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Design Week recognise Anne Chick

Anne Chick, Director of Kingston's Sustainable Design Research Centre, was named among the most influential sustainable design people in the UK. The accolade came from the design industry magazine Design Week which described her as 'one of the leading campaigners for Green design, all of whom are striving to embed its core principles whenever and wherever they can.'

 

Anne, who is also Course Director of the new MA Design for Development, said what was really significant about the Design Week story was that she was named along with people from the industry and the not-for-profit sector.
"It was an acknowledgment that academia is now part of the solution," she said.

 

"The article also mentioned the new MA in Design for Development. It was very timely because the first cohort will graduate in late September and some of our students are already making names for themselves. On top of that Kingston is doing research relevant to the industry and we also offer a way for people already working in the area to increase their skills. The industry has recognised the importance of that."

 

FADA Associate Dean - Research & Enterprise, Professor Fran Lloyd, said she was delighted Anne had been identified as one of the leaders in green design. "This is recognition of her work for over 15 years in sustainable design and of the leading role that Kingston University is playing in this crucial area."

 

"Anne has worked closely with a number of organisations in the UK and abroad including the Design Council and her activities have directly benefited students at Kingston. One example is the MA Design for Development that has recruited excellent students who are engaged with green design and are now making their mark nationally and internationally."

 

ThinkPublic local project

Many of the MA Design for Development student are working with ThinkPublic (the innovative Public Service Design practice) on a co-design health project with the residence of the Kingston upon Thames Cambridge Housing estate. They have been working with ThinkPublic, Kingston NHS PHT, various charities and residents. They are interviewing stakeholders and involved in organised events etc. There will be a co-design event on the estate on Saturday, 18th July. This project is great live experience for the students to experience co-designing community engagement first hand.

Ecodesign student of the year

Rao Qingfang (MA Design for Development, Audi Design Foundation scholar 2009/10) won the first prize of the inaugural Ecodesign Student of the Year Competition in China In April 2009. She received the award for her service design - OrgnanicRepublic.cn - a new service which engages Chinese farmers and consumers collaboratively in sustainable food production and consumption. The Ecodesign Student Competition was part of the third Eco Design Fair held in Shanghai. Competitors are Chinese students across all design disciplines. The competition aimed to promote awareness of sustainability and challenged design students to address the theme of responsible consumption.
In May, Rao was shortlisted for a Design and Research Internship at Forum for the Future, a UK sustainable development organisation. The internship was required to be able to work effectively across design and research in the innovation team. It was a highly competitive short-listing process – many applications applied for the position and all the applications were of a very high standard.

International Internship

Liani van der Westhuizen (MA Design for Development (Audi Design Foundation scholar 2009/10) was selected from other postgraduate students internationally to take one of 25 places on the Building Communities: Strategies when building houses for the urban poor two week workshop in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil from 6-17 April 2009.
The Architecture Sans Frontières-UK (ASF-UK) workshops explore the social issues and participatory methods required when working as a professional in the international development sector. 'The workshops encourage reflective practice through an interactive learning experience. ASF-UK courses do not directly partake in building design and construction work unless directly related to the workshop programme'.
During this workshop she worked with a youth group from the community based organization Sociedade Primeiro de Maio. The workshop involved a photo mapping exercise where they distributed disposable cameras to the youth group and asking them to take pictures about their houses and neighbourhood. Pictures were developed and they run discussion groups to unfold the main impacts of the Ribeira Azul Programme on their
well-being. In the final day of the week, an exhibition took place with the most controversial pictures from the workshop. Stakeholders and local politicians were invited to have an insight of the discussions that took place. As part of this process, participants were trained on frameworks for monitoring and evaluation of development programmes using participatory methods. The relation between poverty, housing, and development were explored.

 

Pick 'n' Pay Design Prize

Charlotte Coetzee, 2007/08 Audi Design Foundation postgraduate sustainable design scholar (fada.kingston.ac.uk/SDRC/Audi) has taken top honours in Pick n Pay's latest initiative to reduce use of plastic bags. In November last year, the South African retailer launched a web-based design competition, inviting budding designers to submit designs for a new and stylish eco-friendly Pick n Pay bag.

 

On Wednesday, 14 January 2009, an expert panel, comprising style guru Edith Venter; Condenast's Bianca du Plessis; fashion wiz, David Tlale; creative director of Y&R Cape Town, Clinton Bridgeford; Pick n Pay marketing expert, Lyndsay Webster-Rozon and Pick n Pay internal communications executive, Tintswalo Khosa, selected the ultimate winner and two runners up from the top 10 designs, as judged by Pick n Pay shoppers via the company's website.

 

The bags will be manufactured by Township Patterns, where women from previously disadvantaged backgrounds who are members of cooperatives which they own and manage themselves. Currently, Township Patterns supports 21 women on a regular basis - this is set to increase to 33 by launch date. The bags, which are manufactured from entirely locally sourced natural fibres, will be available in Pick n Pay stores around the country from March 2009.

 

The winning design will be a limited edition, after which a range of bag designs will be available.

 

Charlotte said, "I am really excited to get my work out there and I love the fact that it will be empowering women and also encourage the re-use of shopping bags". See Charlotte's bag here (PDF).