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Jill Slater - Jewellery and Metal Design
(photograph credited to photographer Noel Shelly)
Jill Slater's work draws reference from the architectural details of the new Scottish Parliament building. She photographed the stair railings, structural joins and glass window frames as inspiring points for developing her product designs. Slater's salt and peppershakers combine aluminium and rosewood, which reflect the contrast between the metal piston-shaped posts and wood banisters of the building. This combination of elegant traditional design, and function within a contemporary motif have also been carried through to her jewellery designs. Here Slater's work captures the reflective hues that the glass and steel of the building resonate. Jill received a Goldsmiths bursary in order to develop her works and hopes to apprentice in a jewellery and design studio.
Michael Wood - Innovative Product Design
How many jumps would an Olympic training trampolist do in a year? The answer according to Michael Wood is 19500 jumps every six months of training and 204 jumps per year in competition. Wood has spent his degree year researching the training methods of trampolinists and investigating how the stress impact of the bounce affects the foot. This has led him to create a prototype training and competition sock that uses familiar and affordable fabric options. His tests for the endurance of these materials included refitting a belt sander with trampoline material, which determined the amount of wear and tear on the prototype materials designed.
By slowing down the video footage of the University of Dundee trampoline training team he was able to collect the necessary information of contact between the foot and the trampoline. He then approached Dr. Rami Abboud, an Orthopaedic surgeon at Ninewells Hospital, who guided him on his findings and tested the relevance of materials used by the sport industry. This reveals that light weight - high impact material was needed to be redistributed to the contours of where the trampoline hugs the foot in order to reduce friction injuries. While the ventilation systems also needed alignment to where the foot perspires and where sweat pools. Wood is working on two sets of socks - white for competition, and bright coloured for training. He has been recognized with three-Year Medals for his achievements during his studies at Duncan of Jordanstone.
At the age of 22, Kelty born Wood is hoping to receive sponsorship in order to continue his studies on to a PhD level.
Ross McVinnie - Graphic Design
Graphic Design is the second degree for 29 year old McVinnie at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. His passion for snowboarding has manifested snowboard graphics for men, women, and children such as 'Apache, Butterfly, and Scraper'. They draw their inspiration from his recent snowboarding travels to the United States of America. Where waiting in lengthy queues he longed for a snowboard that would defy gravity and travel up the slops as well as down. Isaac Newton's theory inspired the logo for his 'fin' design - an apple with wings. After Graduation he hopes to promote his designs to snowboarding companies.
Scott McIntyre - Interior and Environmental Design
25 year-old Scott McIntyre, originally from Glasgow, has been thinking a lot about how to improve the Cultural Quarter of Dundee. With his passion for all things wood he has come up with a building for the location of Southtay Street car park that would be a community workshop for woodwork, sculpture and photography. The building would also have a museum and gallery space, aswell as a café. McIntyre believes that this kind of resource for Dundee would encourage arts graduates to stay on in the city. He also is keen to propose that such a building could run workshops for the general public, to especially learn how to be creative with wood, from wood-turning to sculpture.
Scott's degree show will exhibit his ideas for the building. Even his architectural plans have the creative edge, being unusually presented in a comic book format to link into the tradition of comics in Dundee. Examples of his own creations from wood will also be on show, including an interactive sculpture reminiscent of a spine, a series of bowls made with a lathe, and a collection of jewellery.
Scott, who is currently gaining experience by working at Nicoll Russell Architects in Dundee, plans to stay on in the city. His work can next be seen in the Designers and Art Directors 'New Blood' exposition in London in June this year.
Sarah Fergusson - Textiles Design
Sarah, from Edinburgh, sees her work being easily translated into lighting as well as fashion garments. For her degree show Sarah has created elegant, lightweight, sculptural fabrics and forms out of unusual materials, taking as her main inspiration the natural structure of the spiral and the bubble. In one sample, shell-like spirals are made out of compressed foam, which is lightweight and able to retain its rigidity. In another fabric sample, bubble-like stretchy material is made from gathering pleats of a rigid metallic material. Sarah has also explored high - tech methods including heat treatment techniques onto compressed foam and interfacing, (the stiffening material used in shirt collars). In the last year she has also experimented with material made from medical fibres. She incorporates metallic material and uses monochrome colours to emphasise the structures and forms.
Fergusson sees that the role of the textile designer as a versatile one, and enjoys working across the art forms. Her favourite designers, Isse Myake and Maria Blaisse, have created designs for dancers and the theatre, involving making large simple forms that are lightweight with an emphasis on structure. Sarah also takes a theatrical approach to her designs, concentrating on movement, shape and performance.
Sarah completed the foundation course at Leith College of Art in Edinburgh before coming to Dundee. Upon graduating, Sarah will take part in the New Designers design fair in London. She plans to move down to London and work with an interior design company or alongside a freelance fashion designer, and sees her work being easily translated into lighting as well as fashion garments.
Christine Magill - Interactive Media Design
The work versus life balance has been the focus research for twenty-two year old Christine Magill from Newtownards in Northern Ireland. Keeping it in the family Christine decided to use her father who is a structural engineer as her guinea pig in order to make an interactive system that would help him to manage this delicate balance of work and leisure time. To identify ways for him to deal with the mix of work and family commitments, Christine analysed his public and private life to discover that triggers were important in how he altered his identity for his different roles; for example her father is known as Mike to the family but to work colleagues is called Michael. Christine was also fascinated to see how her father coped when family life and work life collided. On a meal out with his family he answered a work call in the restaurant, writing important numbers down on his palm. Upon getting home he photocopied his hand with the information instead of writing it down onto paper, and took it to work to file.
Christine's research as a whole explores the social impact of high work levels on the family. Her research during her final year widened out and led her to unexpected outcomes, including a survey of the general public. The results of her research will be seen on an interactive website for her Degree Show.
Magill was awarded an eight week placement on the Shell Technology Enterprise Programme in 2004. This placement was at the advertising company, Dimex - The Branding House in Belfast, where she created a digital showcase for their website. After graduating she is going on to do a Masters in Civil Engineering at the University of Dundee.
Design education at Dundee creates internationally sought after graduates with excellent design skills. In addition to the School's established portfolio of programmes in Textile Design, Graphic Design, Jewellery & Metal Design and Interior & Environmental Design, this year, for the first time, the ground-breaking new programme in innovative product design will be exhibiting work at the Degree Show.
Head of School: Jeanette Paul
Degree Show Home Page