonment, which refers to consumers who add things to their cart but leave before completing the transaction. This is due to high shipping costs, which are determined by factors such as height, weight, distance travelled, delivery times, and surcharges. To address the issue, user-centred techniques were used to gain a better understanding of users’ pain points and behaviours in relation to existing e-commerce stores. This included user interviews in which users were asked why they abandoned their shopping carts. The interviews revealed that they all had similar problems, such as oversized packaging. The final solution was created to offer consumers the ability to save money by allowing them to customise the packaging size to match the item they choose to purchase. The solution informs consumers of the price they will pay and aims to reduce the amount of waste produced by oversized packaging. It will be available as an add-on feature on an e-commerce store application.
Human Factors | Undergraduate | 071
Environment sensitive des
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tally sign Professor David Harrison Professor of Design Research - Module Lead There are good prospects that the next few years are the period when the world finally faces up to the challenges of climate change. Governments are committing to greater carbon reductions, and global fossil fuel providers like BP are pivoting their business models towards renewable energy. Balanced against this is the growing global demand for products and services, and the associated pressure on resource use and waste production.
Students are encouraged to adopt a broader perspective on design for sustainability, not only focused on products but also on innovation in services and business models. The goal is for them to be able to integrate these elements into a personal position on environmental matters, so that environmental issues will play an integral part in their professional design careers.
The Environmentally Sensitive Design module at Brunel aims to develop an understanding of current environmental problems, and guide students to integrate design strategies, approaches and tools to design lower environmental impact products and services. Approaches explored include eco design, design for behaviour change, emotionally durable design, biomimetics, and designing for a circular economy.
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Jai Woolford Product Design Engineering BSc
Portable Record Player Eco-Redesign A Crosley record player was fully disassembled and subjected to a life cycle assessment and qualitative analysis – leading to a redesign aimed at making the product better for the environment. A thorough analysis of the original Crosley record player uncovered three areas of redesign priority to ensure the product would be less harmful to the environment: 1. Reducing material impact: substituting harmful materials such as MDF and PVC synthetic leather for Ecoboard and Sileather. 2. Improving product upgradability and internal access for user repair. 3. Improving product longevity: the original product had an estimated lifespan of 9 years due to its poor resistance to wear and disappointing audio performance.
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The final redesign mainly aimed to make the product ‘a record player for life’; if a vinyl record lasts a lifetime, why shouldn’t the record player? The product was made fully modular, with easy access to the internal components: by unclipping and lifting the turntable from the briefcase carcass, the user can simply disconnect each electronics module from the turntable and perform isolated repairs and upgrades. This was combined with a new vision for audio technology ownership: a userorientated product-service system was designed to allow the user to lease the record player for a monthly fee (£10). This membership would give the user access to self-repair and maintenance tutorials, professional repair (at no extra cost), aesthetic upgrade (re-upholstery of the Sileather exterior), and a considerable discount for upgraded versions of each internal components module – allowing the user to enhance the product’s performance throughout its life.
A word about the module... The ESD module has been hugely enlightening; understanding how design impacts the environment is extremely important if we are to ensure future prosperity. The effects of climate change, global warming, and our loss of biodiversity will only accelerate if we underestimate our responsibility as designers to forge the future sustainably without burdening our planet. The module has provided us with the foundation to progress into environmentally sensitive designers; with persistence and resilience, we have the fortune and power to make changes to the status quo – we can use the tools we have learned to create more sustainable societies.
Environmentally Sensitive Design | Undergraduate | 075
Design And in manAgement process
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nnovAtiOn, t anD Dr Richard Evans Programme Director of BSc Product Design – Module Lead Launching a new product or service into a new market is a high-risk strategy. Scholars estimate that 60-90% of start-up companies fail to satisfy the anticipated requirements of potential customers. Innovation in design is one of the strongest driving forces for successfully launching new products. The Design and Innovation, Management and Process (DIMP) module explores relevant entrepreneurial principles, theories, and methods for organising and managing significant design and innovation activity. Delivered over two terms, it seeks to develop students’ strategic planning skills and encourage entrepreneurial thinking. By examining how start-up companies are created and how risks of failure are minimised, students develop independent research skills and their ability for critical thinking. The topics taught include: Innovation Management and Entrepreneurial Strategies, Open Innovation and
Consumer Collaboration, Managing, Sustaining and Financing Innovation, Branding and Marketing, and Creating and Funding a Start-up. Students benefit from being taught by both academics and worldleading industrialists with a mix of theoretical content and real-life industrial experiences shared by serial entrepreneurs, C-suite executives, and seasoned consultants. The module aims to develop students’ capacity to apply knowledge, tools and techniques to the creation of unique business models for their designs; they identify appropriate marketing strategies and communication channels to deliver strategic plans effectively. By the end of the module, students will have developed an understanding of the relationship between design and innovation practice and will be able to use knowledge of economic, environmental, and social factors to identify and target new opportunities for design and innovation projects.
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DIMP The DIMP module is associated with the complete range of knowledge, principles, theories, and methods relating to undertaking the organisation and management of significant design and innovation activity. Taught by both academics and world-leading industrialists, students gain a theoretical understanding of innovation management and entrepreneurship. As part of the module, students are tasked with creating a business plan for their major project. This includes determining their target market, identifying value propositions, and evaluating the most appropriate means of generating revenue from their product design. The assignment helps students develop strategic planning skills and encourages entrepreneurial thinking. As part of the assignment, they must clearly define the problem or opportunity that they have identified in the market and explain succinctly how their product design differs from existing solutions. For the students that aspire to take their major projects into industry, DIMP provides them with the resources and tools to create a cohesive business plan. This enables students to approach potential business partners confidently to facilitate their project launch.
078 | Undergraduate | Design and Innovation, Management and Process
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Computer Ba Design Metho
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ased ods Dr Tim Minton “The CAD Guy” - Lecturer in Design and Engineering - Module Lead Computer Based Design Methods takes the form of a series of integrated projects exploring multiple software packages for CAD visualisation, simulation and reverse engineering. The projects have an automotive theme, starting with a blueprint, a model car is created using surface modelling techniques. The scale models are 3D printed in high resolution and the digital design is tested using a virtual human testing environment. Within this testing environment, a number of human interaction studies are completed, focussing on lifting, comfort whilst operating the vehicle, and vision, what the driver can see from within the cabin. A lifting jack is prepared and analysed whilst raising the car previously modelled. The car jack parts are tested using finite element analysis (FEA) and motion studies within SolidWorks, combined with optimisation studies to reduce the material requirement whilst maintaining a suitable factor of safety.
The second project introduces thermo-fluid theory, flow simulations and computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Tutorial exercises are completed, introducing the concepts of the virtual testing platform ANSYS, conducting flow simulations including heat transfer. The final simulation involves testing the modelled car in a virtual wind tunnel and making some improvement to the aerodynamic performance. The module is popular with both staff and students and affords a fantastic opportunity to showcase CAD/ CAM/CAE skills with multiple industry standard software packages as well as learning new skills in virtual prototyping, modelling and simulation. Every year the standards go up and quality of the models improve, we have quite the collection now from Fords to Ferraris.
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CAD Showroom A collection of cars modelled in CAD software by the students of the Computer Based Design Methods module. These high quality, detailed models were later rendered in Keyshot. Students were given free rein to model a car of their choice, and we received an impressive variety ranging from high-end supercars, vintage classics to 4x4s. Some students were able to apply decals and textures to their cars or other extras such as chairs and spare wheels. The result is an admirable collection of 3D modelled cars, demonstrating Brunel’s high level of CAD ability.
082
Computer Based Design Methods | Undergraduate | 083
Major PrOject
084
Dr Busayawan Lam Reader in Design - Module Lead The Major Project is the culmination of three to four years of study. It brings together all the knowledge, understanding and skills developed in a self-selected design project. This might be based on emerging personal and career interests or a brief set by a collaborative partner. The final designed outcome can be a product, service or system. For each programme of study (BA Industrial Design & Technology, BSc Product Design and BSc Product Design Engineering) there is a variation on the focus to reflect the degree title, students’ interests and potential career pathways. The assessment is based on the practical outcomes of the work, and spread over the whole 8 months of study to encourage and emphasise good planning and management of the project. In the first term, the assessment mainly focuses on the quality of research, clarity of the design brief
and product design specifications and the feasibility of initial design directions. In the second term, the formative assessment will be organised in the form of an Industrial Review Event (IRE). At the event, students will present early concepts of their final year projects and gain valuable feedback from industry specialists to guide and steer their early design thinking. The final outcomes will typically include physical models or working prototypes, but may also include digital outcomes, such as user interfaces or CAD visualisation. Brunel Design School has a fantastic track record of Major Projects achieving high profiles and press coverage as part of Made in Brunel. Our students have won major national awards including awards at New Designers and the Mayor’s Entrepreneur competition. Increasingly, they have also been the starting points for start‐ups which have attracted considerable interest and funding.
085
Alejandro Núñez Vicente Industrial Design & Technology BA
VADAS
The VADAS is a new Active Warning System that will significantly reduce the number of road accidents caused by distracted drivers, bad weather or low visibility conditions. Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are extremely concerning around the world nowadays. Every year, around 1.35 million people die in traffic collisions and road accidents, and the majority could be avoided. This translates into RTAs being the 8th leading cause of death in the world. Despite vehicles and road infrastructures getting safer and better, it is not enough to stop fatalities. Active Safety Systems are becoming smarter and better regarding reducing the number of accidents and fatalities on roads, however,
Active Warning Systems are still very under-developed. The aim of VADAS is to integrate in modern vehicles a new Active Warning System that alerts drivers in two different ways about the presence of an imminent road hazard close to them. It will highlight the location of dangerously parked, crashed, or broken-down vehicles ahead on the road with an amber beacon located on the roof, visible from 360° and at least 1km. At the same time, it will also warn drivers of approaching vehicles in advance with visual and acoustic signals displayed on their dashboards, triggered by the Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication system of the hazardous vehicle.
086 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Alex Cummings Industrial Design & Technology BA
Diawise
A non-invasive continuous glucose monitor and accompanying app to aid with everyday management of diabetes. People with diabetes must constantly test and monitor their blood sugar levels, resulting in constant mental and physical strain; they must always be thinking about their condition and planning in case of an emergency. This can result in diabetes burnout, a psychological state characterised by depression, frustration and submission to diabetes with potentially dangerous consequences.
stress. The wearable device continuously monitors the user’s glucose levels using non-invasive technologies, and only alerts the wearer when levels become too low or too high. The device will illuminate orange or red depending on the severity of the levels, vibrate, and send a notification to the user’s phone with instructions on how to correct them. Users can then view their glucose levels in numerous industry standard formats, calculate insulin dosages using various methods, and monitor their own exercise levels in the paired app.
Diawise aims to reduce burnout by simplifying daily tasks that users are required to carry out to monitor their condition, thus reducing
Major Project | Undergraduate | 087
Alex D’Souza Product Design Engineering BSc
Viu
Viu is a webcam that offers a completely new way to communicate over online video, transforming any flat physical surface into a shareable platform. Working from home has been on a steady increase for the past two decades and has dramatically increased in the past year due to the pandemic. By the end of 2020, Zoom was receiving 300 million daily users, and research has shown that many workers plan to continue to work from home to some extent after a return to normality. While sharing virtual media is well catered for, sharing any physical notes, sketches, concepts, mind-maps, postits or anything else that may be generated off the
computer screen is difficult to communicate online without large or intrusive equipment. Viu facilitates this communication of physical surfaces by utilising image geometry correction to warp the surface in view to appear as if the camera is directly above, all in an aesthetically pleasing yet highly compact form that will fit under most computer monitors. The product solution fits seamlessly into users existing work-from-home setup, transforming their online communication capabilities.
088 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Alice Mitchell Product Design BSc
Learning Robotics in Medicine
When looking into the adaption of teaching for new medical students, finding many VR and simulations as means of education has meant that their first real experience has been in the operating theatre. Now, designing an educational tool to improve medical students’ quality in understanding the basics in robotic surgery and aim to increase longer-term memory in functions through a handson approach.
thorough experience in how the robotic theatre devices work and function. This device mixes student’s curiosity in robots and also provide a solid feedback for how accurate the students performed in each exercise represented on a graph. This new analysation feedback has been based on findings while using different components to suggest at which part of the knee the student is currently at.
Using practical electronic instruments as learning tools in tutorials would use exercise motion, challenge, feedback, and involvement in a new way for the students to learn. Performing different exercises and scenarios will give a more
Major Project | Undergraduate | 089
Alison Tuffin Product Design Engineering BSc
Sustainable Store Design
This project is a service designed to reduce the carbon footprint of window displays for a well-known luxury cosmetics brand and to influence sustainable behavioural change in their employees. It is a strategy that consists of three deliverables: a set of guidelines, a sustainable label design and an incentive interface program entitled “Sustain Me”. When applied to a single-window display, the service can reduce energy consumption by up to 39% and carbon footprint by 52%.
the required power supply and energy consumption. The incentive program installed on POS tills is designed for beauty advisors who sell their cosmetics in shops to encourage behavioural change in disposal processes and increase the amount of recycled material after a campaign has finished. The label works as the guidance between the two, a sign only visible on certain display elements that should be recycled and not taken to a landfill.
The guidelines are designed for visual designers to encourage sustainable alternatives to commonly used materials, manufacturing and finishing processes and reduce
090 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Andrew Nagel-Smith Industrial Design & Technology BA
Omni
Omni is a modular multi-tool designed to equip the user with a range of utilities to help them with everyday tasks in the modern world. Omni differs from traditional multi-tools as it allows the user to choose which attachments they want to carry with them. The chosen tools magnetically slot into aluminium frames which can be clicked and secured together using a twist-lock mechanism, forming a stack of accessories personal to the individual. Each tool is removable from its frame meaning that the majority of attachments can be used independently from the main device, whilst some tools such as the scissors utilise their frame as a handle. Omni’s modularity means that the scope for potential
attachments is almost limitless, however, a particular focus has been put on tools that are most helpful in everyday scenarios. Gone are the corkscrews and leather awls from traditional multi-tools, which have been replaced by useful items such as key organisers or phone chargers, which are far more suited to contemporary everyday carry.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 091
092 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Ariane McCormack Jones Industrial Design & Technology BA
Redo
A distributed system designed around recycling 3D‐printed waste that promotes pro‐environmental behaviours, benefiting the Earth and institutions of education, fabrication and collaboration. FDM printing has democratised design by enabling individuals to make their own products feasibly. However, the waste from failed prints and unwanted prototypes is often ignored. A case‐study undertaken at Brunel Design School’s Digital Fabrication lab estimates 80% of 3D‐prints are sent to landfill within a few weeks of their creation. After a few years, this figure becomes close to 100%. Redo’s combined product service system facilitates the reclamation and
reprocessing of 3D‐prints at localised destinations. The user can crush, shred, store, extrude and spool their plastic, turning it into recycled feedstock. This can be used for more projects or donated to partnered institutions. Whilst governing bodies remain unencumbered by short‐term thinking, Redo empowers the individual to repurpose their waste in‐house, rather than relying on local recycling infrastructure that bears systemic inefficiencies. This blue‐sky idea could transcend the dichotomy of today’s civilisation by enhancing the accessibility of 3D‐printing; composed with the ideals of a decentralised, circular economy: to “take‐ make‐recycle”.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 093
Arthur Dean-Osgood Industrial Design & Technology BA
Open-Source Electronics Kit
A modular and open-source electronics kit designed to provide a starting point for new users by offering intuitive connections combined with experimental human factor interaction. An electronics kit designed to enable those wanting to learn electronics and circuit building using more intuitive design methods. The kit aims to give an individual the building blocks to start constructing simple circuits and systems in a safe and controlled environment. Whilst similar kits exist on the market will often fill the gap of targeting young children, having limited systems that can be built or too complex for an initial user to understand straight away. This kit will break components down to their essentials, with
simple printed circuit boards mounted inside 3D printed housing so that the kit can be printed and assembled at home. The 3D printed housing aspect aims to allow users to modify and adjust the housing to allow for more specific components within the kit. Experimental human factors have been applied to aid in the ease of use; the goal is to have the kit supports the growth and development of a community of users that will help develop the project.
094 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Barney Twine Industrial Design & Technology BA
AEOLUS
AEOLUS is a dual-purpose product, encompassing both the qualities of a hairdryer and desk heater/cooler for a unique and redesigned user experience. The global hairdryer market is flooded with poorly designed and environmentally harmful products, the majority of which use planned obsolescence as the main motivator for repeated purchases. Coupled with limited product differentiation between brands, the user experience is one of limited choice and poor satisfaction.
hairdryer and a fan heater and cooler, being able to change between modes with a simple switch. An LED ring acts as the main visual clue to the user on the status of the product, being able to change colour based on the temperature and fan speed. A modular component system has been incorporated into the design which enables the user to make swift and easy repairs to independent parts without the need for specialised tools nor the general disregard of the product.
AEOLUS is an innovative rethink of the hairdryer and how it could be better incorporated into our daily lives. Featuring an original form factor, it can be used as a
Major Project | Undergraduate | 095
Cameron McNab Industrial Design & Technology BA
Wastely
Wastely is an educational food waste prevention and management service that raises awareness, inspires behaviour change, and offers the planning tools needed to reduce household food waste output. 72.7% of the UK’s annual food waste output comes from households, a value worth £13.8 billion. Within homes, 4.5 million tonnes of edible food is thrown out yearly, whilst 1 in 9 people worldwide are still starving and malnourished. Wastely focuses on reducing the impact of household food waste and its environmental implications when created and improperly disposed of.
prevention. Consisting of both a mobile app and food waste bin weighing scale the system gamifies waste prevention, with users competing to reduce the most. Users get weekly, monthly, and all-time usage reports, visualising how much food waste they have created, their difference overtime, and its estimated monetary value. Visualising the opportunity cost of irresponsible behaviour alongside teaching the importance of reducing food waste output and proper disposal will motivate consumers to adopt more cautious behaviour and habits with food inside their homes.
The Wastely system socially innovates food waste
096 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Carys Bowen Industrial Design & Technology BA
Get to Know
Get to Know is a conversation card game intended to improve older adults’ mental and physical health. Developed in collaboration with ‘Games to Get’ as part of their ‘Sussed’ range, this card game aims to facilitate important conversation between people and the older adults in their lives. Loneliness and social isolation are a growing problem for older adults, worsening alongside the ageing population. Good conversation has been proven to boost mental and physical health, but social and generational barriers can make this difficult. This is where ‘Get to Know’ comes in. It has been developed with older players in mind, including educational size cards, double the size of
standard playing cards, and an older-eye friendly colour palette with inclusive visuals. The card game comprises thought-provoking scenario cards, activity cards to inspire movement and offset time playing sedentary, and a card grip play accessory for comfortable gameplay. Questions have been developed to divulge as much or as little as they want and serve players’ needs, whoever and wherever they’re playing. This is a collaborative project with Games to Get Ltd.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 097
Charlotte Willis Industrial Design & Technology BA
Medicine Transport
A safe and ergonomic solution for transporting hospital treatments. Medicines are an essential component of any hospital therapy. This trolley helps pharmacy porters safely and securely transport drugs between the pharmacy and the hospital, reducing the burden on clinical staff, and ensuring patients receive optimal treatment. This project was carried out in collaboration with the team from the Royal Brompton and Harefield Trust. A flexible storage solution allows prescriptions to be separated into trays by ward. Equally, for larger-packaged items, trays can be removed to provide open space. When the trays aren’t in use, their modular design means they
can be stacked together for neat storage. For security, the trolley utilises a robust aluminium roller shutter, which the porter can lock to restrict external access-particularly essential for protecting controlled drugs. The main body is a waterproof construction board that is durable, withstands repeated use and external environments, antibacterial, and is UV and thermally stable, maintaining the chemical stability of temperature and light-sensitive drugs. Other features include: standardised rubber swivelcastors with immobilising foot-brakes, clipboard storage, a removable worktop, safety railing, and antibacterial handle wrap. This is an NHS collaborative project with Gabriella.
098 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Chukwudi Madukah Industrial Design & Technology BA
GoPortal
GoPortal is a mobile app designed to allow business travellers to plan, book and manage their trips all in one place. Managing time before and during business trips is one of the most significant challenges business travellers face today. The solution will integrate with world-class service suppliers within the flight, accommodation and transport industries. Having these services all in one place reduces complexity. It frees up the mind to focus on more critical and professional tasks, ultimately protecting the time and well-being of travellers.
users with an area report of their destination, displaying all the important information they may need such as: mobile connectivity, food options, transport options, culture and safety. Business travellers can also benefit from a language assist tool which gives them access to basic phrases and a translator. These features have been designed to reduce stress and anxiety in return for a boost in confidence and energy, which are key drivers in successful business development.
Additional features have been designed to look after traveller’s well-being whilst out on the trip. The app provides
Major Project | Undergraduate | 099
cb Clément Bolle Product Design Engineering BSc
CELO
CELO, a commuter safety solution. Providing a safer commuting experience to active commuters using a sensor module interacting with a mobile application. The demographic growth and the implementation of transport sharing systems cause more traffic in city agglomerations. Active commuters such as cyclists are by far the most vulnerable road users and are taking higher risks in comparison to car occupants.
the pre-collision by detecting vehicles arriving from the back using a LIDAR and the postcollision by sensing crashes using an accelerometer. An intuitive mobile application is used to warn the cyclist through their commute, message pre-registered emergency contacts after a collision, and provide the capability for the users to share their experiences.
This project aims to reduce the risk of cyclists being severely injured during their commutes. The solution designed consists of a portable sensor module and a fixation kit to be attached to a bike seat post or a helmet. The device tackles
100 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Dani Cropley Industrial Design & Technology BA
Rosette
Rosette is a mobile platform tailored to meet the needs of people living with rosacea which helps to manage their condition with a mindful approach. Rosacea is an inflammatory skin condition that affects 1 in 10 people in the UK. With no known cure, people diagnosed with rosacea often struggle to find a treatment that works effectively. While the physical symptoms are not lifethreatening, the stigmatisation of people with facial skin conditions such as rosacea has led to an above-average rate of anxiety & body dysmorphia in those diagnosed with the condition.
stressful problem that lies with self-management of the condition. The app helps to identify the triggers which cause the condition to flare up and track the effectiveness of medication and home treatments. Rosacea makes the skin highly sun-sensitive, so Rosette also comes with a small UV Pod that can measure sun exposure to tailor a unique sun-care routine for the user.
Rosette works with rosacea sufferers to provide a digital and physical solution to the
Major Project | Undergraduate | 101
Daniel Fredericks Industrial Design & Technology BA
Nova Equino
An adaptive office lighting solution to improve wellbeing and productivity. Diagnosed Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a condition affecting 10% of the population over the winter months, where days are shorter and daylight is less available. SAD has many side effects including increased sleep, a persistent low mood and in turn, a lack of interest in everyday activities. This has a negative effect on people’s productivity while at work, and impacts their own mental wellbeing.
are able to produce light that limits the peak in artificial blue light that causes the stimulating effect, replicating daylight. The solution is to create a lighting system that will aid workers in offices and other indoor environments by mimicking the daylight cycle in order to mitigate and prevent SAD and improve wellbeing. The Nova Equino track mounted spotlight utilises these daylight chips to create better quality lighting for indoor working spaces, and modularity and adjustability ensure it is suitable for a variety of application.
Previous research into the circadian rhythm and how light affects the body clock found blue enriched light was beneficial to productivity in workplaces. New LED chips
102 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Diana Cirlig Industrial Design & Technology BA
Play Hive
Play Hive aims to solve the problem of the continuously shrinking primary school playgrounds by providing a set of parts that can be assembled to fit any space. Playing outdoors has always played a massive part in children’s development as it improves the child’s wellbeing, health and learning abilities. However, there are fewer opportunities for children to play, one of the causes being the shrinkage of school playgrounds. 9 in 10 primary schools are losing play space due to their expansion to accommodate more children.
schools to find playing equipment that can fit in the reduced play area without impeding other activities such as PE classes. The solution offered is a kit that can be assembled to satisfy the different playing needs of primary school children, such as climbing, role-playing, and sensory interaction. It is designed to be safe, easy to assemble, sustainable and colourful to create a fun play space for children. This is a collaborative project with Dream Networks.
Play Hive uses this opportunity to help schools use the space they have more efficiently. There is a need for primary
Major Project | Undergraduate | 103
Edd Lawrence Industrial Design & Technology BA
TidePal
Coastal walkers are at the most significant risk of accidental drowning, often after being cut off by the tide and swept out to sea. TidePal aims to provide users with the location-specific information to help them make wiser choices, stop users from putting themselves at risk and reduce pressure on emergency services. With the app, a user can download tidal information specific to their location or planned route. This information is transmitted to the device by Bluetooth and uses the phone as a slave GPS to create location-specific details to help them.
with light colour differentiating direction and state. Extra bulbs at the tip of the bar communicate additional information - yellow means the user is in a cut-off location at high tide. If a user needs emergency assistance, the app provides all the key information regarding the user’s location to be passed onto call handlers. The device can be put into emergency mode to gain attention, turning the light bar into a high lumen beacon.
The flexible light bar ‘fills’ according to local tidal activity
104 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Ellen Parkinson Product Design BSc
Splish
Splish aims to reduce domestic water consumption through the day to day changes in UK families’ diets, enabling them to live a more sustainable consumer lifestyle. In the UK, we each use approximately 140 litres of water every day for activities such as cooking, cleaning and washing. This figure rises to over 4,500 litres per person when factoring in the volumes of freshwater used to produce the food we eat and the products we use. The amount of water required to create an item is known as its ‘water footprint.’
than ever to confront the UK’s unsustainable water consumption. Splish is an app and product that educates families on the volume of freshwater used to produce the food they eat. Splish suggests alternative ingredients with a lower water footprint and offers incentives for reducing the family’s water footprint. Splish aims to engage all generations within the family and bring a competitive, enjoyable element to sustainable living.
With the UN having forecast by 2030 that the world will only have 60% of the water it requires, it is more important
Major Project | Undergraduate | 105
Eloise Ball Product Design Engineering BSc
Flowatts
Flowatts offers a modular micro-hydro power generation system to tackle the increasing problem of using carbon based fuels in electricity production. Global warming and climate change are the greatest threats facing our planet, and if society does not adapt, the damage will be irreversible. Since electricity production using carbon based fuels is one of the leading producers of CO₂ in the UK, with 20% attributed to burning fossil fuels, society needs more solutions that utilise renewable resources.
in-water system that is easy to build and install, and serves local communities. The design utilises existing pre assembled parts to facilitate single install operations. By focusing on local consumption, the system can also be adapted to the environment in which it operates. The Flowatts idea is based on design through innovation, not an invention, and aims to break the model and obstacles that have previously hindered the development of hydropower systems.
This project has developed a modular micro hydropower energy generation system to be used throughout UK waterways focusing on an adaptable and customisable
106 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Emily Lucas Industrial Design & Technology BA
Little Eyes & Ears
An interactive tool kit that aims to encourage meaningful interactions for babies with hearing loss and their parents, to improve language and communication development. Communicating with infants from birth is crucial, as it lays the foundations for their future. Without it, they risk experiencing difficulties with their education, careers and mental health. Babies born deaf are more at risk of not receiving the quality of interaction required due to consequent communication barriers between them and their parents. Current interventions are limited as they do not consider the parents’ emotional state due to the child’s diagnosis.
‘Little Eyes & Ears’ offers a bundle of tools supporting and guiding parents through these difficult early years. Included is a remote microphone system that allows them to broadcast their voice clearly to the child’s hearing device, regardless of distance and background noise. In addition, the streaming camera enables them to communicate visually to the child via available devices in situations where face-to-face interactions are not possible (e.g. car journeys). Combined with an app that monitors them, tracks the child’s development and gives the parents access to community support, this tool kit grants them the confidence to interact with their child independently and often.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 107
Emma Rafferty Product Design BSc
The TBC System
The TBC System is a manufacturing unit, utilising waste textiles from the fashion industry to produce domestically compostable, comprehensible packaging. 150 billion new garments are produced annually, with an inconceivably reckless carbon footprint hidden from the consumer. The volume of packaging and scrap textile outweighs the product itself, either sent to landfill or incinerated. Re-imagining the potential of waste, for a circular economy in industry, the TBC System integrates into existing manufacturing environments. Used by sustainable clothing brands alongside product manufacturing, surplus fabrics are added with lactobacillus into the unit,
continually rotated within a controlled environment to propagate bacterial growth. Thermocouple sensors regulate the internal temperature, cooling with waste water from factory infrastructure through embedded piping. An upper tray of agar hosts a culture, removable for extraction and later polymerisation to produce the PLA packaging. Touchpoints, such as tactile self-sealing sliding hatches, promote a safe working environment for the user and reduces contamination risks. Reducing waste and recycling contamination, the PLA packaging is disposable in both domestic composting and garden waste collections, requiring no industrial practices to decompose.
108 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Enya Dodson Product Design BSc
Refillery Resa
Refillery Resa is a reusable packaging system providing vending machines that dispense personal care products, such as shampoo, to Indonesian supermarket chains. Plastic pollution in Indonesia is rife due to the lack of national waste infrastructure and a constant stream of single-use plastic produced by FMCG corporations. Lower-income consumers buy shampoo in sachet packaging, which is notoriously difficult to recycle. These consumers cannot access bottled offerings of famous brands made of rigid plastics that are more commonly recycled because they cannot afford to buy more than ‘daily doses’ of 10-15ml at a time.
Reusable packaging systems can often be more expensive than their single-use counterparts and found in few physical locations, making them both economically and geographically inaccessible to many. Refillery Resa uses inexpensive yet effective dispensing technology, allowing consumers to purchase product in quantities of 10ml and upwards. To reduce the cost barrier to consumers, 10% off RRP is granted on all products as a minimum, made possible by seamless logistics and affordable manufacture. This is a collaborative project with Fabrizio.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 109
Fahim Mohammed Industrial Design & Technology BA
EMERSIA
EMERSIA is a self-monitoring device that is designed to tackle procrastination and constant distractions during independent working sessions for students and young workers. This will enable them to be more efficient during working sessions by being selfmonitored by the device and understanding the root cause of task delays. The device will work thanks to an infra-red system detecting if the user is spending time on the working session; this will be accompanied by the EMERSIA external application.
The application will give the user the possibility to plan projects, work sessions and see how much effective time they are spending on them. EMERSIA aims for the individual to be more efficient in their working times and improve their level of productivity during the day, planning short and long term projects and being aware of the in-session times. The aim is also to reduce academic and professional stress and anxiety, impacting students and young workers in short and long term periods.
The product will also have a lighting feature directing the user’s attention whenever they are procrastinating.
110 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Fred Anthony Product Design BSc
Tangle
Tangle is a personal indoor hydroponic seaweed farm that offers users a source of seaweed on their windowsill.
control over the product’s functionality, such as LED lighting, aerator power and temperature.
While witnessing the current boom in houseplant sales and interest in plant-based diets, this product is designed for people living in cities with minimal access to outdoor garden space. Seaweed is gaining traction in western cultures, having been used extensively in Asia for centuries. It grows faster, produces more oxygen and is more nutritionally valuable than terrestrial plants.
Seaweed is sold as spores that the user attaches to the cap on top of the product. The seaweed then grows down into the tank with occasional fertiliser injections and can be cut back and harvested at any time to be added into dishes or cosmetics. The seaweed will continue to grow back, or new species can be delivered.
Upon purchase, the colour and size of the pod are customisable. The user can choose the species of seaweed for its benefits. The app gives customers complete
Major Project | Undergraduate | 111
Freddie Prentice Industrial Design & Technology BA
Ozone
An anti-pollution mask designed for urban cyclists. In 2020, 9,400 deaths were attributed to air pollution in London. Largely at risk of the consequences of poor air quality are London’s cyclists, with studies showing that inhaling the city’s air equates to smoking three cigarettes per week. Despite the severe short and long term side effects, coupled with the fact that daily cycling commutes have increased 120% since the pandemic began, there still lacks an effective solution in today’s market to safeguard cyclists.
gasses. By leaving the mouth uncovered, cyclists can communicate effectively on the road, refuel whilst on the move and ensure no condensation builds up for those who wear glasses. The mask can also function as a performance aid; solely nose breathing increases oxygen in the blood by 10-20%, mimicking high altitude training. The day-long protection that the mask offers means the minimal amounts of unfiltered air users may inhale through their mouth is dwarfed by the benefits. This is a collaborative project with Raw Studio/Design.bike.
Ozone is a nose-only antipollution mask that utilises dual HEPA and activated carbon filters to block out particulate matter and harmful
112 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Gabriele Grigaite Product Design Engineering BSc
Pinteq
Pinteq portable card terminal enables restaurant guests to make card payments safely, and the automated disinfection dock provides an efficient and fast cleaning method for the staff. Research has uncovered that card machines can contribute to pathogen transmission and the spread of infectious diseases. The root cause of this issue is inefficient cleaning and the extensive need to touch the device to make payments.
as the guests interact with the projected laser display on the table. This feature eliminates the risk for pathogen transmission between staff and customers. The integrated UVC LED cleaning dock ensures that the device is disinfected after every transaction, and that waiters can be confident that it is always clean and safe to use.
Pinteq improves user experience by having an ergonomic form and reducing the need for contact. A tapered shape and the optimal height of the device allows the user to operate the device with one hand. Also, the machine will be handled by the waiter only,
Major Project | Undergraduate | 113
George Leeson Industrial Design & Technology BA
Yumm
Yumm is a device that aims to improve medication compliance in children on long term treatment plans by enhancing the palatability of liquid medication. Patients on long term medical treatment often need to regularly take medicine, most of which either tastes nasty or leaves an unpleasant aftertaste. The device uses a flavouring ‘pod’ that mixes with the prescribed medicine replacing the unpleasant taste with various flavours. This allows the patient to take medicine by placing the device between their lips and by sucking on the mouthpiece, combining both the medication and the flavouring to mask the taste of the medicine. This product is designed to be comfortably
held by small hands, and the case allows storage of seven days of medication. The pods, which are available in a wide range of flavours, are delivered on subscription. These ‘pods’ are designed and supplied on a ‘use once and recycle’ basis, avoiding crosscontamination and placing the patient in complete control of their medication. Yumm is manufactured from foodgrade material and is both dishwasher and microwave safe, ensuring hygiene and cleanliness.
114 | Undergraduate | Major Project
George Sanders Industrial Design & Technology BA
Pie
Pie enables users to effortlessly create an accurate and up-to-date fridge inventory, displaying what food is in the users’ fridge and when it is due to expire. Wasted food costs a typical family of four over £700 a year. Household food waste makes up for 70% of the UK’s annual total of 9.5 million tonnes and of the food binned, 41% is done so because it is not used in time.
Weight sensors on the SmartMat keep track of how much food is being used, and subsequently thrown away, allowing Pie to get to know its users’ habits and advise them on how to improve. Notifications on the users’ phone prompt them to use up food items that are close to their expiry and the app also provides suggestions for recipes to make using the fridge’s contents.
Harnessing the power of RFID technology, the Pie SmartMat and labels work in tandem with the mobile app to generate a constantly updating fridge inventory, without additional user effort, showing the food they have and when it is set to expire.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 115
Greg McCaffrey Industrial Design & Technology BA
VeloPlus
VeloPlus is a bicycle journey support service for beginner cyclists to increase their road safety, by capturing data of journeys and using it to influence improvements to road infrastructure. Over 16,000 cyclist casualties were reported in 2019 alone, VeloPlus aims to reduce this figure by addressing the barriers to cycling, and providing a positive and rewarding experience to the cyclist. The service consists of a device and mobile application. The device detects collisions and captures data (video, impact, time, vehicle proximity, speed, GPS). Data is stored on a server, anonymous and aggregated, to create data sets that organisations can use to
understand and implement improved road infrastructure – increasing road safety. Through the app, all detected collisions can be viewed as events. A report of each event can be downloaded, to help with disputes or police matters. Insights into the local area can be viewed on an interactive map, informing beginner cyclists of hot spots in the area, they can then avoid them if they are not confident or feel intimidated. A check-in function counts down after a detected collision, checking the consciousness of the cyclist.
116 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Isabel Rees Product Design Engineering BSc
Neonatal CVC Simulator
A Neonatal Central Venous Catheter (CVC) Training Simulator that teaches clinical staff how to safely insert a CVC into a neonate using an ultrasound guided technique. Each year over 100,000 babies are admitted to neonatal units across the UK. Many of these babies need intravenous fluids and medication which can only be administered through a CVC. Currently, the British Association of Perinatal Medicine acknowledges that there are no validated training packages available for CVC insertion and are looking into how to improve patient safety after several associated fatalities. The Neonatal CVC Simulator aims to combat this problem
by providing clinicians with a sensory and specifically haptic training experience that closely replicates the real-life procedure. Ultrasound compatible tissue-mimicking materials were developed and used to create a simulator that is anatomically correct, looks realistic, feels realistic, and can withstand repeated training sessions. The product was developed in collaboration with Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Clinicians have tested and evaluated prototypes and concepts throughout the project, enabling a highfidelity training simulator to be produced. This is an NHS collaborative project with Gabriella.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 117
Jai Woolford Industrial Design & Technology BA
Lull
Lull is a sleep health system designed to help young adults improve their regular sleep quality. Living complex and busy lives, young people on average only sleep for 6.5 hours a night. Lull comprises of three elements: a mobile app, a bedside sleep tracker, and a wearable cortisol sensor patch. With detailed sleep and stress data, gathered from the bedside product and wearable patch, the Lull app helps users to understand the relationships between their lifestyle (stressors, behaviours, routines, productivity) and their ability to mentally decelerate at the end of the day to sleep well.
bedtime, sleep-time, and wake-up time. Consistency is key to good sleep. The ‘Sleep Hygiene’ feature sees the app estimating possible causes of daily peaks in stress, prompting user reflection, and generating a suggested evening activity schedule that users can follow to manage their leisure time and relax before sleep. The ‘Unwind’ feature, and bedside product, helps users to meditate and practise mindfulness as part of their bedtime routine.
The ‘Routines’ feature allows users to design and follow a daily routine with a consistent
118 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Jake Chamberlin Product Design Engineering BSc
The Tool Coach
The Tool Coach provides sensory, and motor supports to operate tools safely and effectively, making the process of using nonpowered hand tools safe and comfortable. Secondary school children with an autistic spectrum disorder are at risk of exclusion from certain aspects of Design and Technology lessons due to their condition. Issues such as sensory processing, gross and fine motor deficits and executive function can inhibit the amount of success a secondary school child can have when being introduced to the practical aspects of a Design and Technology lesson, namely the operation of non-powered hand tools.
The Tool Coach combines both the physical and emotional requirements of the user into a single product. The Tool Coach is fully adjustable and designed with durability as the primary focus, ensuring that it will last the user throughout their secondary school education. The embedded electronics provide the user with a live response to their abilities when using the tool, giving them the scope to adapt and improve their skills whilst using tools, enabling them to work more independently within lessons.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 119
Jaskaran Singh Pawar Industrial Design & Technology BA
Councils Design Partner
The Councils Design Partner (CDP) allows the council to connect with their residents through co-creation and provide better outcomes for everyone. Local councils are the backbone organisation for the UK, but approaches to service design are siloed and neither user friendly or human-centred. This project aims to redesign the way local council employees approach their projects during beginning stages of new services, ensuring they take into consideration the users and providers.
methodologies, tools and techniques and apply them to the planning stages of a service design project in the council. The application allows for education, planning and enhanced communication between council employees, breaking down existing silos. The CDP allows the user to develop skills on the go and create a more usercentred service for residents, increasing satisfaction among the end users and service providers. It further benefits the council by saving costs and resources, as there is less need to outsource and this approach affordably upskills internal employees.
The solution presented is the Councils Design Partner (CDP), a service with an application that allows current council employees to learn design
120 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Jay Bedi Product Design Engineering BSc
HORIZON
Smart AR glasses aimed at preventing and mitigating the effects of motion sickness during terrestrial travel. Motion sickness is one of the most common effects of modern travel, with 1/3 of people worldwide suffering from motion sickness when travelling by land, sea, and air. Terrestrial motion continues to impede on the quality of life for many frequent passengers, resulting in nausea and disorientation due to the body’s inability to match incoming sensory inputs from the vestibular and visual systems.
induce further side effects and leave users fatigued and disoriented, even after travel. HORIZON is a pair of smart AR glasses that overlay a virtual horizon onto the user’s view of the visual environment. The virtual horizon mimics the position and orientation of the real-world horizon during motion, providing accurate real-time visual data to the central nervous system. This aids in alleviating the mismatch of senses experienced by the vestibular and visual systems, preventing the onset of nauseogenic symptoms.
Current OTC medication fails to tackle the root of the problem, simply acting as a short-term blocker that can
Major Project | Undergraduate | 121
Jayda Bailey Product Design Engineering BSc
NeedleDock
An in-home sharps bin accompanied with a travel device to assist the management of equipment for type 1 diabetics at home and during short-term travel. Traditional sharps containers, marketed for use within healthcare institutions, have not been widely considered for in-home settings or frequent travel. Managing Type 1 diabetes, a chronic condition, can take a significant toll on the quality of life, and get the equipment they need that uniquely suits their daily life can often seem like a constant daily struggle. NeedleDock in-home sharps container improves the dayto-day quality and efficiency of equipment management for diabetic needs. With a
unique aperture design that accommodates popular diabetic equipment, it also features an additional discrete opening that, for more oversized items, reduces the stigma around type 1 diabetes within the home. NeedleDock’s expandable feature creates a convenient storage solution that can adapt to the user’s specific needs. The travel device is a small handheld device that is able to temporarily store used insulin pen needles for later disposal, simultaneously storing unused needles within a flexible compartment. This is a collaborative project with NeedleDock.
122 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Jessica Cooper Industrial Design & Technology BA
Saturday
A professional development app for young people to improve confidence and employability through skills learning, goal tracking, and a simplification of the work experience process. Over 1 million young people in the UK aged 16 to 24 need to be supported into education, employment or training. There is a need for youth to be engaged and motivated through high-quality and personalised professional development learning, which can be accessed regardless of an individual’s background or budget. Saturday brings together the value of the traditional Saturday job with the convenience of digitalised learning, creating a flexible
and inclusive experience to early professional development. A peer-based learning feed promotes a strong sense of community, and benefits from the addition of employer and educator contributions in the form of verified resources, articles, and industry insight. Young people can become confident and self-aware of their abilities in both interpersonal and technical skills through integrated active learning strategies. Their progress can be tracked through their dashboard, where they can also share their successes and earn rewards for completing their goals.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 123
Joanna Power Product Design Engineering BSc
Tactus
Embedding accessible local intelligence in domestic gas and heating control systems to allow the visually impaired a greater sense of independence. Boilers are installed in over 26 million UK buildings. The boiler has the essential job of supplying heating and hot water around the house. Yet, most people struggle to know how to control their boiler and understand if it is running effectively. Boilers are complex products to diagnose, and when an issue arises, it can be hard to communicate with the device. The lack of communication with the central heating systems disproportionally affects the visually impaired.
This project addresses the urgent need to give the growing visually impaired population comfortable heating in their home. The product consists of two units. The first unit is installed in the boiler to monitor and diagnose the current running state. This is then communicated to the second unit that offers the user tactile information about the boiler. This is then passed to the boiler engineer and will reduce the overall lead time and aid in planning the financial cost of repairs. This is a collaborative project with Switchee & Bosch.
124 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Joe Ground Industrial Design & Technology BA
Doset
A smart medication management system to assist users in adhering to increasingly complex medical regimes. A product and application help to automate the process and make users’ lives more manageable. In the UK, 48% of the population have an ongoing prescription, with 24% having more than three. Treatments for chronic conditions have become more complicated, leading to adherence rates dropping with 30%-50% of prescribed medications not taken correctly. The European Health Summit report estimating non-adherence to medicine accounts for a cost of $285 billion globally and leads to hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths each year.
Doset tackles non-adherence by providing support to the user through each stage of their medical journey. A product devoted to modular and adaptive design, organising and storing different medications is fundamental, featuring a pill-splitting mechanism to aid administration. The application tracks the user’s conditions and recommends medical schedule changes with the help of AI. Users can effortlessly log a dose taken with NFC integration, plan their medication schedule for trips away, and access learning materials that focus on their condition and tips to increase adherence.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 125
Joel Ambrose-Brown Product Design Bsc
Home Spirulina Cultivation
This product supports users in cultivating spirulina, a food source that contains a range of nutrients that are more difficult to acquire from a plant-based diet. An unbalanced vegetarian or vegan diet can lack nutrients that are less commonly found in plants. Spirulina is an algae that is commonly found in powdered form as a food additive.
in boosting the nutritional content of their foods. This product simplifies the process of cultivating algae by maintaining optimal growth conditions. It is capable of producing a teaspoon of fresh spirulina per day. The pH of the culture is carefully monitored to reduce the risk of contamination. The spirulina can be harvested with the click of a button and accessed by opening the front tray.
Initial research found that by weight it contains more calcium than whole milk, more protein than skirt steak and five times the amount of iron than the next best food source. The recent pandemic has caused many of us to shift our priorities towards a healthier lifestyle. A functional food such as spirulina could assist users
126 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Joseph Toumazos Industrial Design & Technology BA
Crafty
Crafty is an app that addresses the increasing concerns of improper cardboard packaging disposal each year in the UK. Every year in the UK, over 12.5 million tonnes of cardboard packaging is thrown away, with an overwhelming 55%, or around 6.88 million tonnes, being improperly disposed of, and sent to landfill or incinerated. The largest contributing factor to this is the lack of education and understanding of the importance of recycling and its benefits towards the environment.
cardboard packaging’s overall environmental damage. It intends to do this by educating consumers of the importance of proper recycling, whilst also giving consumers the power to actively reuse and upcycle their cardboard material, rather than disposing of it. Consumers can browse through hundreds of craft ideas and recreate other consumer’s ideas or gain inspiration to come up with their own. They can then share their original ideas for others to recreate or be inspired by. Consumers can also buy and sell crafts through Crafty.
Crafty responds to this by encouraging the upcycling of cardboard packaging and is designed with the purpose of reducing
Major Project | Undergraduate | 127
Joshua Duddridge Product Design Engineering BSc
Window Lighting Unit
The aim of this project was to innovate an integrated lighting system capable of combatting the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) in a more natural way. The effects of SAD peak during the winter periods, where daylight is minimal. The concept aim was to create a product that balances the depleting natural light with artificial light, to create an enhanced augmented effect.
and spurred to a close by socket to create an invisible experience. With extended innovation pointing towards the direction of AR and VR, replacing the diffractor screen with a transparent OLED panel, this product leads to exciting prospects.
The lighting unit has been integrated into the sizing requirements of standard uPVC window glazing beads, producing a variety of compatible uPVC windows on the current market. Once installed, this product overlays, but does not protrude your standard uPVC window,
128 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Juliette Bird Product Design Engineering BSc
Solarly
Solarly is an interactive light designed to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young adults at risk of experiencing symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a mental illness typically caused by a lack of access to the sun. It is estimated that around 1 in every 3 members of the population in the UK suffer from the symptoms of SAD. Young adults between 18-25 are twice as likely to experience depressive episodes, due to irregular routines and a lack of awareness on the impacts of light on the mind and body.
to help stabilise moods. The globe light is controlled by an interactive app, allowing users to create personalised lighting routines to suit their lifestyle, whilst improving awareness. The light is designed to encourage physical interaction with the globe and can be easily moved around living spaces throughout the day. The solution aims to redefine how users experience artificial lighting within the home and to encourage further understanding of light and colour.
Solarly mimics the benefits of the sun whilst utilising the theology of colour psychology
Major Project | Undergraduate | 129
Juliette Clark Product Design Engineering BSc
MEDSPACE
MEDSPACE offers a new solution for medicine management in medical kits for exploration class missions in space.
with short duration missions or missions in Low Earth Orbit in mind, making them inefficient for future space exploration class missions.
In the next two decades, astronaut missions will expand to deeper space, taking astronauts to the Moon then Mars. These exploration class missions are a key driver for science discovery, technological innovations, and downstream benefits for the economy. Astronaut health management during space exploration is crucial as both the well-being of astronauts and the mission target are at stake. To manage any illnesses while onboard a spacecraft, astronauts have access to a medical kit. The current medical kit used aboard spacecraft today has been built
MEDSPACE targets can be summarised in three main areas which would be needed for long term space missions. These include an improved user experience for medication accessibility in a microgravity environment, environmental and radiation protection for the medication, and providing an organised and spaceefficient medical kit system solution.
130 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Ka Ng Industrial Design & Technology BA
Momentus
Momentous is a wearable device and app that helps people with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) manage their pain. 1 in 200 people suffer from AS, a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joint. It causes pain and stiffness that is difficult to manage and makes day-to-day activities challenging. Current solutions involve pharmaceutical medicine and physiotherapy. Unfortunately, due to side effects, tolerances and comorbidities, medication isn’t suitable for everyone. On the other hand, physiotherapy exercises can be challenging to implement into their routine, especially in extreme pain.
Momentous Gear is a convenient wearable device that provides continuous thermo- and vibration therapy, which is proven to reduce pain in AS patients. The heat and/ or vibration can be applied to the entire back or localised points depending on the areas of pain, customisable via the Momentous App. The app also has a forum that brings people with AS together and provides legitimate advice from verified professionals, a quick and easy pain diary, and additional automated features.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 131
Kaelum van der Berg Product Design Engineering BSc
CleanCut
CleanCut is a compact cable granulator manufactured using minimal material and simple techniques. CleanCut is an economical alternative to burning for e-waste recyclers in developing communities. Recyclers at electronic waste sites currently burn cable insulation to collect and sell the valuable metal conductors. For these workers, there are currently no economically viable alternatives. Burning cable insulation releases toxic elements such as fire retardants, heavy metals, and a plethora of other hazardous chemicals into the surrounding communities, leading to significant cases of respiratory and neurological disease as well as irreparable environmental destruction.
CleanCut allows workers to safely process the cables at a comparable rate to burning and return upwards of 20% more profit for clean copper. The granulator accommodates various methods of power transmission such as motors and bicycles by utilising common and globally distributed couplings collected from waste products. CleanCut is easily manufactured using scrap material and standard components, using services and skills available at existing workshops typically found in e-waste-centred communities. Easy-to-follow plans and drawings for manufacturing CleanCut will be freely available online and distributed on paper to e-waste communities.
132 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Kalani Smith Product Design Engineering BSc
MONO
MONO is an integrated, entry-level system that aims to improve the accessibility and portability of guitar effects and amplification systems for beginner and hobbyist players. Beginners and firsttime players account for approximately 45% of annual guitar sales. However, 90% abandon the instrument within the first year of playing, if not the first 90 days. Effects units and amplifiers are complex electronic devices and can be daunting to beginners and hobbyists who comprise the majority of modern players. The inseparable link between playing an instrument, live performance and studio recording have meant that
many systems are still geared primarily towards professional players. MONO is an easy-to-use, compact alternative to traditional guitar systems. The wireless audio transmitter is connected to the guitar and sends the signal to the MONO app. The app is used to configure effects, pair to a speaker or headphones, and connect with other like-minded players. The foot-operated controller provides familiar interaction to existing guitar effects pedals and is used to navigate the app and adjust sound parameters without interrupting the user’s playing.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 133
Kara Wong Product Design Engineering BSc
MigraCool Cap
The MigraCool Cap is a digital ‘ice cap’ designed to help treat the pain experienced during a migraine attack using cold therapy. Migraine is a debilitating neurological condition that affects 1 in 7 people and is classed as the 3rd most common and the 7th most disabling disease in the world. It costs the UK economy £3.42 billion a year due to lack of productivity and healthcare costs. Despite these harrowing statistics, few commercial products effectively provide a quick and easy non-drug alternative to pain relief.
they will be able to have complete control over the delivery of their treatment – the areas of the head they want to target and the temperature settings are all within the accompanying smartphone app. Unlike conventional cold therapy, which necessitates cooling gel packs in the freezer, which takes time, this product reaches target temperatures within a minute of initiation. This non-invasive, natural treatment also has the potential to be developed for other medical applications.
The MigraCool Cap aims to help migraine sufferers treat themselves without the overreliance on drugs. Instead,
134 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Karishma Bhugoowan Industrial Design & Technology BA
Alinea
Alinea means ‘the beginning of thinking in a new way’. Therefore, it is time to stop shrouding menopause with secrecy and begin to look at it differently and empower women to stop feeling ashamed of the experience. Alinea aims to create a discrete, intuitive service that blends into the daily routine of pre-menopausal, menopausal, and post-menopausal women to help them navigate their menopausal symptoms. The continuous recording of qualitative and quantitative data will allow machine learning to predict upcoming symptoms these women experience. The prediction of symptoms will empower women to regain control over their mind and body by allowing them to prepare
for symptoms they might experience. Alinea is the first solution to focus on tracking and predicting menopause symptoms from analysing female sex hormones. Alinea also offers education on the psychological and physiological changes that occur when your hormone levels fluctuate, and lifestyle changes may improve their mental well-being and symptoms. Furthermore, Alinea also provides women with a safe space to communicate with other women about their experiences, allowing them to know they are not alone.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 135
Lauren Ord Industrial Design & Technology BA
Mabel
Mabel is a reusable and refillable beauty and personal care productservice system designed to reduce the dependency on single-use bathroom packaging and the BPC’s environmental impact. Every industry plays a critical part in reducing single-use packaging. The BPC industry alone makes up 40% of total landfill waste in the UK. In order to encourage consumers to refill and reuse products, they must be as convenient and financially viable as singleuse. This is why Mabel has taken a user-centred design approach ensuring both users and the environment benefit from the system.
(body/hand wash, body/ hand lotion, and shampoo/ conditioner). Each starter kit includes a 3-litre container, 3-litre pouch, 400ml bottle and stand. The products will be accompanied by an assistive application, allowing users to customise their subscription frequency and track their environmental impact. The starter kit’s state-of-the-art decanting and stacking system will provide an efficient and space-saving solution. Mabel will also create a partnership with local UK suppliers to further reduce their environmental impact. This is a collaborative project with Fabrizio.
Mabel’s product portfolio consists of three starter kits
136 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Liberty Kimber Industrial Design & Technology BA
FLitter-Bug
FLitter-Bug aims to stop the UK litter problem, by both tackling the rubbish in rivers and using public-service apps to flag-post local litter sites. FLitter-Bug is the combination of a device that stops floating litter from travelling further downstream and a monitoring app, which allows the public to notify the council and other volunteers where there are litter problems. Every day, 2 million pieces of litter are dropped in the UK, and waterway litter is the hardest to tackle. Over 500,000 pieces of plastic alone drift out to sea every year, harming the wildlife and becoming impossible to tackle. With 14 million pieces of plastic being disposed of
in our waterways, we need a system that can work 24/7. FLitter-Bug not only tackles this floating litter before it gets to the sea but, in doing so, provides a safer and more efficient way for the volunteer litter picking groups to collect and remove it. The accompanying app can be used by the council and public to report litter. They see and motivate more people to help clean it up through a rewards system, encouraging the nation to come together and put an end to the litter crisis.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 137
Lin Pak Shing Industrial Design & Technology BA
ReBorn
A compact injection molding machine designed to repurpose domestic 3D printed plastic waste. In the current market, there are minimal options for recycling domestic 3D printed waste. Most plastic materials used in FDM 3D printing are categorised as “Type7” or “Other”, which are not typically processed by general recycling programs to be recycled, and therefore most 3D printed wastes always end up in a landfill.
by providing an alternative solution for those who enjoy making something by themselves and having complete direct control of the outcome. Design features include a quick release mould locking mechanism and an LCD that provides a user interface and step-by-step visual guideline on using the product correctly.
ReBorn is a compact bench injection moulding machine designed to be used by general hobbyists and repurpose their own FEM 3D printed plastic waste. This aims to reduce plastic waste that goes into the landfill
138 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Louie Duncan Product Design BSc
OLUS
OLUS uses organic materials and biophilic design to develop a more sustainable, efficient, and compact air purifier. Residents of major cities are faced with the burden of air pollution which is detrimental to their physical and mental health. Currently, domestic air purifiers provide a solution, at the expense of the environment where 6000 tonnes of used air filters are sent to landfill every year. These products commonly neglect small urban living spaces, where air pollution is most prominent. OLUS is the first air purifier to use fully biodegradable, plant-based filters which remove 99% of particulate air pollution. These organic
filters are sustainably sourced and generate zero waste, minimising the environmental impact. OLUS not only improves physical health but also boosts productivity and helps alleviate stress by delivering clean air within a biophilic design. Working alongside a house plant, OLUS also absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen to further create a healthy home. Through physical and virtual testing, a specialised fan-filter configuration was developed to produce a compact and efficient product for those with limited space. This is a collaborative project with Christian Kerrigan Architecture.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 139
Louisa Plane Industrial Design & Technology BA
Wonder
Wonder enhances the online shopping experience of cosmetics by connecting women and personalising their experience, instilling confidence in the cosmetics they are purchasing. Due to digitalisation and the impacts of COVID-19, consumers are turning to online shopping. However, the main challenge is that the current digital shopping experience is yet to replace the physical in-store shopping experience that beauty product consumers gain. Wonder helps users navigate their way through beauty products and cosmetics currently on the market. Using AI, Wonder creates personalised product recommendations for users
based on the data collected through quizzes and previously used products. This profile enables the algorithms to find patterns in the database and create matches for customers. From these recommendations, users can add to wishlists, share with their network or make purchasing decisions. Wonder allows women to connect with friends and family allowing them to feel a sense of togetherness when shopping online. A friend affirms decisions that one might not make when shopping alone, so the shopper has a reduced risk perception of the purchase, therefore providing trust and transparency that e-commerce traditionally lacks.
140 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Luca Bertacca Industrial Design & Technology BA
VITARIA
VITARIA is an invisible safety net for inexperienced divers that allows the divemaster to read and react to each diver’s air-pressure consumption behaviour. SCUBA diving associations analyse diver incidents every year to improve the safety of the sport. Inexperienced divers are contributing to almost half of the number of incidents despite being supervised by trained divemasters. The most common cause of accidents is air-pressure related issues that lead to panicked actions with potentially fatal consequences. As communication is severely limited underwater, the divemasters response times can be delayed, especially when the diver is no longer able to self-report their issue.
VITARIA bridges this gap in communication through 3 products, a new 1st stage regulator with an integrated transmitter, a dual-sided gauge console with an integrated receiver and display, and a dive tank strap with interchangeable number plates for identification. The sensor transmits the diver’s remaining air pressure to the receiver, where the data is analysed. The divemaster is then warned of any leaks or irregular breathing and can intervene before the issue escalates. If an accident were to happen, the data could be exported on land to identify the cause.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 141
Mai Doan Product Design BSc
Pres
Pres is a mechanical domestic waste compactor that provides an effective means of compressing dry packaging to encourage recycling behaviours within the homes in urban communities. Even though recycling is now a social norm, some still see it as a chore. The short-term build-up of bulky packaging in the kitchen causes further inconveniences in people’s enjoyment and engagement in daily recycling activities. Having longer journeys to communal bins or bulky waste bags not fitting in waste chutes also demotivates high-rise residence to maintain recycling routines. Furthermore, a lack of storage capacity caused by plastic, metal, and card packaging waste being
uncompressed, is often cited as one of the main reasons for lowering recycling rate in urban areas. Pres is operated manually via foot pedal, which gives users more mechanical advantage without using additional electrical energy. The compress mechanism allows the perforation of each package at insertion point, ensuring complete compaction and avoiding packaging tendency of reverting to its original form, especially plastic ones. The compact modular design helps with material segregation and fits in limited spaces. This is a collaborative project with HumbleWorks.
142 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Malav Patel Industrial Design & Technology BA
Sustainable Furniture Search Tool
Using explorative UI/ UX design principles to inspire young adults into sustainable furniture purchases. Providing relevant search results by categorising preferences through visual filtering. On the modern e-commerce internet, consumers either know exactly what they are searching for or are flooded with endless product results biased towards advertisements. The lack of search inspiration has fuelled the acceleration towards fast furniture resulting in 22 million pieces of small furniture thrown away in the UK every year. This solution envisions a social marketplace for sustainable furniture targeted to educate first-time buyers via explorative search principles.
The site hosts two main USP functionalities, reverse image search and explorative intelligent search. The user interface displays informative infographics guiding through different materials, styles and sizes, allowing the user to visualise their personalised interior designs. Connections with dataheavy API’s further train the Machine Learning Algorithm to continuously improve product recommendations. Explorative UI/UX captures the young professional audience, informing of ethical manufacturing processes and showcasing high quality sustainable and upholstered furniture. This is a collaborative project with Cadeera.com.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 143
Maria Beatriz Inacio Product Design Engineering BSc
Nexo
Nexo is a wearable localised walking aid for older adults between the ages of 65 to 75 years old, with mobility difficulties. Using a smart design with configurable parameters, Nexo is personalised to the individual user’s morphology and physical / medical requirements to ensure the best performance and comfort when in use. Converting the user’s body weight into elastic energy and momentum, Nexo provides active support when walking and negotiating stairs, among other activities. Due to Nexo’s personalised and wearable design, the user is at a lower risk of falling when negotiating stairs,
having both hands free for carrying groceries or other essentials, and even use the handrail safely if needed for added security. This way, the user gains more confidence, reducing the fear of falling and promoting a healthier and more natural walking gait to continue mobile and independent for longer. Through close collaboration with private medical clinics, the user is assessed and information regarding their measurements, physical condition and lifestyle are gathered to inform the configuration of the product’s parameters, to then be 3D printed ready for use. This is a collaborative project with Marco.
144 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Marina Marbella Industrial Design & Technology BA
MIE
MIE stands for motivate, inspire, and encourage. Focusing on a solution that provides ease and reassurance for the user. With many individuals who overthink the judgement of others, MIE wants the user to be able to focus on themselves and their well-being while providing them safety and emotional support. MIE is a wearable smart ring paired with an app that provides prompt updates on the user’s whereabouts to their five most trusted and legal authorities when in danger or panic, through a discreet button on the ring. Once the notifications are delivered, haptic feedback is given to the user. The app sends daily affirmations whilst
also featuring gamification and internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (ICBT) techniques such as the chance to grow your virtual plant or pet along with the ability to learn exercises on how to control overwhelming emotions. The discreet form of the ring masks its function, while the colours of the app are uplifting and motivating. Wirelessly charged, its charger also functions as a glow lamp that illuminates the room every morning, allowing a positive, fresh start to the day.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 145
Marisa Sabourin Industrial Design & Technology BA
EKotak
EKotak is a reusable takeaway packaging system that addresses the single-use plastic packaging crisis in Indonesia.
reusable containers. It works in conjunction with takeaway apps to collect, clean and redistribute each container for up to 5 years.
Indonesia produces 24,500 tons of plastic waste per day, which harms the environment and the health of the population. Their takeaway industry significantly contributes to this problem due to their heavy reliance on single-use plastic sachet packaging that have an extremely short lifespan of just 40 minutes. Moreover, less than 1% are recycled due to their multiple layers that are hard to separate.
The user simply pays a deposit fee to access the container, which is returned once the user returns it at a drop-off site or via the next delivery driver. Made from durable materials: stainless steel and silicone which keeps food warmer for longer whilst allowing the user to continue to comfortably interact with the product. It can house one main, and two side dishes, which reduces the need for additional containers.
EKotak is a reusable takeaway packaging system that addresses this problem through the use of long-lasting
This is a collaborative project with Fabrizio
146 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Matthew Reeves Product Design Engineering BSc
Beacon
Beacon is a smart bike light which allows users to report hazards they encounter when riding. This data is used to keep other users safe. Participation in cycling can provide a range of benefits, however its potential is currently severely limited by a ‘fear of cycling’, caused by the disproportionate casualty and near miss incident rate experienced by cyclists. Despite research showing that the most effective way to reduce casualties and increase participation is to improve cycling infrastructure, there is limited funding for such schemes and there are almost no existing products that aim to improve safety by helping improve infrastructure.
Beacon allows users to report the location of different types of hazards they encounter on the road. The data collected from the Beacon community improves short term safety by alerting other Beacon users to approaching hazards. It also provides local governments with detailed information about hazards, allowing them to make more informed decisions about new infrastructure developments, to ensure they are as effective as possible and improve accessibility.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 147
Michelle Sambo Briceño Product Design BSc
Phosphene
Phosphene is an activitybased subscription package created to help children aged 8 to 12 deepen their connection with their surrounding natural environment. Using hands-on experiences aims to relieve environmental anxiety, embedding an innate sense of empathy for the environment. As a result, Phosphene creates more ecological citizens and helps children feel empowered for the future. Children today are more disconnected from their nearby environment in comparison to their parents at their age. Despite this, their worries about climate change and how it will affect their lives are very prevalent.
Research shows that building a connection with nature when younger not only results in improved health and wellbeing, increased understanding and enhanced social skills but also explains 69% of ecological behaviour in adulthood. Phosphene prompts children with tools and activities to immerse them in their local nature. Focusing on helping children feel in control, all the tools are designed to aid the experience, allowing each child to create a unique personalised experience growing a sense of oneness to the environment.
148 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Moritz Hedrich Product Design Engineering BSc
ProAdapt
Configurable footwear to assist construction workers working on sloped surfaces without risk of injury or longterm health issues. Construction workers face the highest risk of fatal falling injuries within any industry, whereby roofing workers are disproportionately affected. Workers commonly have problems of soreness and fatigue in their feet and ankles. This leads to a high risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders in the long term due to the sloped environment, especially in the lower leg region, when compared to other industrial occupations. It is common for workers to have to leave the profession due to healthrelated circumstances.
ProAdapt is a configurable ergonomic assistive device. It is specifically designed for the problems faced by roofing workers carrying out physically demanding tasks on sloped surfaces. For ease of use and accessibility, the product is designed as an add-on for safety boots, which integrates with the structure of the boot and the individual fitment requirements of the wearer. Based on an assessment by a footwear specialist, specific options can be selected, and the product can be fitted to an individual user and selected pair of boots. This is made possible using the latest industrial 3D printing methods.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 149
Noah Woodman Industrial Design & Technology BA
Napollo
Napollo empowers smokers to quit. This project aims to mimic the behaviour of smoking while tracking the consumption of nicotine alongside physical health recovery and monetary savings. Smoking is the leading cause of premature death around the world today. 70% of smokers want to quit smoking but beating an addiction as strong as smoking is difficult. The WHO estimates around 4% of unaided attempts to quit are successful and while in recent years we have seen the rise in popularity of e-cigarette devices, growing research suggests these are not as safe for use as once thought.
psychological behaviours of smoking a cigarette while removing the harmful chemicals found in E-liquids and cigarettes, making the process safer. The physical pen and personalised subscription capsules are accompanied by a digital mobile application. Users can easily track their consumption of nicotine and are provided with information about their physical health recovery. Napollo is also cheaper than cigarettes and incentivises users to quit by setting personalised targets with the saved money.
Napollo uses nicotine capsules to replicate the physical and
150 | Undergraduate | Major Project
oE Oghenerume Egbeniyoko Product Design Engineering BSc
PSE
Impact sensing boxing equipment to measure and support the user’s training. Aspiring boxer’s growth and performance levels are stagnating during key stages in their development due to insufficient coach support, outdated training methods and inadequate equipment. PSE is the conceptualisation of performance monitoring boxing equipment, designed to provide beneficial data metrics on a boxer’s punch output, using the boxing gloves, and impacts experienced, using the headgear, throughout a training session. To sense any applied force, PSE equipment uses a proprietary ink which is printed onto a Neoprene
layer and embedded beneath the surface of the boxing equipment. The conductive tracks on the layer then connect to the hardware unit embedded in the glove’s foam, which subsequently translates and transmits the live impact data to the associated app via Bluetooth. By providing boxers with the tools to effectively measure and monitor their progress, PSE grants them greater control over their areas of improvement, while simultaneously reducing the burden on overworked coaches and overcrowded boxing clubs, to consistently provide exceptional training sessions and equipment for all skill and dedication levels. This is a collaborative project with Infi-tex.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 151
Oliver Treherne Product Design BSc
Muni
Muni is a financial literacy education service delivered through an app. With the objective being to educate young adults about financial literacy to become financially independent one day. Many young adults have a low level of financial literacy, and soon they will be moving onto their next economic stage unprepared. These issues can lead to high debt levels and poor distribution of financial resources within society. The FCA report declared that 18–24 year-olds are “least confident in managing money and least knowledgeable about financial matters”.
thereby helping improve their well-being. Financial knowledge is more important than ever before as the world has changed with record low interest rates rendering traditional saving methods ineffective. The main features of Muni are a learning programme and an easy-to-read financial news section. Also, a community area where users can ask questions with verified FCA regulated professions.
Muni is here to help these young adults so that in the future, they have better control of their financial situation,
152 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Ollie Singleton Industrial Design & Technology BA
Ázein
Ázein is a smart Asthma management system that can be personalised to each user, helping them to control and improve their condition. Three people die from Asthma every day in the UK, and it is predicted that 2 of these deaths can be prevented with good Asthma management. There is currently no cure for Asthma; it is kept under control by an Asthma nurse who personalises treatment to the patient’s condition. Good effective Asthma management is critical in preventing deaths and improving quality of life. Patients see their GP concerning their Asthma at most once per year and often have limited information on whether their condition is improving or deteriorating between appointments.
Ázein allows users to track their condition much more effectively than current techniques. The product takes Peak Flow readings and administers all Asthma medication types. The app makes management easy, reminding users when to take their medication and when they leave home without it. The app identifies and tracks triggers, digitally displays data, provides advice, and educates users about their condition.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 153
Oscar Lindsey Industrial Design & Technology BA
Hidden Gems
Hidden Gems is a mobile phone application designed to help photographers discover new photography locations around areas of London. Hidden Gems provide insights, essential planning tools and time saving services. Users are able to filter the locations based upon the type of photography they are doing, e.g. automotive or fashion, etc. Location is highly important within the field of photography and is arguably the most crucial element when it comes to photoshoots. As it stands, the current methods used to find locations are highly ineffective, with the majority of people solely depending on Instagram as their main source of discovering
locations, but most of the time the actual location is not accurately tagged – leaving photographers and other stakeholders clueless. The service has been codesigned with professional London-based photographers and aims to help its users find unique locations for their shoots. The app includes insights such as the best time to visit to avoid crowds, what gear to bring, how to get there, and much more.
154 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Pablo Guembe-Young Industrial Design & Technology BA
NGONGU
The NGONGU soil probe and app make it possible for farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa to control their croplands soil health. Current rates of soil degradation suggest the world could run out of topsoil in about 60 years, posing a dire threat to our planet’s food production and farmers’ livelihoods. The effects are felt most in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the most degraded soil can be found. The product offering aims to tackle the social and ecological issue impacting farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa by allowing farmers to monitor and maintain soil properties whilst learning regenerative agricultural practices. The soil probe detects vital soil
properties, including organic matter contents, conductivity, pH and nutrient level. A cloud database then uses SVR prediction models and stored data on regenerative practices to provide personalised recommendations on soil maintenance to a user’s NGONGU app. The app also connects farmers across the region to each other and to supporting NGO’s and farming associations. It also encourages children and young agri-workers to explore and learn about their natural environment through goals and objectives incentives.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 155
Paramveer Bhachu Product Design Engineering BSc
Dampen
Dampen headphones use replaceable watersoluble padding to provide an alternative solution to existing inflight headphones, battling e-waste and reducing the spread of harmful bacteria. Free items given out on planes have been reported as highly unhygienic. Most notably, headphones, whose foam ear cups are hardly ever changed unless torn. Singleuse earphones provide a solution to this problem but contribute toward a larger one surrounding sustainability.
where they are run through a dishwasher-like system. Soap and hot water dissolve the foam padding off the plastic base, followed by UV light treatment to ensure the headphones are sterile. Once dry, new padding is fitted to the headphones, ready to be used again. The headphones’ modular design allows each airline to apply their branding whilst allowing individual parts to be replaced or repaired instead of disposed of; this, in turn, further reduces the amount of waste produced by the airline industry.
Dampen headphones are cleaned using the same process as seen with the used plates and trays from the flight. The headphones are collected up and brought off the plane,
156 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Paris Papacharalambous Product Design Engineering BSc
House Viewing Service
A digital service that aims to solve the issues faced by prospective tenants during the process of finding a property to rent. An online platform with a two-sided marketplace that allows viewings to take place seamlessly by bringing together Seekers and Viewers. Seeker: a prospective tenant who is in the process of finding their next home Viewer: a local who lives close to the interested property, who is willing and able to attend viewings on behalf of the Seeker for a price
property. The service aims at making the process easier, faster, and more efficient by implementing a variant of the sharing economy model and introducing a subscription/ commission-based pricing model. This is made possible by creating a professional and friendly brand that puts user experience first throughout both platforms, website and mobile app. The platforms provide a simple and straightforward UI that allows users to complete their tasks quickly and efficiently.
The above matching will take place based upon the closest and highest rated Viewer for the interested
Major Project | Undergraduate | 157
Peter Griffen Product Design BSc
Levata
Levata is an adjustable footrest for patients with Lower Leg Oedema that was developed in collaboration with Royal Brompton Hospital. Oedema is the build-up of fluids in the body which results in swelling. This is common in the lower legs, ankles and feet but does occur in other areas of the body. As of 2016, an estimated 240,000 people in the UK have Chronic Oedema. Patients with Lower Leg Oedema are advised to raise their legs when seated to help excess fluid naturally reabsorb into the body and reduce swelling.
they cannot accommodate the wide range of individuals that Oedema affects. Lower Leg Oedema often causes sensitive skin that is susceptible to pressure sores which drastically decreases quality of life for the patient. Although existing footrests do have cushions, they fail to provide effective pressure relief. To ensure ease of use for clinical staff, the footrest incorporates a double ratchet mechanism with a quick release handle for a wide range of positions. This is an NHS collaborative project with Gabriella.
Footrests used in hospitals are not adjustable in terms of their height and angle, which means
158 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Pitchaya Rudeenorawate Product Design BSc
Squee
Squee enhances the travelling experience for children aged 4-12 who may face stress on long car journeys by using progressive muscle relaxation technique for tension and stress relief. Long duration of car use can have significant effects on children as the number of car uses is related to the level of physical activity that the children can engage in. This could increase the level of stress which leads to physical and mental health issues. These lead to negative impacts on child development skills and cause long term impacts when they are adults.
combination of Progressive Muscle Relaxation and music generation. Each massage ball contains a motion sensor which generates different types of sound when different pressure is applied. Children are required to apply force to create their own music which encourages them to activate different muscle groups. These movements help with tension and stress relief, reducing the risk of developing physical and mental health issues as well as improving travel experiences.
Squee aims to reduce the level of stress built up by the frustration of waiting, using a
Major Project | Undergraduate | 159
Sm Sebastian Morawiec Industrial Design & Technology BA
Immersive Cards
In collaboration with Games to Get, this project saw the production of graphics and compelling visuals for an upcoming conversation game. Immersion is commonly experienced within digital media but rarely is explored in physical games. In-depth research conducted on what truly makes a game immersive and the theories behind colour allowed for the development and design of visuals that carry a lot more purpose. Alongside this, multiple sensory inputs such as sound via soundtracks and sound design were also explored to enhance the immersive experience.
for the illusion of immersion to be created; thus, drawing the player further into this incredible world and drawing out deeper conversation within the game. Some of the visuals presented showcase the main characters in the world, all citizens of Curios City with their own unique stories. This is a collaborative project with Games to Get.
The drawings follow a narrative to create cohesion within a fictional environment, allowing
160 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Thomas Mander Product Design BSc
Roots
Roots in an educational family game about food waste. Players are rewarded with real-life rewards whilst learning about cooking, cultivation, and current waste issues. In the UK, around 7.3 million tonnes of food is wasted each year, 70% of which comes from households. Current ‘solutions’ and advice tend to aim for short term gains as an attempt to tackle the problem. Still, there is a need for a long-term strategy to minimise food waste and maximise the effectiveness of food waste reduction.
combat the issue at its core, with a focus on educating the younger generations. The project focuses on educating kids with the use of fun and rewards-based learning. The inclusive nature of the product incentivises the children who have interacted with it to share what they have learned with their peers and elders. They may also become inspired to start growing their own fruit and vegetables, learning to care more about food and understanding its value.
The research highlighted a serious lack of knowledge and care towards our current food waste issues, which presents an opportunity to
Major Project | Undergraduate | 161
Thomas Sutton Product Design Engineering BSc
Ultra-Heart
The Ultra-Heart is an ultrasonically sensitive heart phantom with pulsatile flow used as a training aid and calibration instrument for ultrasound machines. In hospitals, calibrating ultrasound machines is a common practice to maintain a high quality image. This calibration is accomplished by using a phantom. The phantoms on the market currently all focus on the dimensional accuracy of an ultrasound scan. The Ultra-Heart can be used to further improve image quality by calibrating the ultrasound machine to visualise blood flow and help train medical professionals in how to perform an echocardiogram. This will help hospitals in
diagnosing coronary heart conditions. The Ultra-Heart is based on a human heart with an accurate scale and four chambers. The system will be designed to acoustically mimic the appropriate muscles while also pumping a blood-simulating fluid around the heart chambers with an adjustable pulse rate. This is the first ever ultrasound phantom with pulsatile flow manufactured. The system is easy to use with large ergonomic dials and an LCD display showing an accurate BPM with custom graphics.
162 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Timothy Philbin Industrial Design & Technology BA
At One
At One is an anxiety management system consisting of a two-part mobile application designed to help adolescents selfmanage their behavioural inhibitions whilst being monitored by an adult. Anxiety has seen a substantial increase as 31% of adolescents meet the criteria of an anxiety disorder by the age of 18. 75% will receive no treatment throughout their lifetime due to the lack of accessible solutions and the price and waiting time of cognitive behavioural therapy. To ensure optimal effectiveness, parents and teachers must be involved in enforcing and monitoring treatment so it remains consistent.
At One applies a unique approach that focuses on developing healthy gut microbiota and performing frequent aerobic exercise, which is found to be where anxiety initiates from, whilst opening up a channel for immediate contact with therapists. The system adopts service design principles and gamification theory as a challenge, and a points element is implemented, encouraging the return of users. Selected mindfulness dietary and activity challenges are monitored by parents, carers or teachers so any behavioural changes can be identified.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 163
Tobias Crabtree Product Design BSc
Apta
Apta is challenging the existing additive manufacturing paradigm by utilising Fused Deposition Modelling processes to produce sustainable, custom fitted headgear for skateboarders. Driven primarily by younger consumers, Mass Personalisation requires product fulfilment to be changeable, adaptable, and configurable. 3D printing continues to reduce the disparity between customer demand for personalisation and the shortage of personalised production methods. Supported by recent innovations in cloud computing technology, these modern manufacturing methods have effectively replaced the transport of
physical products with that of data. Skateboarding is among the most popular extreme sports in the world, with over 85 million active participants. Head and neck injuries are predominant amongst skateboarders; however, skaters often cite a perceived lack of need, discomfort and an undesirable appearance as reasons for not using headgear. Utilising in-store 3D printers, Apta uses individual customer data to produce custom-fitted helmet liners for improved comfort and safety. Capitalising on recent shifts in green consumer behaviour, Apta adopts a Cork-Polylactic Acid composite as a more sustainable alternative to the Expanded Polystyrene foam currently used in most helmets.
164 | Undergraduate | Major Project
This is a collaborative project with Marco.
Tsun Lim Lai (Mario) Industrial Design & Technology BA
Spin-to-Do
Spin-to-Do creates a visually and physically exciting user experience with unique gameplay and illustrations to engage with children aged between 8-12. ‘Sussed’ is a card game developed by Games to Get Ltd that helps people start conversations with others. This collaborative project aims to improve the user experience by evolving the gameplay as well as the illustrations. Spinto-Do hopes to help children build social skills, health and confidence before they reach their teenage years.
the wheel is spun, the player picks a card depending on where the arrow lands and does the challenge. After each challenge, the winner of the round gets the card. The player who gets the most cards win the game. This game is exciting because one challenge can last multiple turns, and the challenges can stack! You never know what will happen. This is Spin-to-Do, spin the wheel and do the challenge! This is a collaborative project with Games to Get Ltd.
The game consists of a spinning wheel as children love the action of spinning a wheel, and four different types of cards which indicate four different challenges. Once
Major Project | Undergraduate | 165
Usman Khan Industrial Design & Technology BA
Horizon
Horizon is an improved freeze-free vaccine carrier, an essential piece of equipment used by aid organisations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organisation in the fight against polio. Although carriers currently in use have been invaluable in storing and carrying vaccines, there are still opportunities to further improve the design. This can be done by optimising user manoeuvrability and comfort, increasing vaccine capacity, and enabling more efficient temperature monitoring systems.
That’s where Horizon comes in. Horizon is a back-mounted freeze-free vaccine carrier designed to carry nearly double the amount of vaccine than a standard carrier, while offering the user more comfort and mobility on their journey. Shoulder straps on the product allow for better weight distribution and EPDM foam back padding offers additional back support. There is also a built-in temperature monitor that interfaces with a display on the outside of the product, meaning vaccinators no longer need to carry a separate thermometer.
All of which can have significant implications on the status of the vaccine and the health of the person to be vaccinated.
166 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Will Hardy Product Design Engineering BSc
HT3 Tool Changer
HT3 is a tool changing 3D printer. It can pick up tools individually, and this allows it to combine multiple colours, materials or even processes in one 3D print. Designed to bridge the gap between lower cost multimaterial printing solutions and more expensive tool changing machinery, HT3 offers the performance of high-end tool changing 3D Printers but at a fraction of the cost. Tools are picked up using its proprietary electromagnetic mechanism.
under 10 seconds, and print speed can reach upwards of 150mm/s. A basic HT3 unit is small enough to fit on most desks. It can house up to five tools and boasts a 300x300x300mm build area. The design is scalable, though and can be made smaller or larger. HT3 can be enclosed for high-temperature printing, and all electronics wherever possible are placed outside the enclosure to facilitate this.
By using multiple extruders, it generates significantly less waste than single nozzle multi-material setups. Utilising a CoreXY motion system, linear rails, and high torque motors, printing fast is not an issue. Tool changes are
Major Project | Undergraduate | 167
William Curry Industrial Design & Technology BA
Season
Season is a mobile application that aims to help 18-25 year-olds to start, maintain or improve a healthy diet as they go through the transitions towards an independent life. Obesity in the UK is the 3rd most prevalent illness affecting over 28% of adults and increasing year on year. Obesity brings with it hugely damaging effects such as health risks and expense, with the yearly costs estimated to hit £9.7 billion by 2050.
Season has all of the tools that are needed to have a healthy diet and provides a personalised experience that is tailored to the needs and goals of the users, helping them form healthy eating habits in the most suitable way for them. Season’s features include; an extensive recipe library with nutritional information and instructions for preparation, shopping lists and meal planning to help with meal structures, and a community element allowing users to cook with friends over a video call.
Current government interventions are failing and young adults are falling through the gaps, with obesity rates increasing by 20% between the 18-24 and 25-34 year-old age groups.
168 | Undergraduate | Major Project
Yasmine Fell Industrial Design & Technology BA
Modus
Modus is a holistic solution designed to provide an environment conducive of study that fosters focus and engagement though an acoustic absorbing luminaire. The deteriorating quality of our environment is attributed to one quarter of annual worldwide ill health. The increasing burden of chronic diseases is taking its toll on traditional health care systems that intend to provide solutions. As a result, there is an emerging trend of preventative methods that prioritise health, wellbeing, and comfort. External cues from the physical environment are significant in subconsciously dictating and promoting good behaviours, supporting preventative
methodologies. With research linking health and wellbeing to academic performance. This design implements theoretical research that suggests significant improvements can be achieved through considering three influential factors of the physical environment: stimulation, individualisation, and naturalness. Modus aims to help reduce the adverse effects caused by the physical environment within the school by providing a space of respite, through noise cancellation, to aid the wellbeing and cognitive abilities of the students within the vital years of their formal education. This is a collaborative project with Christian Kerrigan Architects.
Major Project | Undergraduate | 169
Contextual Design
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Marjan Angoshtari Innovation Designer - Lecturer in Industrial Design - Module Leader The Contextual Design Module is a complex and multifaceted project that combines a well-executed Design Innovation process with Brand-repositioning. This is a challenging module with a hands-on approach. Despite the pandemic, the student cohort and teaching team worked hard and went to great lengths throughout the year to ensure quality outcomes for the projects. This year, students were asked to work as a team of two or three rather than individually on each project given the circumstances. This means that we have fewer projects in each team in comparison to the previous years; however, this also resulted in better quality concepts and deliverables through the collective efforts of everyone involved.
always, Paul Josse was a great support for the module and students towards the final hand-in. In this module, students start their projects on a blank canvas, exploring and researching global challenges to define meaningful briefs. Despite all interactions being online due to Covid-19 this year, students worked hard in their teams and sub-teams to create novel Design Innovation Strategies and Product / Service / System solutions for the future of a range of existing brands. This is the first time in the history of the module that all concept realisation has been done through visuals only. In this module, we demonstrate how design can be used as a tool to create meaningful user experiences and user interactions for the future of humankind.
Benjamin Parton, Sandra Fruebing and Will Fazackerley worked tirelessly to provide students with the best possible support throughout the year. As
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Team NASA We now know more about the universe than ever before, yet the Environmental Protection Agency suggests we now spend 90% of our time inside, something being passed down to the next generation. Each generation is, on average, spending half the amount of time outdoors in comparison to their parents. 92% of the UK population are set to be living in a city by 2030, and with this comes more limited access to quality green space & the benefits that come with it. Ranger and Pioneer were created to engage families and professionals with the outdoors and strengthen the human bond with nature.
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Ranger Andrew Nagel-Smith | Dani Cropley Ranger rethinks the outdoor experience for the new generation of young explorers. The capsule is designed to fit wild and plant life, with custom attachments to ensure safe capture. Lights and waterproofing of the capsule offer endless opportunities for attracting and containing wildlife. Within the device, a series of sensors can scan the lifeform within and send a 3D scan and analysis to the removable screen which can be found slotted into the capsule. See local wildlife up-close like never before whilst engaging and learning about the environment.
Pioneer Ariane McCormack Jones | Joe Ground Pioneer is a working companion to boost your productivity. It uses the information from a sensor placed on your computer mouse, and measures the time you have spent at your desk to recommend and navigate you to green spaces around your location. The product features a silicone over mould giving it a soft feel, This feature allows for the interaction of the Pioneer through squeezing it, not only allowing for a more tangible connection, but creating an intuitive human interaction between user and product.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 173
Team IBM 23.5% of the world’s urban population live in slums and lack access to the most basic amenities. This percentage is expected to triple by 2050 due to poor urban governance and increasing rural-urban migration. Slum residents face exclusion and destitution due to poor integration with neighbouring cities. The subsequent prejudice associated with slum residents affects everything from employment opportunities to healthcare. Existing ‘Integration Programmes’ are dangerous and disruptive, and bulldozing these communities is simply not an option. Through socially responsible design, IBM has the capacity to empower slum residents and encourage sustainable change for individuals and their communities.
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Vita Alex D’Souza | Kara Wong | Max Hill High levels of post-natal stunting in South Africa can be caused by poor nutrition. An over reliance on cheap formula milk and an under resourced community health worker scheme means that developing children often lack the nutritional attention they require. IBM Vita is a new milk bottle that analyses children’s nutrition levels and calibrates the milk to deliver the lacking vitamins accordingly. Automatic communication with community health workers allows prioritisation and remote monitoring, improving the access they have to their patients.
Via Kaelum van der Berg | Tobias Crabtree IBM is changing perceptions of street food vending in South Africa. Via is a flat pack food container that facilitates the distribution of freshly prepared dishes to formal retail outlets. Food undergoes thermal sanitation in the container as part of the cooking process, whilst the blue indicators assure the consumer the food is uncontaminated. At 56%, South Africa has the world’s largest youth unemployment rate. IBM Via transforms the current street food industry into a sustainable employment option for South Africa’s youth.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 175
Team BBC Earth 6.6 million tonnes of food is wasted annually in the UK, just from households. Not only does this problem affect the planet as a whole, but this food waste production affects the household also. The product range developed for BBC Earth proposes to work towards solving this issue in the next 15 years, by enabling UK households to take control of their food waste production and assist them in consuming food more effectively. BBC Earth will work towards helping the individual make more sustainable food choices, with the ultimate goal of achieving zero food waste.
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Torto Gabriele Grigaite | Pitchaya Rudeenorawate | Usman Khan Torto is designed to navigate through even the most packed fridges, using its 360° camera and built-in ethylene gas sensor to get accurate readings on the ripeness and expiration status of food. Installing the charging dock in the fridge will allow users to keep up to date with Torto’s status anytime during the day. Torto aims to enable better decision-making regarding the food people buy to help them use fresh food more efficiently and manage their food waste better.
Rhyno Diana Cirlig | Jake Chamberlin | Mai Doan Lower income families in the UK lack access to the effective storage facilities for fresh produce within their homes, which results in excessive food waste being produced and a lack of a healthy diet. Rhyno encourages families to buy fresh produce without the worries of it going to waste, as it helps to make the most out of the nutritional benefits from their left-over meals, vegetable off-cuts or past used-by-date. The leftovers are processed into a nutritional powder which is stored inside a portable dispenser.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 177
Team Arc’teryx Arc’teryx aims to contribute to the rejuvenation of marine environments and prevention of future ocean plastic pollution. Ocean plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental issues to date. In the early 2000s, our output of plastic waste increased more in one decade than in the previous four. 12.7 million tonnes of plastic waste enter our oceans every year, it is predicted that ocean plastic will outweigh the amount of fish in the seas by 2050. Each year, 100 million marine animals die from plastic waste, caused by suffocation, starvation, ingestion, or drowning– endangering species & breaking down food chains.
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The Ocean Filter Cameron McNab | Greg McCaffrey | Oscar Lindsey The Ocean Filter targets the microplastic pollution in the Coral Triangle, optimising positioning to filter ocean currents, removing the microplastic before it reaches the reefs, providing microplastic free ocean water. The main body is coloured to blend into its environment, mimicking a Whale Shark. It discourages sea life from investigating the Ocean Filter. Active elements on the Ocean Filter, the tracking fins, and the access panel are black, matching the brand image with the Arc’teryx Logo on the access panel.
The Smart Bin Noah Woodman | Timothy Philbin | William Curry The Smart Bin aims to clean up urban waterways one bottle at a time. It is a next generation waste disposal unit which changes consumer behaviour by providing reimbursement for the correct discarding of plastic bottles. The Smart Bin uses QR scanning technology to prevent items other than plastic bottles from being placed into the bottle section of the bin, whilst allowing general waste to be deposited in the other section of the bin.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 179
Team Dove The refugee crisis is the most severe it has ever been. Currently there are over 79 million forcibly displaced people worldwide; with one person displaced every three seconds, the total is growing exponentially with the UN predicting that there could be as many as 1 billion refugees by 2050. The average length of time that refugees spend in camps is 17 years. This is no longer a temporary solution; this is a livelihood. Inside the camps, how can Dove radically change the wellbeing of refugees by tackling safety and sanitation issues they face in their daily lives?
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Circle+ Ellen Parkinson | Karishma Bhugoowan | Louisa Plane For refugee women, refugee camps are dangerous places, creating an environment of constant fear. Dove Circle+ aims to revolutionise women’s safety in refugee camps by helping them stay connected to the hub through her earpiece, allowing them to contact help anytime their safety is compromised. By building community centres in refugee camps, Dove Circle+ also creates educational opportunities. This allows women to recognise their ability, build self-esteem and confidence, therefore shifting attitudes in refugee camps, making them safer places.
Pure Ana Charlo Briones | Joshua Duddridge | Lauren Ord In Rohingya Refugee Camp, over 1 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. Dove has designed Dove Pure; a household water filter that makes water collection safer and more comfortable. By 2035 we hope to help eradicate the threat of water-borne diseases in the camp. Versatility is at the heart of Dove Pure, ensuring everyone in the Rohingya Refugee Camp can safely collect water. After assessing optimal carrying capacity against recommended daily water consumption, we have created the ideal weight and modularity bag.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 181
Team Cisco The visually impaired are being increasingly left out of design interventions, inflicting notable lifestyle changes both indoors and outdoors. The absence of substantial educational care and support has isolated the blind and visually impaired lacking self-sufficiency confidence. In a world where the blind and visually impaired are being increasingly cast aside with support funding cuts, and neglected in everyday design decisions, it is important that they can still go about their daily lives safely and self-reliantly. In this project we looked more specifically in aiding the visually impaired in locating and organising items in their cupboards.
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Pendant & Mat Arthur Dean-Osgood | Carys Bowen | Joe Allen Pendant aims to revolutionise cooking with a visual impairment. Pendant consists of an innovative culmination of advanced speech recognition technology, along with cutting edge image recognition. This has been partnered with the Mat which uses world class Cisco networking technology and our unique weight sensor. The Pendant and the Mat work together to allow you to not only keep a track of, identify, and find your food, but also to feel confident and organised within the kitchen.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 183
Team Volvo Worldwide, around 50 million people have dementia. For dementia sufferers, performing daily tasks can end up causing high levels of stress, anxiety, and fear. It can also increasingly impair the individual’s ability to function. The individual can suffer from memory loss, confusion and have difficulty concentrating or speaking. At best, current support systems are outdated, ineffective and unable to cope with the growing problem, and at worst, they are a camouflage for a hidden time bomb that will inevitably explode.
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The Puck Alex Cummings | Marisa Sabourin | Sebastian Morawiec The Puck is a device designed to aid people in their travels through public transportation. Using underground GPS and LiDAR it guides the user to their desired destination and acts as their personal assistant. The Puck will remind the user where to go, what they planned to do, and it will give the general guidance without removing their independence and making the product invasive on their life. The accompanying Home-Hub is for friends and family of the user with Alzheimer’s to remain notified and updated.
The Routine Helper Jaskaran Singh Pawar | Ka Ng | Mehrab Iqbal The Routine Helper helps people with early-stage Alzheimer’s to keep their independence for as long as possible by levelling out cognitive deterioration using sensory therapy and in turn enhancing their motor skills. It manages to achieve this by providing aid and assistance to the user within their daily bathroom routine. It takes the user through their routines whilst stimulating multiple senses to help them remember the tasks they do whilst in the bathroom. This allows the user to increase their sense of independence.
Contextual Design | Undergraduate | 185
Team Jeep Thousands of lives are lost in European seas every year. When a serious marine incident occurs, there are only two outcomes for the passengers and crew aboard - survival or death. If not discovered quickly, the chances of survival will rapidly decrease due to the naturally harsh conditions of the water. The outcome of this project brings Jeep into a new market, extending its brand offering by ensuring safety in all areas of the world. Jeep has already conquered the land, now let’s conquer the sea – safely.
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Survivor Dan Parkins | Juliette Bird | Sophie Morelli The Jeep Survivor is a ground breaking and futuristic solution in providing assistance to stranded refugees; simultaneously reducing the legal implications for commercial ships passing through the Mediterranean Sea. The rescue capsule, deployed by passing ships that encounter a struggling group of refugees, improves the chances of survival whilst waiting for rescue. The unique and innovative helix shape creates a lifesaving inflatable ring and provides live GPS location tracking to assist the responding Search and Rescue Teams.
Unity Edd Lawrence | Eva Sobonova | Jessica Cooper Jeep presents a wearable product-system which catalyses a positive safety culture to protect lives at sea. The Jeep Unity. Inspired by the brotherhood of crew relationships built on fishing vessels, Jeep transforms the traditional life jacket by blending physical value and emotional benefit, since buoyancy is only trigged by mesh networking under unified crew mentality. The Jeep Unity utilises advanced material technology to provide a seamless, flexible experience which adjusts to intense working conditions and demands.
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Team Caterpillar The world is ageing. By 2030, it is estimated that 1 in 5 people in the UK will be aged 65 or over. Older adults begin to feel nervous and less physically able to perform many of the things they used to be able to do. To provide the future elderly with the freedom and independence that they deserve, both inside and outside their homes. This project focused on two areas: enabling older adults to enjoy and experience the outdoors in later life and reducing the risk of falling and supporting older adults to be more independent in their homes.
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BenchMark Anisah Shah | Fahim Mohammed | Jai Woolford BenchMark is a collaborative social innovation project seeing Caterpillar and UK councils build a local network of benches; enabling older adults to keep enjoying and experiencing the outdoors. BenchMark consists of the CAT Bench, a comfortable rest stop offering shelter and warmth against weather adversities, a place to relax outdoors, enjoy the fresh air, and chat with locals. This works alongside the BenchMark Home Platform to access the local network of benches and plan a variety of local walks with integrated bench stops and real-time navigation.
SafeSteps Alejandro Nuñez Vicente | Kevin Hessabi | Niyu Qian SafeSteps enables risk-free usage of stairs for the elderly. The perpendicular and dynamic twin handlebar system provides elderly users with additional support for balance while climbing or descending the stairs. The sub-steps double the overall number of steps on the staircase and reduce the height of each step by half. By implementing this system in houses, and other residential and public buildings, the staircase will become much safer to use and therefore considerably reduce the risk of falling, supporting older adults to be more independent.
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Team BrewDog Each year, the main food providers of UK households throw away 14 million tonnes of food, the highest amount in Europe. With a rapidly growing population, set to exceed 70 million within the next 10 years, the environmental repercussions of our food waste habits will become irreversible. BrewDog looks to change this, encouraging the whole family to tackle food waste both in their own homes and communities, to create a more sustainable world and revolutionising our behaviour as a country against food waste.
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Brew-Chef Emily Lucas | Kieran Fitzgerald | Liberty Kimber Brew-Chef allows all family members to learn about food waste and culture through the cooking process. This tabletop device encourages the whole family to work together at their own pace to create delicious and non-wasteful meals. The 3D projections allow all skill levels to learn the cooking process for meals that not only taste great, but help save the planet too.
Soil-Mate Charlotte Willis | Hugh Crowley | Yasmine Fell Soil-Mate is a portable device that teaches young generations about the importance of healthy soils, and encourages behavioural change. Through collecting soil samples and examining the nutrients, they’re able to evaluate what makes soil healthy and what leads to degradation. Whilst enabling them to compare their soils to other users across the UK, all via an interactive hologram. Additionally, the data is shared with government research groups and pedologists to contribute towards a better understanding of our soils.
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Team Yale Hidden Homelessness is the state of existence without secure accommodation and not being recognised as homeless to society. An estimated 131,000 people can be classified as Hidden Homelessness in the UK, a figure that rose by 33% between 2011 and 2016. The average Hidden Homeless person dies at 44 years old. This is also set to continue to rise in the future. With the number of Hidden Homeless people expected to double by 2041 (270,000 approx). This will result in further strain on the UK economy with £1.4 billion already being spent annually.
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Barricade George Leeson | Joseph Toumazos | Miles Holloway Barricade is an electromagnetic security device that allows users to secure any door, regardless of whether it has existing locking hardware, using a set of five electromagnetic pods that attach to the door and frame using suction cups, ensuring a secure bond without damaging the property. Barricade uses a digital projected interface for the user to interact with, showing an external view of the door when motion is detected by the camera pod, which uses LED’s and alarms to ward off potential intruders.
Construct Barney Twine | Lin Pak Shing | Tsun Lim Lai (Mario) The Yale Construct places the power of play back into the hands of children who are unable to play with others due to circumstances out of their control. This product allows children to play and interact with other children through the implementation of capture and projection technology to create a digital “Play mat”. Individual actions and objects are scanned by a LiDAR scanner and then digitally projected onto the opposing players play mat. Additional games and new players can be found in the interactive menu.
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Team T2 Loneliness is a global issue, but the UK is especially experiencing a loneliness epidemic. It is estimated that around 45% of the adult population often feels lonely in the UK. Loneliness is dangerous when left unaddressed. It can become chronic and carry severe health complications later in life that are twice as harmful as obesity. However, only in the last few years was it found in London to be more prevalent amongst the youth. How can T2 encourage London’s youth to connect with their communities, develop stronger interpersonal relationships to address social seclusion and prevent chronic loneliness?
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SocialEyes Daniel Fredericks | Michelle Sambo Briceño | Thomas Mander Moving to a big city can be daunting and it can often feel quite isolating since individuals are moving away from their friends and family. SocialEyes consists of two products which work in unison with each other, an earpiece and headset controller. The products guide the user with a meditative journey of their local area, promoting social interaction. Micro-interactions allow them to feel more confident in themselves, and calmer in the unfamiliar, ultimately leading to lasting friendships. Providing a fast track to becoming a local in the community.
T2Roo Luca Bertacca | Ollie Singleton T2Roo is a tabletop companion accompanying two users over tea. Roo introduces emotional detection technology recognising micro-expressions, the muscle movements and twitches that are too quick or small for human eyes to perceive. Roo lets users reflect upon their emotional balance after a conversation, training emotional awareness to improve people’s interpersonal skills and develop deeper friendships. This way, Roo helps tackle loneliness in young adults by giving them the chance to develop stronger relationships that will last through the years.
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Dr Fabrizio Ceschin Integrated Product Design MSc Programme Director In order to cope with the economic, social and environmental challenges we are facing nowadays, designers need to innovate beyond individual products and conceive systemic solutions blending physical and digital products, services, spaces and communication. Our MSc IPD degree focuses on the design of these innovative integrated solutions. In pursuing this, we emphasise the balance between the interest of users, industry, society and the environment. We cover the whole design process, integrating all aspects relevant to the development of these systemic solutions: human needs, sustainability, technology, aesthetics, management, marketing, business and design methods.
large enterprises from our industry collaborative partners are integrated into our modules and play a pivotal role in the learning experience. Our MSc programme is accredited by the Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) and is studied full-time over one year. As a result, we produce highly qualified and sought-after designers who are employed in companies ranging from design consultancies, research and development departments to research institutions and government bodies.
This programme is delivered by a cross-disciplinary lecturing team enhanced by design and branding professionals. Live briefs from small, medium and
Dr Edwin Routledge Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc Programme Director The Sustainability, Entrepreneurship and Design MSc has been developed to equip students with the practical and entrepreneurial skills required to deal with sustainability and environmental management issues in any business. They will help address the upcoming significant challenges in society and transform our economy to incorporate the principles of sustainability. This presents an exciting opportunity for them to be at the forefront of rethinking, redesigning and rebuilding a positive future for business practice. They’ll be encouraged to infuse environmental awareness into societies and make tangible contributions to the theory and practice of environmental protection, sustainable business and a circular (green) economy. This course entitles them to free student membership of the IEMA for the duration of the course and, on successful completion, qualify for GradIEMA.
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Graduate membership is a launchpad for future leaders within the environment and sustainability sector and offers various benefits to support them throughout their career.
Dr Youngok Choi Design & Branding Strategy MA Programme Director MA Design and Branding Strategy aims to explore branding from a design perspective. It extensively presents and analyses famous and emerging brands, brand trends and brand models. This course prepares students for a career of leading, designing and managing brands at the highest strategic level. Students who graduated from this course work globally for admired major brands, prestigious brand agencies, and top-level creative consultancies, including Design Bridge, Saffron, Imagination, Interbrand and Ogilvy. They have taken on roles such as Brand Strategist, Brand Consultant, Brand Manager and Creative Director. Many also start and run their own successful businesses.
as luxury branding, place branding, digital branding, fashion branding and social branding are encouraged and in many of those areas, Brunel MA Design has pioneered new thinking. We actively engage with the London and international brand community with an impressive list of leading brand and design experts regularly talking to students or facilitating workshops and other activities. The course is generally considered the first Design Branding Master’s programme globally and continues to pioneer content. Students are also given opportunities to engage with ongoing externally funded research projects and industry-led branding projects.
Workshops play a major part in the teaching experience, and it is here that students practically engage with contemporary brand issues and tools. Opportunities to develop specialisms in areas such
Dr Youngok Choi Design Strategy & Innovation MA Programme Director Design Strategy and Innovation MA aims to give designers and other creative disciplines the skills and knowledge to utilise design thinking and leverage design to pursue strategic change and improvement in both the private and public sectors. The programme explores how design can be a catalyst for various types of innovation at all levels, e.g. new products, services, product and service systems, design processes and ways of managing creative teams and collaborating with stakeholders. The graduates are employed by major international businesses, prestigious design agencies/ consultancies, and government organisations, such as Procter & Gamble, Samsung, LG, Asus, Plan, Seymourpowell, and Korea Institute of Design Promotion, as Design Manager, Design Strategist, Innovation Consultant and Creative Director. Some also establish and run their consultancies successfully.
Students learn how to evaluate user needs, design and technology trends, and social movement and discuss key factors influencing innovation development in the relevant areas, including digital economy, sustainable development and social responsibility. They also investigate future scenarios and emerging practices in design and innovation to develop strategic directions for innovation and innovation culture. The course actively engages with pioneers in the fields of design and innovation. They are regularly invited to give lectures and run workshops and seminars with students. Students are also given opportunities to engage with ongoing externally funded research projects and industry-led design projects.
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Adam Gustavsson Integrated Product Design MSc
Roberts Radio This family of audio devices aim to tailor a truly wireless experience through hands-free charging and easy app integration, to suit changing technological necessities. This Roberts Radio family range aims to meet the changing technological necessities of new consumers. Many users today expect smart capabilities from their headphones, and with a new generation of device users, the headphones must be able to keep up with these expected functions. This connected family of devices employs smart capabilities such as learning voices, connecting to people through walkie-talkie mode, picking up where you left off, and a convenient study/ work mode. Furthermore, with app integration, the user can control their settings and music all in one place, even linking multiple devices. These headphones come with charging devices that can be placed around the house, allowing them to be charged wirelessly.
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Ossia is a company that has developed wireless power. Ossia’s Cota technology safely delivers power to any device within a given distance. This works well within a room setting. This is a beneficial function when using headphones around the house for extended periods, especially with the rise of people using headphones at work/ home. When it comes to manufacturing, similar components have been used for the over-ear headphone outer shell and the in-ear headphone charging case shell. This has been done with an aim to reduce manufacturing cost and environmental impact. Aesthetically, Inspiration has been drawn from traditional Robert’s branding. The product tries to invoke similar colours and textures. With modern production methods, the customer is given the option of customising the classic Roberts colour scheme.
Ares Chatzaroulas Integrated Product Design MSc
Modular SCODE Stove This project focused on redesigning the SCODE cookstove to meet the demands of the end-user and maximise efficiency, as well as the process through which it is produced. The design concept focused on adhering to a design specification developed around efficiency optimisation and end-user requirements. The proposed stove is modular and configurable for coal or wood fuel consumption in addition to multi-pot cooking. It features easy draft control and fuel deposition, as well as stability through its conical & cylindrical form factors. Furthermore, it is easily taken apart to be stored or repaired if a single component needs replacing. Handling the product is made easy for any configuration through the placement of grips. An adjustable skirt allows for pots of various diameters to be used while ensuring proper air channelling. Metal components directly in contact with fire or smoke are coated in heat
resistant yellow paint. Other metal components are coated with conventional green paint for wear & tear durability. The stove has been specifically designed with streamlined manufacturing in mind, consisting of simple operations. To that end, similarly simple machines have been designed to enable SCODE workers to perform these operations. They utilise off the shelf metal components and wooden frames, which make part procurement easy and cost-effective, as well as installation and future refurbishment. Additionally, via the utilisation of mechanical advantage, either through a combination of levers and linkages or ball screw actuators, all machines effectively multiply the user’s input force. All machines have been designed to be mountable on workbenches, and thus by adjustment of the workbench, the workspace around the machine can ergonomically accommodate any user.
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Charles Bradley Integrated Product Design MSc
Protect Protect is a sun cream bottle which aims to limit plastic consumption and pollution by promoting sustainable strategies to encourage positive user behaviour. Tourists have a direct correlation to municipal waste in the ocean. This has been shown through the WWF report in 2019, measuring plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. These plastics can have a knockon effect, developing immune system deficiencies and neurotoxicity within marine biota. Can we provide an alternative, reusable option to plastic consumables to limit plastic pollution and change a user’s disposal behaviour, in turn protecting our marine life? To evoke a response from users, this solution utilises photochromic plastics to adapt according to the duration of exposure to UV rays and an applicator to ensure even application and measured consumption.
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Upgradeable, high quality and reusable, this proposal uses a product-service system to encourage the reuse of materials and proper product disposal, leading to a lower environmental impact and an extended product life span.
Dhilhan Hannan Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc
WIYA ‘A Story of a Lifetime’ WIYA ‘A Story of a Lifetime’ is an intergenerational ‘age-tech’ concept in the form of an iPad app which captures learning moments through stories and memories. WIYA captures the essence of “home” by forming and strengthening intergenerational family bonds through the act of learning together. The app captures content using technology on a tablet while leveraging a unique AI powered adaptive learning engine. The AI engine learns from user responses and curates a customised interactive experience. The aim of WIYA is to stimulate ‘capacity building’ and ‘critical thinking’ at an early stage of a child’s life while simultaneously increasing the older generation’s awareness about contemporary topics that impact everyday life. The AI engine is voice-enabled and is able to interact with users based on their responses. The interactions are designed to stimulate users to learn about each other regarding a chosen topic, such as
food, and further explore the topic together using vetted WIYA content curated by topic experts. While the endeavour of passing down knowledge through experience from the older generation as an intangible artefact or heirloom carries sentimental value, the app also offers sentiment exploration and memory storage by a young person for an older version of themselves at a later point in time. The evolution of WIYA may be beyond an app and in the form of a 3D hologram. The concept of mixed reality to enhance interaction in the form of telepresence while further aiding the deteriorating physical capabilities of the elderly is a real possibility once the technology is available for consumer use. This is an exciting use case that could be explored in the future.
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Don Wilson Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc
Avert-sound Avert-sound is a system of integrated physical and digital products, designed to create more comfortable acoustic environments for you and your neighbours through sound masking and sound absorbency. Whilst noise is an inclusive issue that affects everyone, urban and suburban households deal with more externally sourced ‘nuisance noise’ (neighbours/traffic), and those same households that also include children experience more internal noise issues. The Avert-sound system aims to reduce stress and anxiety in working parents and older people through better acoustics in the home. It does this in two ways. Wall-mounted panels made of naturally sound absorbent mycelium (mushroom roots) help soften and absorb interior and exterior noises. Through a programmable microphone and speaker unit, sound-masking of unwanted noise can be activated automatically.
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In addition to the sound-absorbing and masking via physical panels and the digital audio controls, the Avertsound wall system also operates as a functional shelving and planting frame. All aspects of the system are customisable online prior to ordering. LIDAR scanning technology, now widely available on mobile phones, allows the user to map out and plan their system quickly and easily. The Avert-sound system is designed upon Circular Economy principles of supplying an integrated and sustainable Product Service System rather than just a one-off product. The system is available to subscribers, who customise the system then rent the products for use at home. Ongoing maintenance, replacement, and end of life management is all part of the subscription package.
Eun Ju Mun Design & Branding Strategy MA
Mixed Reality for Retail Industry To create strategic design guidelines for enhancing the brand experience in Augmented Reality, embedded with human senses to become the next generation in Mixed Reality. The future of mobile is leaning towards Augmented Reality (AR) solutions that integrate virtual information into a user’s perception of the real world. While there are early implementations in retail installations, such as offering virtual dressing mirrors, more recent AR utilises consumer’s mobile devices offering virtual try-outs on the consumer’s body or in their own space. Industry-leading brands present more immersive and realistic experiences such as having a fashion show or launching an event mixed with a physical venue with an Augmented Reality experience. A recent corporate report from BCG confirms that brand-related goals such as brand favourability and brand experience comprise up to 86% of the retail business objectives of
AR marketing. In addition, recent overview articles have highlighted that the potential of mobile media through AR to build a meaningful relationship with consumers is unlimited. Industry giants are developing ways to integrate human senses into AR beyond smart glasses to become Mixed Reality. Therefore, how can we use Design to enhance a brand experience through AR? The strategy should focus on context when creating an immersive AR experience for the retail industry. Firstly, expand AR touchpoints to pre and post-brand experience by storytelling. Integrating personal assistants also allows users to engage better with the brand. Create an augmented experience by combining physical space as well as AR mixed with human senses such as evoking scent and music to become memorable. The role of Design becomes crucial for the retail industry shifting from AR as technology alone towards AR as creating compelling content and meaningful brand experience.
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Fahmida Raka Khan Design Strategy & Innovation MA
Patterns in the Furniture Industry How can culture can be expressed in furniture through traditional patterns - A Cultural Design Guideline for Furniture Industry. Emotional connection is a crucial decision-making factor when purchasing products. Cultural influence can build that relationship between consumers and products. Furthermore, the traditional patterns have rich ideological connotations derived from observations, reflections and experiences surrounding life and past culture. However, modern furniture loses the intangible connection to traditional stories and ancestral concepts these products once had. Humans constantly search for personal fulfilment, yet many companies do not care about the meaning of their products. Desk research has been vital for this project during the COVID-19 situation. The data collection and analysis processes comprise educational and practical scenarios
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that encompass exploration, in-depth research, and evaluation. This study investigates design thinking, expert insights and literature reviews. Journals regarding Emotional Design and Design-Driven Innovation proved instrumental in reviewing existing design guidelines and observing cultural events and museums. This research explains how traditional patterns facilitate emotional connections between consumers and products, and further highlights how the industry can become more inclusive and multicultural.
Hanna Hoch Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc
COSM COSM is a virtual world designed to connect community members and support the local economy by promoting online and offline interaction via digital game play. While social media connects users far and wide, it could be disconnecting them from their physical communities, reflecting and perpetuating the polarising aspects of society. How can virtual and physical worlds be merged to foster sustainable connections? Responding to the 20/21 RSA Student Design Awards brief ‘Bridging the Divide’ and inspired by swarm intelligence and the effect small-scale cooperative interactions have on larger systems, COSM paves the way towards more cohesive communities. Designed for local users by local users, community members can play collaborative games online to earn vouchers for local business and services in the physical world.
Users can learn to cooperate through a series of small, decentralised interactions, leading to more sustainable, resilient community networks. This smallscale cooperation can also serve as a base for tackling more serious issues through the collective action of community members. COSM is about changing how users belong to their communities. It encourages and enables community members new and old to connect in both virtual and physical worlds while benefiting the local economy. Featuring the positive power of social media in building and supporting communities, the future of this concept can grow with the introduction of emerging technologies to become a community resource. On this platform, gaming, volunteering, the gig economy, and other community activities coalesce.
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Haotong Zhang Integrated Product Design MSc
Stove Manufacturing Kit A Low energy modern cooking appliance for women in Kenya, reducing and eliminating the difficult production procedures involved in building a stove. The stove making kit is comprised of flatpack components, later assembled by the user. The kit includes specially designed moulds that utilise mechanical advantage to facilitate construction by those who are less abled. The production unit is divided into individual component manufacture and product assembly, both of which are founded upon generic handicraft techniques, resulting in a more inclusive build process. Pins are integrated into the moulds to press out the stove shape from thin iron sheets. This ensures each piece of iron has a consistent form whilst also reducing the difficulty of cutting the sheet. The unit-shaped iron sheet is pressed and bent on a wooden blank before a
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wire is passed through the holes at the top and bottom to obtain the fixed body of the stove. Two sets of cement injection moulds are later used to make the chassis of the stove and the fuel tray. After assembling the top and bottom parts of the injection moulds, cement is poured through the small holes in the top part. The mould can then be removed and assembled with the main body of the stove once the cement has set.
Jiahao Shi Integrated Product Design MSc
Roberts Radio Through the cognition and understanding of the brand, the brand elements that conform to the brand image are extracted and combined with future fashion trends, the headset is redesigned. The product was designed to conform to the brand image and market trends by combining the preferences and characteristics of the target population. Earbuds. Consumers who buy in-ear headphones have three common requirements: portability, good sound quality, and fashionable. The storage and charging box of wireless earphones is the carrier that best reflects the sense of brand value. Diversified designs can meet consumers’ requirements for portability and fashion, and it is also one of the key factors to attract consumers. The storage box design is similar to the style of the brand radio, with some details added to demonstrate the technology.
Over-ear headphones. The product is mainly made of leather material with decorative metal parts or connectors, which has a delicate touch and conforms to the image of retro style. The connecting and fixing parts are made of wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant aluminium alloy and use metal drawing and CD pattern technology to improve the decoration. The ear cups mimic the headband and use the same material and colour. This part enhances comfort through the use of skin-friendly cotton, linen and leather materials.
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Jinal Zaveri Sustainability, Entrepreneurship & Design MSc
Meat Earth Meat Earth is a hybrid (cultured + plant-based) meat brand that makes its ethical products widely available to combat the industry that causes the highest air pollution. Livestock farming is responsible for around 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the highest contributors to the current carbon footprint figure. Meanwhile, the transportation industry only accounts for 13%. Meat Earth is a proposed brand that promotes and sells a hybrid form of meat that contains cultured and plantbased meat. As cultured meat is speculated to become a consumer product in the next ten years, this brand is set to be established in 2030. The products will be sold both online (via an app), and physically in-store. These stores are designed to
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resemble a traditional butcher’s shop to help familiarise the target audience with the brand. In doing so, Meat Earth encourages an evolution, and not a revolution. Meat Earth provides a modern shopping experience by implementing QR codes and self-service tills during the payment and ordering process. Behind the scenes production videos also offer full brand transparency. The brand encourages individuals to shift from conventional meat to this hybrid format, decreasing the environmental impact of the meat industry while making the food item healthier. By eliminating the butchering process (only stem cells required), it becomes a more humanitarian approach towards food consumption.
Jonathan Ruscoe Integrated Product Design MSc
Next Generation Cook Stove for SCODE Redesign of the ‘SCODE improved Cook stove’ so that there is a more efficient use of material and reducing the strain placed on a person manufacturing. Sub Saharan Africa is on the verge of large economic growth; SCODE cook stoves are working in this rapidly growing market to bring work and financial security to many Kenyan men and women through manufacturing and distributing “improved cook stoves” across the country. This improved cook stove reduces the amount of firewood needed to cook meals but currently requires strong and highly skilled workers to produce it, given its crude design, which requires a predominately male workforce.
can be produced using the supplied simple tool. The stove is designed to be modular so that individual panels can be purchased to extend the life of the stove if parts wear out or break. The stove is designed to be flat packed down to 45x834x500mm, giving distributors the option to store and transport their stock more efficiently or be disassembled for moving transient working population in Kenya. The new cook stove is designed with fixtures for high or low modes appropriate for different fuel sources such as coal and wood.
The new stove is designed to be cut out of 1mm thick sheet steel which can be hand or plasma cut. The parts of the stove are retained by galvanised steel clips which
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Matt Bacarese-Hamilton Integrated Product Design MSc
Roberts Glow Aiming to launch Roberts Radio into the world of headphones, this project blends compelling user insight with the refined aesthetic and functional values of a heritage British brand.
forces on fittings. All the materials, from synthetic leather to brushed metals or recycled plastic fabric, all consider the environmental impacts, and much work has gone into mitigating these effects.
A crucial component in the visual language of these devices – Colour, Material, Finish (CMF) – drove proposals through development stages. The research looked into historical principles, interviewed innovative audio designers, and delved deep into competitor benchmarking. Cultural archetypes and brand essentials were analysed and fed into designs throughout the project. Inspection of recent trends helped strengthen the sustainability focus of these ideas, pushing Roberts forward with recent styles while staying true to the badge. Manufacture-ready, the Glow headphones and earphones had to consider machining, forming, technology and assembly; detail has been considered at all levels, even using Finite Element Analysis to model
Featuring six lithium-ion cells and a novel backlit touchpad interface, the headphones leap forwards against rival devices, providing a significantly longer battery life, exciting new features but not at the cost of performance. Similarly, dual drivers in the earphones deliver a balanced experience that is brought to life with touch controls and a stylish, interactive carry-case. Fitting with the existing Roberts palette, a number of personalisable options are available for these sophisticated, well-engineered audio devices.
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Neelema Sharma Design & Branding Strategy MA
Toolkit for Creative Entrepreneurs How can design be used effectively in creating selfhelp toolkits for creative entrepreneurs and micro businesses in order to establish stronger connections with consumers? Lockdown induced economic instability, job loss, and work flexibility has driven focus towards entrepreneurship in the quest of becoming selfreliant. The craft industry, often underestimated, can aid the local economy by increasing employment considering users’ growing appetite towards it. Creative entrepreneurs have strong command over their craft skills but a narrow interpretation of branding, which is limited to advertising and the logo.
study focuses on creating a ‘self-help toolkit’ for them, covering how to build stronger brands with the help of design-led branding strategies. The audience of this project is actually larger than one might expect. The audience includes artists, crafters, and design professionals and people who are passionate about a hobby but don’t know how to commercialise it and those who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic.
The findings suggest that often considered a luxury afforded by large companies; there are limited resources available on branding and the role of design in it for creative entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. This
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Nimesh Shetty Design & Branding Strategy MA
Building Restaurant Brands in India How design will enhance the experiences in Indian casual dining spaces to create compelling restaurant brands. The growth of the casual dining space in India has been transcendent in the last decade. However, it has the potential of growing threefold due to the projected economic surge. As the pandemic approaches its final phase, a sudden emergence of growth is projected. It is expected to affect the food and services industry significantly. The mass customisation approach has been gradually replacing the product and service-oriented approach in the current market. Such a change is credited to the consumers shift from just settling for a product, to expecting a more tailor-made user experience. There should be a rational bond between the customers and services. However, in the casual dining space in India,
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the understanding of factors influencing the brand equity and experience of the restaurant is rather weak. The widely accepted industry attributes are price, food, service, location and environment. In the modern-day, these parameters are relatively non-negotiable in order for a restaurant to survive. The focus of my research is the environment. The touchpoint journey for a restaurant from pre-purchase to post-purchase will be studied and synthesised into a toolkit considering the new normal. The entire customer experience from the product to the smell, touch, feel and sound all condenses down to brand experience. This is because the perceived image of a brand by the consumer is, in fact, the actual brand image.
Pan Xin Integrated Product Design MSc
Solar Headphones & Integrated Watch This product is an over-ear handphone that can be charged by solar energy. It is paired with an in-ear earphone that allows the user to listen to music and check the time. The over-ear headphone is embedded with a solar panel, which is positioned to receive sufficient sunlight. The collected electric energy is then transferred to the accumulator to provide a steady stream of power for the earphones; there is no need to worry about the earphones running out of power. The clean energy from the solar panels helps users reduce the use of nonrenewable resources.
song. To pause the music, the wearer just double-clicks the plus sign. The earphone charging box can be used as both an earphone box and wearable watch that is lightweight and convenient to use. The time can be checked on the surface of the earphone box, and the charging amount is displayed when charging. While wearing the watch, users can perform other activities more flexibly, such as running, dancing, and work.
The surface of the earcups is touch-controlled, making it convenient for operation. The earcups’ functionality is controlled by the central plus sign. The up and down gesture commands increase and decrease the volume, whilst the left, and right gesture commands change the
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Pol Blanch Integrated Product Design MSc
D-Shield This project provides a solution to the problem of pesticide spray drift in developing countries, an issue that threatens both our society and the wildlife across the globe. Pesticides are responsible for an estimated 200,000 acute poisoning deaths each year, 99% of which occur in developing countries. When sprayed, they can drift and upwards of 95% of applied pesticides miss their target, reaching nearby people and wildlife, waterways, soil and air instead. The solution proposed is a shield that improves the control over the spray and blocks the chemicals from drifting during application. Designed to be mounted in the sprayer body, it adapts to its form and allows for comfortable use. Farmers work long hours under hard conditions besides carrying the pressure backpack, which can weigh more than 20kg.
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This is the reason why the farming shield has been manufactured very lightweight, being only half a kilogram. A 3mm thick polypropylene sheet is vacuum formed, and from which two Velcro strips hang to be attached to the sprayer. The quantity of pesticides needed is then reduced thanks to the long span bent shape, inspired by a corn leaf. The product’s main target users are individual farms in developing countries such as China, Brazil and Vietnam, and it has a selling price of £8. With D-Shield attached, the pesticides will hit their correct target avoiding health and environmental issues in the surrounding areas.
Rebeka Toth Design & Branding Strategy MA
Film Aesthetic Emphasis Is there any disambiguation where, between design strategy, brand value and films core aesthetic elements are correlating and starting to reflect upon each other? This question supports obtaining the most efficient fashion brand engagement. A common trend in brands transmission is motion picture implementation in order to reach wider audiences. Controversially, lack of strategy can lead to simple commercials in today’s accelerated world where media noise is high, and customers’ patients are fragile. Fashion film is somewhere in between established genres, and this uncertainty might be its signature.
Additionally, film history and the moving image key aesthetic elements analysis such as texture, sound, colour, shape, pattern, or movement; have the ability to enhance customer satisfaction. Ultimately, the research seeks to recognise couture branding aspects and values to have a complete perspective of the brand operation and behaviour to formulate a design-led strategy accompanied by film’s visual components.
Although, the collaboration between fashion brands and the film industry predicts rewarding new paths. Exploring contemporary Haute couture case studies from Miu Miu ‘Women’s Tales’, Prada, Fendi, and various luxury brands indicate the essential impact on the market.
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Shuyun Du Integrated Product Design MSc
Badge Series This project aimed to design different wearable headphones that can adapt as adults engage in the sharing experience. They function as fashion accessories to satisfy and enhance the relationship. Users can share their life to increase interaction and extend the product lifespan. This product combines traditional and modern elements into a product series. As people show what they like, the badge represents change and is a fashion symbol. The Roberts brand has a long history in high-end audio. For a long time, their products have combined traditional brand elements with modern technology. This project explores how Roberts can extend the traditional brand elements and shift to a new product direction, to prevent this from becoming a problem in the future.
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The design consists of wearable headphones that can help adults to engage in their listening experience whilst doubling as a fashion accessory. The product will help to satisfy users and help them to share their daily life.
Tianli Hu Integrated Product Design MSc
Ambient Ambient is a smart wearable device that deters polarisation in social media, preventing impulsive actions led by negative mood using various sound delivered through technology. Ambient is a service design based on the Bridging the Divides brief from the RSA Student design award. The project focuses on solving the root cause of the growing polarisation and negativity on social media following the information age when the social pressures and negative motives behind members drive them into conveying and spreading polarisation and divides through empowerment. The outcome of this project is a service that plays a range of sounds to the user based on their emotion, activity, and mood. The sounds, inspired by film and media, aim to bring empowerment and reduce negativity.
Ambient has three core functions: Tune up. Powering you up in activities and exercises. Tune down. Helping you to stay calm in potentially stressful situations. Tune in. Using designated sound to focus you and achieve a higher efficiency during work. While the focus of most similar designs is on the censorship context of polarisation, or the catalyser, research shows that this is barely the symptom of the motivator, where the user’s true motive is the expression of their frustration through different means. Upon discovering the root cause, a series of rigorous developments pinpoint the precise solution to this very sensitive problem: Through the means of empowering service delivered by a personal, anonymous, lifestyle smart device, Empowerment Through Sound, This is Ambient.
Masters | Postgraduate | 221
Tuo Huang Integrated Product Design MSc
Inclusive Stove Utilising waste wheels to transform the stove; a more inclusive solution to the production and use of stoves. The use of waste wheels in the construction of stoves simplifies the processing methods required for production. By limiting operations to cutting and welding, the production of each unit is made more accessible to all employees. The stove has been ergonomically redesigned to prevent burns and reduce discomfort during use. In doing so, the stove mitigates the danger and difficulty of the cooking process.
222 | Postgraduate | Masters
Yingxuan Dang Integrated Product Design MSc
Dual-Stereo Headphones The Dual-Stereo series of headphones are conceptual headphones designed for Roberts Radio. The DualStereo innovates in functionality while finding attention to sound quality, reliability and safety. The Dual-Stereo headphones are designed for people who don’t want to wear headphones for long periods of time and are mainly aimed at older people who like to listen to the radio. The Dual-Stereo is distinctive in that it is both a headset and a portable radio. The DualStereo has a loudspeaker inside the headset, which is located on the inside of the baffle in the ear cups for over-ear headphones and on the front side of the battery compartment for in-ear headphones. The Dual-Stereo’s internal structure has been rearranged to allow for the dual construction of headphones and radio, with each earcup on the headset having a charging port and battery, and the earcups can be detached for use as a separate radio.
When the user wants to play music or listen to the radio, the Dual-Stereo turns from a headset into a radio. The user can switch between modes via the phone or the buttons on the headset. In terms of appearance, the Dual-Stereo continues the classic Roberts Radio style of black leather and white stitching that adorns the headphones, standing out as a brand identity and creating a sense of association with other Roberts Radio products. Dual-Sound follows the design principles of iStream3 - combining connectivity, stylish design and excellent construction quality and finish to feel excellent, high quality, and be reasonably priced.
Masters | Postgraduate | 223
Yujie Ge Integrated Product Design MSc
Roberts Radio To Design a headset that meets the Roberts brand value and combines an interactive system. While having retro elements, it should also reflect the sense of the future. When designing over-ear headphones, my first idea was to combine the characteristics of Roberts Radio with the element of the future. In Roberts’ past products, wood and leather are often used on the shell. Therefore, it not only gives Roberts radio a classic feeling but also reflects its brand value. On the other hand, with the development of technology, more and more products are replacing buttons with touch screens, which also reflects its sense of the future. So, I used these two points in my design. The touch screens outside the ear cups on both sides display the battery (left) and volume (right). You can control the volume by sliding the screen up and down with your finger, press and hold and double-click to pause, skip songs, and some
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other simple orders. Of course, some complex settings can be adjusted by downloading the Roberts app, such as screen brightness, display colour, mode switching, etc. In designing the in-ear headphones, I followed these design ideas. At the same time, I compared earbuds, in-ear and supra-aural these three types of in-ear headphone when choosing which type to design. The ear-buds are a nice choice because it can replace the earplugs and has a high fault tolerance rate and can adapt to almost everyone’s ear shape. But the body space of the In-ear phone cannot add too many hightech elements, so I just designed the appearance.
Zixian Lyu Integrated Product Design MSc
Roberts Headphones This Roberts headset design is aimed towards young people, combining retro and modern design styles to create an appealing final product. This project is a design solution for over-ear headphones and in-ear headphones that aims to discover more stylistic language experimentation and more design possibilities for the classic British brand Roberts. In terms of design thinking, it retains the strength of Roberts brand technology and continues some of the iconic design elements and physical interactions of Roberts products from previous years. In order to broaden the target user group of Roberts and attract more young users and make the Roberts brand more youthful, some new design elements have been added to make the product more in line with the needs of younger groups for headphone form and function.
The choice of over-ear style tends to be a retro, quadrilateral shape with rounded bumps and metal decoration; these design elements refer to the appearance of retro CD players and embedded discs. The same design elements are also used in the in-ear design to ensure a consistent product style was kept. In addition, the semi-open casing, combined with the adsorption-based storage and charging technology that has matured into existence in the current market, makes it easier to access and place, also makes the overall look lighter and more compact, and more in line with young people’s preferences.
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PhD design
226
Dr Eujin Pei Director of Postgraduate Research This year celebrates 35 years since our first doctoral student graduated from the School of Engineering and Design, now known as the College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences. Ahmet’s doctoral thesis was about a decision support system and a design methodology for operational management of industrial organisations. Since then, our doctoral researchers have branched out to investigate other topics encompassing human centred design, sustainable design, advanced technologies, and products, services and digital design. These topics are aligned with our newly formed research groups covering inclusive design, creative computing, additive manufacturing and 4D printing, design for sustainability, and the digital design lab.
Intelligence in sports, Joyce Lau’s work on the use of serious games as an effective cognitive and physical rehabilitation tool for the elderly, Chris Biggadike looking at the use of the complexity leadership theory with action research when leading teams of engineers, Nadine Fayyad who aims to introduce environmental design factors to improve the workplace performance and happiness of employees, Sena Berktaş looking at the use of communication design to address language barriers between Syrian immigrant parents and Turkish primary school teachers, and finally Seokwoo Nam exploring how the shape change behaviours of 4D Printed parts could be controlled by programming the print parameters and using Computer Aided Design.
For this year’s book, we present a selection of projects starting with Zakaria Najmi working on Artificial
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Leading Engineers in the 21st Century Using Complexity Leadership Theory CHRIS BIGGADIKE
Leading engineering teams has become an increasingly complex proposition. The complexity leadership theory promises to show a route to success where other theories are failing to deliver. Writing on this theory is often conflicting and inconsistent. By applying this theory to the leadership of an engineering team in an aerospace and defence organisation, this research seeks to derive a theoretical framework for leadership that may be generally applicable. The proposed methodology is the use of Action Research within a case study organization.
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This framework and the associated results will provide insights into the realities of applying complexity leadership theory and assist with moving this theory into
mainstream application. This research will include a case study organization, Ultra Electronics Ltd, as a UK based aerospace and defence engineering organisation that comprises of globally distributed engineering teams with a wide range of specialisations, methods and cultures.
A Framework and Serious Game to Support Those With Mild Cognitive Impairment JOYCE LAU
Cognitive decline is often common among the elderly. As a result, a range of cognitive games have been proposed to supplement or replace traditional rehabilitative training by offering benefits such as better engagement. This research focuses on mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an initial stage of cognitive decline that does not affect functioning in daily life, but may progress towards more serious cognitive deterioration, notably dementia. Unfortunately, while a variety of serious game frameworks and rehabilitative serious games have been proposed, there is a distinct lack of understanding about which of these can potentially support MCI patients. The research proposes the MCI-GaTE (MCIGame Therapy Experience) framework to develop serious games as an effective cognitive and physical rehabilitation tool. The framework is derived from a combination of a survey of related research literature in the area, analysing resident
profiles from a nursing home, and indepth interviews with occupational therapists (OTs) who work with MCI patients daily to help them overcome the disabling effects of everyday tasks. The conceptual framework comprises four sectors that may be used to guide game design and development: an MCI player profile that represents the capabilities of a player with MCI, core gaming elements that support
game-based and playful activities, therapeutic elements that support cognitive and physical rehabilitation through tasks and scenarios according to the player’s abilities, and motivational elements to enhance the player’s attitude towards the serious tasks. Together, they provide tailored support for rehabilitation needs and may also serve as a set of comprehensive and established criteria by which an MCI serious game may be evaluated. Evaluation with OTs revealed that immersive games potentially offer more effective and tailored support to MCI patients than traditional methods, contributing new possibilities for enhancing MCI rehabilitative training, while a comparative assessment of MCI-GaTE also demonstrates that it provides a comprehensive approach not currently offered by other rehabilitative frameworks.
PhD Design | Postgraduate | 229
In Pursuit of Happiness: Using Interior Design Through Emotional Psychology to Increase Workplace Performance NADINE FAYYAD
This research aims to expand the model of employee happiness through an Interior Design Intervention for increasing workplace performance. Historically, behavioural and psychological studies have focussed on the impact of the physical environment on human response and sought to understand how design could be adapted to peoples’ needs. Environmental design factors such as noise, temperature, colour, light and smell and physical factors such as patterns and forms could be used by organizations to help foster happiness and increase workplace performance.
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This research adopts the concept of happiness in the workplace which is derived from positive psychology that
promotes focus towards positive constructs such as pleasure, satisfaction, well-being and happiness. Studies show that happy employees stay on their jobs four times longer than unhappy ones, have 65% more energy, are 12% more productive, and commit towards twice as much time to their tasks.
Examining How Communication Design Could Help Overcome Challenges to Achieve Better Communication Between Syrian Immigrant Parents and Turkish Primary School Teachers SENA BERKTAS ?
This project aims to explore how communication design could be used to address language barriers between Syrian immigrant parents and Turkish primary school teachers.
are not familiar with the local education system. This research aims to reveal the underlying reasons that create communication challenges particularly between
Syrian immigrant parents and Turkish primary school teachers. Later stages of this research will explore external barriers and key requirements in detail with a view of providing Design-centric solutions.
Education is seen to be one of the most important issues within a community. The communication between parents and teachers is important to create a bridge between children, parents, and the school. However, immigrant parents often cannot speak the local language. They hesitate to talk with teachers since immigrant individuals are often excluded and
PhD Design | Postgraduate | 231
Shape Memory Effect of 4d Printed Parts Using Printing Parameters SEOKWOO NAM
The purpose of this study is to control the shape change behaviour of 4D Printed parts using Computer Aided Design and the material extrusion print parameters. Various filaments, infill patterns, and shape change behaviours were investigated. The experiments found that the shape memory effect largely depends on the material extrusion print pattern, and dense structures often lead to better recovery results. The rate of recovery is also
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significantly dependent on temperature as the stimuli. These numerical results were collected, and the findings were developed as a Visual 4D Printing Toolkit and a Web 4D Printing Toolkit to help designers and engineers control print parameters to achieve the desired shape recovery result and the time needed.
Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Football: Var Technologies and Psychological Warfare Using DecisionTheoretic Frameworks ZAKARIA MONTEIRO NAJMI
This project focuses on the relationship between football and Artificial Intelligence (AI) and investigates the use of Video Action Replay (VAR) technologies to minimise error and optimise sporting events efficiently. Over the years, we have included more and more technology into sport such as management and team analysis or using VAR to judge and correct decisions in-game. More recently, technologies have been questioned in football as to whether they improve the game, correctly aid official decisions, or had a hand in tactical management and setup. With these questions, the answer may lie within AI
technologies, and the steps needed to remove error and aid club management in pre-game decisions.
This research incorporates disciplines involving design, engineering, sports sciences and psychology to develop our understanding of how AI really affects football, individually and collectively. Elements such as Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Recommender Systems and Natural Language Processing will be considered. Emerging technologies such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can play a part in this tactically, impacting players and growing exponentially across training sessions and matches. The result of this research is to identify solutions to capitalise on the use of AI in game management.
PhD Design | Postgraduate | 233
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digital
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PLACEMENT MAP
18 UK Placements Stanley Black & Decker, Viacom, Walt Disney, Soapbox, Automatik VFX, Seven Seas, Brunel University London, Jesus House...
Placement Map | Digital | 237
Digital MediA
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Lewis Coombes Keep it Brief Project Manager Digital Media is a collective of two undergraduate BSc courses and an MSc programme, producing modern design for a digital age. On the BSc courses, designers keep up with the fast-paced digital world, meeting the current trends – and learning when to break them.
Digital Media has come together with Design to form the new Brunel Design School. This brings together our combined knowledge to cover the full spectrum of design and pooling resources so that all students can make the most of the facilities that the school posseses.
Of the two undergraduate courses, BSc Digital Design is the more populated of the two. These students take on a variety of projects, including web and mobile applications, interactive media, 360 marketing campaigns, and branding. BSc Visual Effects and Motion Graphics focuses more heavily on design for the moving image. Students on the course produce 2D animated motion pieces, visual effects integration with real-life footage, and 3D modelled creations. That is not to say that the courses do not overlap. Both courses tackle multidisciplinary projects so that students have a full knowledge of design in the digital and physical realms.
Representing Digital Media is Brunel Digital, a collective of students that come together to produce their annual showcase, this year titled Keep it Brief. This year, leveraging their technical expertise, an entirely virtual experience was built for industry and the public to enjoy, which can be viewed online. Presented here is just a sample of the work produced for students’ final year projects. The full showcase can be seen in Brunel Digital’s Keep it Brief eBook and print edition. We at Brunel Digital sincerely hope you enjoy the work on show.
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Adam Al-Baali Digital Design BSc
Consulta A medical app that focuses on providing the users with an all-in-one, linear experience when consulting their doctor. This medical consultation app aims to minimise and trivialise the remote consultation process by cutting down the need to use third-party tools and software. Besides providing an all-in-one experience, Consulta also works hand in hand with the NHS services, providing a more grounded and in-touch service, rather than relying on online doctors and forums. Linked to the real world, the app is more reliable and allows the users to feel more engaged and trusted. Furthermore, Consulta also provides some key features that are not prevalent in other apps. These features include registering with a GP, tracking prescriptions and more. These unique features, alongside integration with
240 | Digital | Digital Media
the NHS, allows the user to utilise the app even when remote consultations are no longer required, making it a hub of medical needs rather than a tool to consult with a doctor.
Daniel Bewsher Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc
Eden A collection of 3D animated shots from an animated short film. The film follows a character in an alternative future world where hostile robots end up running rampant. In this dystopian future, the robots eventually rebel and destroy humanity due to their mistreatment. The story consists of many different robots. Whilst they all have their own function and personality; all the assets were designed as a cohesive suite. The visual style of the project dictated the animation style and supports the film’s overall narrative drive.
environments. The main character was animated with a mixture of motion capture data and hand animation. All 3D aspects of this piece were modelled, rigged, textured, lit, animated, and rendered using Autodesk Maya. Adobe After Effects was utilised for compositing and editing.
All digital designs, 3D assets and animations are created from scratch and are all bespoke for this piece. Following a comprehensive industry-standard 3D animation pipeline was one of the focus points of this project. Most of the 3D elements were animated using hand-animation technique. This includes the robots, cameras, and the
Digital Media | Digital | 241
Francesca Roa Digital Design BSc
Phoenix Phoenix is a 360º marketing campaign that encompasses branding, packaging, advertisement, promotional video and UX/UI design The idea of the marketing campaign is to raise awareness and discourage the trends of unhealthy food often chosen in takeaway meals by young adults. The project proposes Vietnamese cuisine as a new and distinct food brand. This will be a new type of service that can combine a healthy food aspect as well as bringing a new taste experience to the United Kingdom. Customers would have the possibility to create their own Pho (which is the Vietnam national dish) through a cooking box called a Pho-Box. The packaging contains all the ingredients and utensils required to cook the delicious and healthy dish. The service would be accessible from a mobile application where the customer would have the possibility to choose either
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a click and collect or a delivery service. They will also be able to read where the ingredients come from, read the reviews, and share their experiences on social media. The overall approach of Phoenix is to create an engaging brand in a form of a multi-platform campaign to engage a community of Pho-Lovers to cook and eat healthier.
Francesco Ricci Digital Design BSc
Bee Well Introducing Bee Well, a post-surgery recovery app to help patients recover successfully by offering the best guidance, tracking activities and connection with experts. Straight from your surgeon, directly to you. Initially, the project started as an app that would enable anyone to chat with expert in virtually any field. Surveys and user interviews helped to understand that health services have more care for the patients recovering in the hospital than at home. Bee Well app was developed to help recovering patients at home to receive guidance from healthcare professionals and to form communities that will help others with similar health issues.
Whether it’s medication, daily questionnaires or exercise, Bee Well helps the patient stay in control of their health through a well-balanced recovery. By matching user treatment, providing the correct information at the right time and tracking user progress, Bee Well sets itself apart from the competition. This project includes a prototype application, a branding and marketing strategy, including billboards and userfriendly illustrations in order to effectively reach the potential users.
In addition to providing post-op recovery options to patients, Bee Well sets up rehab exercise plans to cover the critical stages of recovery after surgery.
Digital Media | Digital | 243
George Bailey Digital Design BSc
Fantasy RPG A retro video game concept influenced by the Narnia book series. Images show the player’s primary touchpoints, menu UI, location navigation, and battle system. The aim is for the game to be a single player medievalfantasy themed RPG (role playing game). The medievalfantasy theme is directly derived from the inspired source material. When considering the game’s visual style strong influence was drawn from illuminated manuscripts & other similar middle age art forms. This manifested in character and enemy designs, as well as environmental aspects and UI elements such as menus. Old medieval artwork also provides a wide range of bizarre and unique depictions of strange creatures which aligns well with the fantasy element.
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Graphically the goal was to make the game similar to mid/late 90s era video games (retro style). Due to hardware limitations of the time, games of the past had to adopt techniques like pre-rendered backgrounds to save on memory. This meant games didn’t have to render fully 3D modelled scenes in real-time but instead load in still images as a backdrop. Character models also had to be more simplistic to keep games playable. Today’s technology has advanced beyond the need for these techniques, but their presence is synonymous with the previous generation and the famous games that populated it.
Julien Zephir Digital Design BSc
Petadesk Property A live project working with Petadesk Property, with the idea to design a brand and mobile app for a business idea the client had.
customers. From the research gathered, it was decided to create an outdoor campaign on public transport in London to reach a large audience and social media advertisement on platforms such as Instagram.
A holiday property booking app was developed with more security and management capabilities for the properties. This is to create more trust with the customers and take the stress off the host as Petadesk Property would manage their property for them and let the guests in. The main problem with current property letting apps is that the properties are not regulated from the app, causing a lot of scams and trust issues with potential customers. Petadesk Property solves this problem with the services that it provides for its customers. A 360-marketing campaign was also created to help promote the brand and its services to potential
Digital Media | Digital | 245
Lawrence O’Sullivan Digital Design BSc
DoodleTrek The project seeks to encourage people to exercise. The approach is an artistic escape from data-driven results. Delivered via an application and a wearable device. The project has a robust brand identity guideline and a marketing campaign. 37% of the UK population is not exercising regularly. High-calorie foods and a culture of instant gratification have created a lack of incentive to exercise. Existing exercise apps such as Fitbit and Samsung Health provides gamified experiences that are driven by statistical data. Health and Fitness technology is yet to provide the tools for sharing data in a playful manner. DoodleTrek offers a creative solution to escape from data-driven results and encourage people to exercise on a regular basis. The high-fidelity application prototype and rendered wearable device assist by using the users’ movements to create doodles that
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can be edited and shared with the DoodleTrek Community. The art of doodling does not require a high level of artistic training; it will not deter those that lack confidence in art or exercise. DoodleTrek approaches its target audience aged between 23 to 35 through experiential, print and digital marketing. The idea is to market the experiential experience through Mind, the mental health charity. The walking event seeks to engage its audience and bring people together to express themselves by doodling through the steps they take.
Lewis Coombes Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc
Hamish An exploration of the 3D character development pipeline and visual storytelling. Development encompasses initial concept to final animation for final use in film-based visual effects. This final year project focused on creating a full 3D character. Various concept designs were produced as part of an entire industry focused pipeline, moving through modelling, texturing, rigging, and finally to animation and renders. Industry standard tools such as Maya, Substance Painter, and Arnold Renderer were used and augmented with self-written custom python plugins to speed up the creation process. The final character, JMD-021 Malachite Class Unit: “Hamish”, comes from a fictional mining corporation, visible in his heavy weathering. Getting a real sense of character across was important in this project, hence the expressiveness in the eyes and gestures.
Digital Media | Digital | 247
Rowan Bean Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc
National Trust Advert This final year project was to produce an advert as part of a campaign for the National Trust, which would showcase some of the many locations and properties they maintain. The impact of the recent lockdown, due to the global pandemic, has highlighted the need to embrace the outdoor space to improve health and wellbeing. Members and visitors are key to the running and survival of charities such as the National Trust and this has been threatened in recent times. This final year project produced an animated photorealistic advertisement to showcase the many beautiful locations and properties that the National Trust maintain and preserve. This advert was designed to show the varied National Trust properties and environments available to visitors and annual members, through the seasons.
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This was achieved through the creation of four ident adverts which could be joined to show one full-length advert, of four National Trust property locations set in the four seasons. Benjamin Franklin House, London as city location in winter, Osterley Park & House, West London, stately home location in spring, Souter Lighthouse, South Shields, coastal location in summer and Hughenden, High Wycombe, forest location in autumn. The desired outcome being to encourage more visitors and new members to the National Trust through this advert, as well as using the images for a 360 campaign.
Tom Merry Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc
2nd Nature Skate Brand 2nd Nature was created with a focus on creating a more sustainable skate brand, utilising recycled plastic to construct decks and implementing motion graphics to promote the brand.
live action and kinetic typography to 3D animation. The intention is to create unique and engaging content to help sell the brand energy and a new approach to creating skating products for a wide audience.
2nd Nature has been created to prove skating can also be a sustainable business. All decks would be constructed with recycled plastics. Plastic waste can be traded in by customers within exclusive pop-up stores. Customers can also gain access to discounts across the stores or enter limited edition product giveaways. The more plastic traded in, the higher the discount or number of tickets to enter the raffle. Motion design has seen a huge boost in popularity as a form of promoting products across digital platforms. As skate brands have yet to utilise this appealing form of marketing material, 2nd Nature intends to use a variety of Motion Design approaches to create content, from
Digital Media | Digital | 249
Xavier Mod Digital Design BSc
Starplan A concept for a browser-based, resourcemanagement and war-based multiplayer game. Starplan adopts historic browser and text-based strategy game concepts, within a modern, mobilefocused user interface. Browser games are video games which are played using web browsers. These games offer advantages over traditional forms of gaming, namely the portability and transferability of web browsers and operating systems. The worldwide browser-games market grew to $26.26 billion in 2021, with slow download speeds highlighted as one of the most restrictive factors among players. Starplan is a conceptualised and designed web-browser game. A detailed set of high-fidelity mockups allows users to take a look at all aspects of the game, including the interaction between screens. As part of the final submission, a functional high-fidelity prototype was
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included to navigate the user through the game, and an implementation plan which details the necessary technologies to turn Starplan into a minimal viable product. Starplan is the first browser game that mixes both text-based strategy and card-based combat genres. Furthermore, Starplan is one of the only games that integrates original, text-based gaming mechanics in a modern user interface.
Zeel Jethwa Digital Design BSc
VYTAL VYTAL is an AI-based health application that offers an all-in-one solution for current healthcare problems. VYTAL provides various tools to track, manage and learn about health, whilst integrating wearable devices.
user experience. In order to facilitate this, features were integrated such as 24/7 doctor consultations, augmented reality medication management, anatomical twin 3D experience, and more. Retrospectively, VYTAL can transform into a centralised system for existing healthcare frameworks.
As we are currently experiencing a pandemic, our health is our number one priority. Currently, there is an alarming lack of general medical applications on the market which is increasingly frustrating for the general public and health professionals. The exponential evolution of mobile technology and wearable health devices has created a dynamic market now worth over $40.7 billion. VYTAL makes healthcare simple, fast, and uncomplicated (as it should be). By simplifying health management, a more holistic approach has enabled a curated, hyper-personalised, and sophisticated
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UNDERGRADUATE DIRECTORY
Alejandro Núñez Vicente
Alex Cummings
Industrial Design & Technology BA alexnunezvicente@gmail.com pp. 086, 188
Industrial Design & Technology BA cummingsalex17@yahoo.co.uk pp. 087, 184
Alex D’Souza
Alice Mitchell
Product Design Engineering BSc alex@alexdsouza.com pp. 088, 174
Product Design BSc alice.mitchell@live.com pp. 089
Alison Tuffin
Ana Charlo Briones
Product Design Engineering BSc atuffin6@gmail.com pp. 090
Product Design Engineering BSc
Andrew Nagel-Smith
Anisah Shah
Industrial Design & Technology BA andrewnagelsmith@gmail.com pp. 091, 172
Industrial Design & Technology BA anisah_shoaib@hotmail.com pp. 092, 188
Ariane McCormack Jones
Arthur Dean-Osgood
Industrial Design & Technology BA acemj3@gmail.com pp. 054, 093, 172
Industrial Design & Technology BA arthurdeanosgood@gmail.com pp. 094, 182
Barney Twine
Cameron McNab
Industrial Design & Technology BA dtbt2525@gmail.com pp. 066, 095, 192
Industrial Design & Technology BA bymcnab@gmail.com pp. 096, 178
254 | Back Matter | Undergraduate Directory
pp. 180
Carys Bowen
Charlotte Willis
Industrial Design & Technology BA clbdesign411@gmail.com pp. 097, 182
Industrial Design & Technology BA charlottee.williss@gmail.com pp. 098, 190
Chukwudi Madukah
Clément Bolle
Industrial Design & Technology BA design@chukwudi.studio pp. 099
cb
Product Design Engineering BSc pp. 100
Dan Parkins
Dani Cropley
Product Design BSc pp. 186
Industrial Design & Technology BA daniellej.cropley@gmail.com pp. 101, 172
Daniel Fredericks
Diana Cirlig
Industrial Design & Technology BA danfredericks.df@gmail.com pp. 102, 194
Industrial Design & Technology BA dianamariacirlig10@gmail.com pp. 103, 176
Edd Lawrence
Ellen Parkinson
Industrial Design & Technology BA edd.lawrence72@gmail.com pp. 104, 186
Product Design BSc ellieparkinson14@outlook.com pp. 105, 180
Eloise Ball
Emily Lucas
Product Design Engineering BSc eloiseball.eb@gmail.com pp. 055, 067, 106
Industrial Design & Technology BA emily_lucas_lazcano@outlook.com pp. 107, 190
Emma Rafferty
Enya Dodson
Product Design BSc emmarafferty@hotmail.co.uk pp. 108
Product Design BSc enyadodson@gmail.com pp. 109
Undergraduate Directory | Back Matter | 255
es
hc
Eva Sobonova
Fahim Mohammed
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 186
Industrial Design & Technology BA fahimlm11@gmail.com pp. 110, 188
Fred Anthony
Freddie Prentice
Product Design BSc frederickanthony99@gmail.com pp. 111
Industrial Design & Technology BA freddieprenticedesign@gmail.com pp. 112
Gabriele Grigaite
George Leeson
Product Design Engineering BSc grigadesign@gmail.com pp. 056, 113, 176
Industrial Design & Technology BA george_leeson@hotmail.com pp. 114, 192
George Sanders
Greg McCaffrey
Industrial Design & Technology BA georgermsanders@gmail.com pp. 115
Industrial Design & Technology BA gregmccaffrey@outlook.com pp. 116, 178
Hugh Crowley
Isabel Rees
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 190
Product Design Engineering BSc isabelrees98@gmail.com pp. 057, 117
Jai Woolford
Jake Chamberlin
Industrial Design & Technology BA jaiwoolforddesign@gmail.com pp. 074, 118, 188
Product Design Engineering BSc jake.chamberlin1234@googlemail.com pp. 119, 176
Jaskaran Singh Pawar
Jay Bedi
Industrial Design & Technology BA jaskaran_pawar@hotmail.com pp. 068, 120, 184
Product Design Engineering BSc jaybedi98@gmail.com pp. 121
256 | Back Matter | Undergraduate Directory
Jayda Bailey
Jessica Cooper
Product Design Engineering BSc jaydaadbailey@gmail.com pp. 058, 122
Industrial Design & Technology BA jessicacooper.design@outlook.com pp. 069, 123, 186
Joanna Power
Joe Allen
Product Design Engineering BSc Joannapower8@gmail.com pp. 059, 070, 124
Industrial Design & Technology BA
Joe Ground
Joel Ambrose-Brown
Industrial Design & Technology BA j.ground98@gmail.com pp. 125, 172
Product Design BSc ambrosebrownj@gmail.com pp. 126
Joseph Toumazos
Joshua Duddridge
Industrial Design & Technology BA joseph.toumazos@gmail.com pp. 127, 192
Product Design Engineering BSc joshdudds@gmail.com pp. 128, 180
Juliette Bird
Juliette Clark
Product Design Engineering BSc juliettebird18@gmail.com pp. 129, 186
Product Design Engineering BSc clarkjuliette@rocketmail.com pp. 130
Ka Ng
Kaelum van der Berg
Industrial Design & Technology BA ngkacjason@gmail.com pp. 131, 184
Product Design Engineering BSc vdbkaelum@gmail.com pp. 132, 174
Kalani Smith
Kara Wong
Product Design Engineering BSc kalanismithdesign@gmail.com pp. 133
Product Design Engineering BSc karaphaikyee88@gmail.com pp. 134, 174
pp. 182
Undergraduate Directory | Back Matter | 257
Karishma Bhugoowan Industrial Design & Technology BA karishma.bhugoowan@gmail.com pp. 135, 180
Kevin Hessabi
kh
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 188
Kieran Fitzgerald
Lauren Ord
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 190
Industrial Design & Technology BA lauren.ord@me.com pp. 136, 180
Liberty Kimber
Lin Pak Shing
Industrial Design & Technology BA liberty.kimber@gmail.com pp. 137, 190
Industrial Design & Technology BA linpakshing123@gmail.com pp. 138, 192
Louie Duncan
Louisa Plane
Product Design BSc louieduncan8@gmail.com pp. 139
Industrial Design & Technology BA louisaplane1@gmail.com pp. 140, 180
Luca Bertacca
Mai Doan
Industrial Design & Technology BA lucabertacca@gmail.com pp. 141, 194
Product Design BSc doanmaixp@gmail.com pp. 142, 176
Malav Patel
Maria Beatriz Inacio
Industrial Design & Technology BA malavpateldesigns@outlook.com pp. 143
Product Design Engineering BSc mbfinacio@gmail.com pp. 144
Marina Marbella
Marisa Sabourin
Industrial Design & Technology BA marinamarbella19@gmail.com pp. 145
Industrial Design & Technology BA marisadesigns@outlook.com pp. 146, 184
258 | Back Matter | Undergraduate Directory
Matthew Reeves Product Design Engineering BSc mattjamr@hotmail.co.uk pp. 060, 147
mi
nq
oe
Max Hill
mh
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 174
Mehrab Iqbal
Michelle Sambo Briceño
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 184
Product Design Engineering BSc sambo.michelle2@live.com pp. 148, 194
Miles Holloway
Moritz Hedrich
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 192
Product Design Engineering BSc moritz.h@btinternet.com pp. 061, 149
Niyu Qian
Noah Woodman
Product Design BSc pp. 188
Industrial Design & Technology BA noah.woodman2015@gmail.com pp. 150, 178
Oghenerume Ebeniyoko
Oliver Treherne
Product Design Engineering BSc r.egbeniyoko@gmail.com pp. 151
Product Design BSc oliver.treherne@sky.com pp. 152
Ollie Singleton
Oscar Lindsey
Industrial Design & Technology BA singletonollie@gmail.com pp. 153, 194
Industrial Design & Technology BA oscar@thevisuallife.co.uk pp. 154, 178
Pablo Guembe-Young
Paramveer Bhachu
Industrial Design & Technology BA pablitoguembeyoung@gmail.com pp. 155
Product Design Engineering BSc p.sb123@live.co.uk pp. 062, 156
Undergraduate Directory | Back Matter | 259
sm
Paris Papacharalambous
Peter Griffen
Product Design Engineering BSc parispapacharalambous@outlook.com pp. 157
Product Design BSc peter.bg@btinternet.com pp. 158
Pitchaya Rudeenorawate
Sayo Adelakun
Product Design BSc pitchaya.rudeenorawate@gmail.com pp. 159, 176
Industrial Design & Technology BA @designbysayo pp. 071
Sebastian Morawiec
Sophie Morelli
Industrial Design & Technology BA seb.morawiec@outlook.com pp. 160, 184
sm
Industrial Design & Technology BA pp. 186
Thomas Mander
Thomas Sutton
Product Design BSc thomas.mander333@gmail.com pp. 161, 194
Product Design Engineering BSc suttontom2222@gmail.com pp. 162
Timothy Philbin
Tobias Crabtree
Industrial Design & Technology BA tim.philbin1999@gmail.com pp. 163, 178
Product Design BSc tjcrabtree@btinternet.com pp. 164, 174
Tsun Lim Lai (Mario)
Usman Khan
Industrial Design & Technology BA marioltl0829@gmail.com pp. 165, 192
Industrial Design & Technology BA usman.nav@gmail.com pp. 166, 176
Will Hardy
William Curry
Product Design Engineering BSc wjllhardy@gmail.com pp. 063, 167
Industrial Design & Technology BA williamlewiscurry@googlemail.com pp. 168, 178
260 | Back Matter | Undergraduate Directory
Yasmine Fell Industrial Design & Technology BA yasmine.fell@hotmail.com pp. 169, 190
Undergraduate Directory | Back Matter | 261
POSTGRADUATE DIRECTORY
Adam Gustavsson
Ares Chatzaroulas
Integrated Product Design MSc pp. 202
Integrated Product Design MSc ares.hatzaroulas@hotmail.com pp. 203
Charles Bradley
Chris Biggadike
Integrated Product Design MSc charlie.bradley@rocketmail.com pp. 204
cb
PhD Design chrisbiggadike@talktalk.net pp. 228
Dhilhan Hannan
Don Wilson
Sust., Entr., & Des. MSc dhilhanhannan@gmail.com pp. 205
Sust., Entr., & Des. MSc don.wilson@donwilson.co.uk pp. 206
Eun Ju Mun
Fahmida Khan
Design & Branding Strategy MA geenpin00@gmail.com pp. 207
Design Strategy & Innovation MA fahmidarkhan@yahoo.com pp. 208
Hanna Rose Hoch
Haotong Zhang
Sust., Entr., & Des. MSc hoch.hanna@gmail.com pp. 209
Integrated Product Design MSc
Jiahao Shi
Jinal Zaveri
Integrated Product Design MSc
Sust., Entr., & Des. MSc
pp. 211
pp. 212
262 | Back Matter | Postgraduate Directory
pp. 210
Jonathan Ruscoe Integrated Product Design MSc jonathan.ruscoe12@gmail.com pp. 213
Joyce Lau
jl
Matt Bacarese-Hamilton Integrated Product Design MSc matt_bh@hotmail.com pp. 214
Nadine Fayyad
NF
PhD Design nadine.k.fayyad@gmail.com pp. 230
Neelema Sharma
Nimesh Shetty
Design & Branding Strategy MA neelema.20@gmail.com pp. 215
Design & Branding Strategy MA shettynimesh14@gmail.com pp. 216
Pan Xin
Pol Blanch
Integrated Product Design MSc pp. 217
Integrated Product Design MSc polblanch@gmail.com pp. 218
Rebeka Toth
Sena Berktaş
Design & Branding Strategy MA
sn
PhD Design jlau.lsy@gmail.com pp. 229
pp. 219
PhD Design sena.brk@hotmail.com pp. 231
Seokwoo Nam
Shuyun Du
PhD Design milrab0112@gmail.com pp. 232
Integrated Product Design MSc
Tianli Hu
Tuo Huang
Integrated Product Design MSc tianlihu0223@gmail.com pp. 221
Integrated Product Design MSc 610441722@qq.com pp. 222
sb
pp. 220
Postgraduate Directory | Back Matter | 263
zn
Yingxuan Dang
Yujie Ge
Integrated Product Design MSc
Integrated Product Design MSc
pp. 223
pp. 224
Zakaria Najmi
Zixian Lyu
PhD Design zaknajmi@hotmail.co.uk pp. 233
Integrated Product Design MSc 1034423372@qq.com pp. 225
264 | Back Matter | Postgraduate Directory
DIGITAL DIRECTORY
Adam Al-Baali
Daniel Bewsher
Digital Design BSc adamalbaali@gmail.com pp. 240
Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc danbewsh@gmail.com pp. 241
Francesca Roa
Francesco Ricci
Digital Design BSc francescaroa@live.fr pp. 242
Digital Design BSc riccigraphics@gmail.com pp. 243
George Bailey
Julien Zephir
Digital Design BSc georgebaileysocial@gmail.com pp. 244
Digital Design BSc
Lawrence O’Sullivan
Lewis Coombes
Digital Design BSc lawrence.osullivan@outlook.com pp. 246
Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc lewis.coombes@lcvfx.co.uk pp. 247
Rowan Bean
Tom Merry
Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc rowan.bean@madebyrowan.co.uk pp. 248
Visual Effects & Motion Graphics BSc tommerry458@gmail.com pp. 249
Xavier Mod
Zeel Jethwa
Digital Design BSc hi.xavier.mod@gmail.com pp. 250
Digital Design BSc zeelsanatkumar1@hotmail.com pp. 251
pp. 245
Digital Directory | Back Matter | 265
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CENTRAL RESEARCH LABORATORY Central Research Laboratory (CRL) is the UK’s leading accelerator and co-working space for hardware startups and product pioneers. It has supported hundreds of entrepreneurs to launch and scale their companies through product development, commercial strategy, prototyping, mentorship and access to a network of investors, mentors and partners. Based at The Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes, West London, CRL helps Brunel graduates and alumni who want to turn their product and technology ideas into a new business. CRL runs a sixmonth accelerator programme supporting early growth stage product pioneers. Six companies are selected to take part in an intensive support programme focused on product development and design, commercial and growth strategies and investor readiness. Brunel alumni to go through the CRL accelerator programme include: Cosi Care, Aceleron, Mimica, Wase and Pet Instincts who have gone on to win multiple awards and raise millions of pounds. The CRL also partners with Brunel to offer exciting opportunities for students and graduates to connect and collaborate with startups. We recently ran a CRL Accelerator Hackathon for Design and Business students. The Central Research Laboratory is part of the Plus X network of innovation hubs. Plus X creates inspiring workspaces that drive business growth and innovation, community collaboration and positive social impact across the UK. Find out more here: www.plusx.space
268 | Back Matter | Acknowledgements
CO-INNOVATE Innovation is a key business growth mechanism. However, without the right expertise, knowledge and resources in place, creating a new product or service or even introducing a new process or technology is inherently risky. Co-Innovate is a business support service based at Brunel Design School and jointly funded by Brunel University London, the European Regional Development Fund and the Greater London Authority. Consisting of two interrelated programmes: Brunel Co-Innovate Journeys and Bridging the Gap, the service directly helps Londonbased SMEs and graduate entrepreneurs launch, grow and scale their innovation activities, while mitigating risk by connecting them with Brunel’s world-class facilities and knowledge resources. Companies interested in working with Co-Innovate can benefit in a number of ways: engaging with students on collaborative projects to address real-world business challenges, innovation mentoring, helping to apply for project funding, tailored input from specialised academics, business growth training workshops, and networking events. If you are interested in exploring how Co-Innovate can help your business expand through innovation, please get in touch at co-innovate@brunel.ac.uk to speak to one of our Innovation Directors.
Acknowledgements | Back Matter | 269
DESIGN FACTORY LONDON Imagine the possibilities of an international network of highly motivated students, researchers and educators working together to stimulate, teach and support collaborative innovation. Imagine then the ability to work with this community of innovators to help you gain new perspectives and solutions to the opportunities and challenges you face as an organisation. Design Factory London is Brunel’s new innovation initiative focused on making these ideas a reality. Brunel University London has now joined the Design Factory Global Network (DFGN, dfgn.org), the first higher education institution in the UK to obtain membership of this network. DFGN is a worldwide association of 33 design-led innovation hubs at universities and research organisations across Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Design Factory London are creating a collaborative innovation centre in Brunel with the three objectives in mind: Teaching human-centred, collaborative innovation to students from all disciplines across the university. Partner with external organisations from all sectors in developing innovations centred on real-world challenges, opportunities and challenges set by organisations themselves. Collaborate across the Design Factory Global Network to develop innovative solutions together, working across national and professional discipline boundaries. If the idea of working with our students on your innovation challenge is of interest, or if you simply want to find out more about how we work, please contact us at: dfgn@brunel.ac.uk.
270 | Back Matter | Acknowledgements
DESIGN PLUS Design Plus is an ongoing design support programme by Brunel Design School, focused on promoting and developing collaboration between the School and industry with an emphasis on design innovation and knowledge exchange. The programme is targeted at medium-sized businesses, large corporations and public sector organisations – both nationally and internationally. Brunel’s Industrial Design, Product Design, Product Design Engineering, and Design Strategy programmes are amongst the highest-rated in the UK. Since 2004, students and academics from these programmes have applied their creativity and knowledge in collaborative design projects for a wide variety of companies, including Brompton Bikes, Hornby, British Telecom, JLR, several hospital trusts and many more. Design Plus projects involve working with clients on the design and development of radical new ideas for products, services and processes. Students work individually, or in small teams, supported and guided by their supervising tutor, to deliver design solutions of a very high standard. A Design Plus project is an opportunity both to access fresh thinking and to add considerable value to the collaborating student’s education and career prospects. If you have a real-life design challenge, we could help you gain a competitive advantage. To discuss collaboration opportunities, please get in touch at: designplus@brunel.ac.uk.
Acknowledgements | Back Matter | 271
ENTREPRENEUR HUB Part of Brunel Careers, the Entrepreneur Hub exists to provide free support for students and graduates who want help to develop their ideas (especially final year projects) into winning businesses. Support available includes unlimited 1-1 consultations with your own Hub Business Consultant, expert advice from Intellectual Property, Marketing and Finance professionals and potential funding through bursaries, Brunel Venture Competition prizes, incubator support, accelerator support and Santander CEO programmes. Budding entrepreneurs and others can attend monthly workshops and events run by the team, encouraging transferable skill development. The Brunel Entrepreneur Hub have now launched both an Incubator programme and through collaboration with the Central Research Laboratory, a Pre-Accelerator Programme, both with around six businesses. Made in Brunel success stories supported by the Entrepreneur Hub include: Stephanie Monty Industrial Design and Technology BSc 2016 graduate and founder of Ostique, www.ostique.co.uk. Lauren Bell Product Design BSc 2018 graduate and founder of Cosi Care, www.cosicare.co.uk. Anil Puri Product Design Engineering BSc 2018 graduate and founder of Pet Instincts, www.petinstincts.com. If you wish to explore turning your final year project into a business and commercialising your idea with the Entrepreneur Hub please get in touch at: hub@brunel.ac.uk.
272 | Back Matter | Acknowledgements
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE At Brunel Design we are proud of our links with industry and the professional experience that our designers gain. Typically, 75-80% of second-year design students complete placements or international exchange programmes each year. Placement opportunities are broad, including product design, industrial design, engineering, lighting, graphic design, packaging, interior, branding and digital. Brunel encourages students to undertake international placements, in countries such as France, Italy, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, the USA, China, and Malaysia. Brunel Design also has excellent links with Politecnico di Milano, Italy; TU Delft, the Netherlands; San Francisco State University, USA; and ISD Rubika, France, all of which provide the invaluable opportunity to study abroad for 1 year, often undertaking master’s level modules. Brunel’s Professional Development Centre is dedicated to enhancing our students’ professional experience. Our Careers team support our design students from their first year at Brunel through to after graduation, providing expert industry advice and support to find employment. We successfully connect employers with students and graduates for placements, internships, part-time work and graduate-level roles, and organise events throughout the year, including employer-led events, careers fairs and guest lectures from our industry partners. If you are interested in taking on a Brunel student or graduate, visit our website www.brunel.ac.uk/pdc. Or contact us at: design-placements@brunel.ac.uk
Acknowledgements | Back Matter | 273
SANTANDER UNIVERSITIES Santander Universities’ partnership with Brunel University London launched in 2014, since then we have helped to deliver life-changing experiences to students through a range of scholarships, grants and start-up awards for student-led businesses. Our programme has benefited hundreds of Brunel students with international mobility awards, scholarships, internships, whilst also supporting multiple student entrepreneurs and local SMEs with direct and indirect financial support. Through Brunel’s incubator at the Central Research Laboratory, we have provided direct monetary assistance to over a dozen Brunel start-ups, by providing equity-free seed funding grants, networking opportunities and part-funded internships. Santander Universities continues to be deeply embedded in the wider enterprise activity at Brunel, including the Made in Brunel awards, Venture Competition and the Co-Innovate business pitches. Given that the quality of enterprise education at Brunel is so strong, it should be no surprise that in 2018 and 2019, Brunel start-ups won the annual Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards! This year students presenting at Made in Brunel will win a share of £2,000 thanks to Santander Universities. #SantanderuniversitiesUK
274 | Back Matter | Acknowledgements
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MADE IN BRUNEL TEAM 2021 Note from the Editors This year has been unique in many ways, and we faced countless challenges along the way. Our incredibly supportive team stayed through the late nights, kept us laughing, and smoothed what would otherwise have been a very bumpy road. You all went above the fold and beyond this year, so thank you!
276
Directors Joanna Power & Joe Ground
Publications Carys Bowen & Luca Bertacca
Branding Paramveer Bhachu & Yasmine Fell
Events Ellen Parkinson & Tobias Crabtree
Marketing Kara Wong & Ollie Singleton
Social Media Alex D’Souza & Heather Acay
Web Dani Cropley & Noah Woodman
Planning Barney Twine & Marisa Sabourin
New Designers Charlotte Willis & Enya Dodson
Communications Alison Tuffin & Chloe McCourt
Research Liaison Emily Lucas
Workshop Liaison Stanley Binns
Made in Brunel Team 2021 | Back Matter | 277
THANK YOU We began our journey in the middle of one of the most challenging times our generation has ever faced. With a lot of uncertainty on how this academic year would play out, we came together and defeated the odds to deliver our own unique version of Made in Brunel. Thanks to the immense effort from both the team and the unlimited support of staff, students and external companies; we have been able to deliver a brand and showcase that we are all very proud of and will remember for years to come. For this reason, we want to give thanks to everyone who has taken part and been involved in this experience. Book Editors
Photography
Carys Bowen Luca Bertacca
Alex D’Souza Chloe McCourt Ollie Singleton Patrick Quayle
Alison Tuffin Dani Cropley Ellen Parkinson Joanna Power Joe Ground Noah Woodman Paramveer Bhachu Stanley Binns Tobias Crabtree Yasmine Fell 24 Hour Design Challenge Cambridge Consultants Chanel Dimplex Future Nova MERU Quagga Design Smallfry therefore Turbulent
278 | Back Matter | Thank Acknowledgements You
Special Thanks Busayawan Lam Chloe McCourt Clive Gee Eujin Pei Eunju Mun Vanja Garaj Hua Dong John Boult Marilyn Powell Matt Bacarese-Hamilton Nimesh Shetty Paul Turnock Ryan Smith Steve McGonigal James Stephen Paul Barrett Paul Josse Stanley Binns Vincent O’Horo William Pierce
PAUL JOSSE At the bottom of the stairs in Tower B, there is an office that most design students could find with their eyes closed. This office is home to Paul Josse, someone without whom, Made in Brunel would not be possible. The whole of the MiB team and design students owe Paul a huge debt of gratitude. You will be hard-pressed to find someone as passionate about Made in Brunel and the values we keep as Paul; he has championed our cause since the very first year of Made in Brunel, and still has just as much drive and passion for the project today. Thank you for helping us overcome the challenges of COVID, for building displays for the final showcase, for solving any problems thrown our way, and for keeping us on track throughout the year. From the whole MiB team, Thank You!
Acknowledgements Thank You Paul | Back Matter | 279
Copyright © 2021 Made in Brunel All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. A CIP catalogue of this book is available from the British Library. Made in Brunel is a registered trademark of Brunel University London. ISBN: 978-1-908549-51-8 Printed by Geoff Neal Group www.madeinbrunel.com Made in Brunel Brunel University London Uxbridge UB8 3PH Editors: Carys Bowen & Luca Bertacca
280 | Back Matter | Legal