Gold, silver, and bronze Best Awards for MDS graduates

MDS was among the award winners at the recent Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ) Best Design Awards, with students from the Bachelor of Media Design, Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies, and the Graduate Diploma of Creative Advertising picking up eight gold, silver and bronze awards.

The 2021 awards night was postponed multiple times due to the challenges of the pandemic, but was finally held online last month.

“The standard of work is exceptionally high at the Best Design Awards, so to achieve eight awards including three Golds is a testament to the quality of the programme, lecturers and students involved,” says Jim Murray, Programme Director, Bachelor of Media Design.

Taking out all three of MDS’s gold awards was Rose Norgrove for Dual, an innovative medical device that provides blood glucose testing and insulin delivery for Type 1 diabetics. This tops off a string of wins for Rose, including a Red Dot Junior Award and gold in the Australian Good Design Awards.

Commenting on Dual, Judges said “Beautiful craft and execution from start to finish across multiple touchpoints: physical, digital, and brand. Combines the aesthetic and the utility of the product in a professional way. Awesome to see this calibre of work at a student level.”

“It’s great to see students being awarded for design projects that seek to make a meaningful difference in people's lives, from a digital platform that helps educate new migrants about the Treaty of Waitangi to a medical device that assists with Type 1 diabetes management. This is thoughtful and well executed design at its best,” Murray added.

"Creative Advertising students don’t enter Design awards usually, but one enterprising student team thought they’d have a go and picked up a bronze from a portfolio of ideas which also won a D&AD New Blood Portfolio Pick last year," Kate Humphries, Programme Director of Creative Advertising said on the bronze award winning submission Press Penguin.

Dual

Gold – Student Digital Design, Gold – Student Product Design, Gold – Student Public Good

Rose Norgrove – Bachelor of Media Design

Dual is a simplistic and compact device, which provides users with blood glucose testing and insulin delivery. The device utilizes cutting-edge technology to provide automatic lancing and blood collection in one simple motion.

After the reading has been analysed, the user can enter their carbohydrate intake and deliver insulin through injection. The dosage (bolus) is calculated automatically based on the user’s insulin sensitivity, which can be set via the app, preventing human errors as these calculations are complex and change depending on the time of day.

“As a Type 1 Diabetic myself, I have designed Dual to resolve all of the pain points I have encountered over the last 12 years. Dual has been designed to fit into everyday life, providing users with the freedoms afforded by detached devices, and the benefits of automation. Dual allows diabetics to live with less equipment, less complications, and more control”. Rose Norgrove

You can read more about Dual in our earlier article where Rose won the prestigious international Red Dot Award here.

kō

Bronze - Student Digital Design

Thomas Graham, Sarah-Faye Meyer, William Taylor - Bachelor of Media Design

kō is a conceptual practice addressing loneliness afflicted by the pandemic’s lockdowns on a communal level. It is an outreach program which utilises a variety of mediums such as digital and print, to carry the message of empathy, kindness and understanding in the community.

Loneliness is commonly defined as “a state of solitude or being alone”, however, research suggests it is much more than this. Rather, it is an emotional reaction to perceived isolation, which makes it more difficult to form meaningful connections with others. This project hopes to create bridges between individuals in the community.

kō is a social project that seeks participation out of consideration for the wellbeing of others, be it neighbours, family, friends or strangers. It works to benefit the community by creating bridges that lead to meaningful conversations and social interaction, especially post-lockdown when communities attempt to recover from the effects of isolation.

Katoa Te Tiriti – Treaty For Everyone

Silver - Student Toitanga, Bronze - Student Digital Design, Bronze - Student Public Good

Smita Poddar – Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies

Katoa Te Tiriti is a digital platform (mobile app) which allows people to read Te Tiriti o Waitangi, sign it and share it. It is an intriguing and creative platform for migrants to show their respect towards the Treaty and the Indigenous Māori community by putting their mark on it, to acknowledge and give their approval.

The aim of this project is to give a platform to newcomers to learn about Te Tiriti o Waitangi and its cultural heritage and give their affirmation in order to reassure their identity in a new country. This will help integrate them better as a part of the community and show their respect to this newfound community that they are building.

“I am an immigrant from India, arrived in 2016, now settled here as a permanent resident. My objective is to encourage newcomers in this country (like myself) to know and respect the indigenous community / culture of the place.” Smita Poddar

Press Penguin

Bronze – Student Digital

Léon Bristow, James McCulloch, Chinmay Patel – Graduate Diploma of Creative Advertising

Press Penguin is a social media extension that allows you to finally take control of those annoying pings from the internet and truly get lost in the page. By teaming up with social media all you need to do is simply press on the Press Penguin, and not only will your pings become silent, but friends and family will be able to see that you’re reading.

As an added bonus Press Penguin has been extended into a product - the World’s Smartest Bookmark. Using the same pressure sensitive cells that your phone uses to detect your fingers (and hard surfaces) this bookmark knows when it’s sitting inside a book. When your book is open it then feels the lack of weight, and sends out a coded message to your phone saying ‘don’t bother me’. Meaning you can shut the world off, simply by opening your book.