informatics & design FACULTY OF

f or the f aculty of Informatics & Design, the year 2014 was dominated by our position as the leading academic partner of Cape Town’s World Design Capital (WDC) activities. We used the opportunity both to focus our research and strengthen our networks in an emergent design ecosystem. What is particularly gratifying is the way in which we have been able to start working on interdisciplinary research projects within our institution and with others.

The faculty is developing strong capacity both in participatory research and interaction design, while design for sustainability remains at the core of what we do. The academic highlight of the WDC year was that Prof Ezio Manzini took up a three-month visiting professorship with us, during which he presented a series of seminars, lectures, keynotes and public talks. These activities were not only very valuable to our staff and students from a content perspective, but they also assisted greatly in building the faculty’s profile as a key mover in the field of design research.

We also played a leading role in a number of key conferences. Once again we ran our own Design, Development & Research Conference (DDR) in the Homecoming Centre of the District Six Museum, and used the opportunity for building bridges with the community. We also had a very strong presence at the CUMULUS Conference in Johannesburg, and a group of 20 staff and postgraduate students undertook a participatory research journey along the West Coast and through the Namib Desert to attend and present at the Participatory Design Conference in Windhoek.

Our supervisory support continues to grow in strength with a summer school in January, a winter school in July, and postgraduate support sessions on Monday and Thursday evenings and Friday mornings. These sessions are augmented by full day writing sessions on Fridays.

The result of all these initiatives is that we are seeing a steady growth in postgraduate students and research output, as well as the improvement of staff qualifications.

CONFE r ENCE F u ND i N g (CONFCO m )

N AT i ONA l rESEA r CH F O u NDAT i ON F u ND i N g (N r F) imaginethat* is the official platform for all of CPUT’s WDC projects. a CPUT office and website were launched in february 2014 to coordinate the university’s involvement in WDC 2014. The imaginethat* office and website were launched to act as a platform for CPUT’s officially recognised WDC 2014 projects and to showcase their journey from inception to completion. The office is headed up by Mr Bruce Snaddon, Senior Lecturer and CPUT coordinator for the WDC 2014. rESEArCH & iNNOvATiON FuND FOr TEACHiNg & lEArNiNg (riFTAl) uNivErSiTy rESEArCH FuNDiNg (urF)

DVC: rTIP Dr Chris Nhlapo said at the launch that the imaginethat* website would be a valuable tool to understand CPUT’s involvement in WDC 2014 – not only for designers, but also for other students and staff at CPUT. “The design community can be inclusive. However, the process of preparing for WDC 2014 has shown me that design is actually an area for all of us. We need to incorporate design thinking in all we do.” Dr Nhlapo also announced that he hoped to attract a Design Chair to CPUT to consolidate and drive research in this area.

CPUT had the highest number of successfully accepted WDC 2014 projects of all higher education institutions in the city.

Graphic design students illustrate music video

Third-year Graphic Design students’ drawings have come to life in a 5-minute music video they produced during their final term. The project involved professionally recording an original song, filming appropriate scenes and sequences, and finally exporting the video as separate images and recreating these as water colour illustrations.

Graphic Design lecturer Mr Sean Beukman said it took 1500 drawings to complete the task. “These were then re-edited to produce the stop-frame animation effect. It was very hard work but the results are quite stunning.”

Students worked closely with the Student affairs Media Department and musician Lodi Paul, a master’s student in Graphic Design, to record their song Hirondelle. The song uses the metaphor of a swallow that cannot find its way home and then flies with the wind, making new locations its home. Hirondelle is a tribute to displaced people and political refugees globally.

The video can be watched here: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=rg32rBCsDQ8

Design students help prevent shack fires

CPUT design students have turned their talents to alleviating shack fires. Students from Industrial, Graphic and Surface Design were asked to create customised packaging for an imported fire prevention tool. The firefighter is imported from China, where it is successfully used in factories and apartments.

Students were divided into multidisciplinary groups of six, and had four days to redesign the Chinese packaging of the firefighter to suit a local audience. one of the winning students, Sebastian Bosman, said each discipline brought its own specialty to the project. “I think our product is a good reflection of the huge amount of work we put in. everything, from the colours to dual purpose packaging, was carefully considered.”

Industrial Design students focused on the actual packaging and wall mounting, Graphic Design students concentrated on reinterpreting the instructions, and Surface Design students were involved with the materials used.

The firefighter is a community outreach project of local company ritcom, who envisages distributing it in areas that are vulnerable to fire.

Research comes to life

The research of a CPUT master’s student came to life in 2014 in the form of a WDC website and a stand at the Design Indaba expo held in february. adam Weston, whose research focusses on the effects of an online platform on the real world, is the graphic/interaction designer behind the imaginethat* website launched as a platform to coordinate all of CPUT’s WDC 2014 efforts.

adam’s previous research focused on campus signage and how this could improve students’ campus experience. This time around he worked with a multidisciplinary team from CPUT’s Graphic and Industrial Design Departments to translate the imaginethat* website into a CPUT stand at the Design Indaba expo.

Project coordinator Ms andrea GrantBroom said that the ability to literally walk into his research was a unique opportunity for adam to live his topic. “The CPUT stand of 2014 became a physical manifestation of the imaginethat* website, showing how you can make an online brand physically present.”

The Design Indaba expo was inaugurated in 2004 and provides a commercial platform for South african designers to leverage goods and services to the local and global markets. CPUT has a strong relationship with the Design Indaba expo, having participated in the exhibition with custom-made stands for the past seven years.

Rhino-inspired shoes

CPUT students were at the forefront of creating an innovative product that is gaining a lot of attention in the USa. Sole Creatures is an animal-inspired children’s shoe line developed by conservation enthusiast Mr Gary flax, who turned to CPUT students for the creative brain power he needed to get his project off the ground.

Mr flax travelled from Johannesburg to work with Industrial Design students. four students were selected to assist him in the development phase of the one of a kind range. Using biomimicry technology, Sole Creatures feature an exterior as tough as rhino skin, non-slip soles featuring the animal’s print impression, and the general look and feel of a rhino in the design. other styles in the range are inspired by whales and elephants.

Mr flax said he is indebted to CPUT for the assistance he received in the planning and implementation of his dream. “If we don’t do something fast about poaching we are going to lose all of the rhinos. I aimed to make an attractive yet comfortable shoe that would educate people about the rhinos’ plight.”

The range has been endorsed by National Geographic Kids, and has become very popular in the USa. a number of celebrity endorsements are being discussed.

Mr flax said he will never forget the incredible creativity and enthusiasm he encountered at CPUT. “The students did a brilliant job. I would love to collaborate with CPUT again at a later stage.”

The range can be viewed at www.solecreatures.com

CP u T academics pen handbook

Several CPUT academics have contributed to a handbook titled The architective – Building Construction Standards for South africa. The book, released early in 2014, is the first of its kind to deal specifically with South african standards that regulate the landscape, building and architecture industries.

The handbook will be used as a textbook by CPUT students enrolled in the Landscape Technology and the architectural Technology courses from 2014 onwards. Coordinator of the Landscape Technology course and one of the handbook contributors, Mr Johan van rooyen, said the project spanned a twoyear period and involved more than 30 academics and industry representatives researching various topics and writing comprehensive chapters.

at just under 600 pages, this publication contains more than 2000 detailed drawings and photographs, and covers a wide range of topics including landscape construction, energy conservation and design accessibility. other CPUT academics who have contributed to the book include Mr Gerhard Griesel from the Landscape Technology Department, Ms Hermie Voulgarelies and Ms Jolanda Morkel from the architectural Technology Department, and CPUT alumnus Mr Jaco Jansen.