Ara 2021 Graduation Exhibition
We’re giving you a sneak peek at some of the graduating talent coming out of Aotearoa this year, and a taste of what they’ve been working on.
Pitch is the final exhibition of Ara third year Bachelor of Design students. This year, the graduates specialisations are represented through a silver balloon.
The silver balloons show audiences that creativity can be fun, spontaneous and exciting, especially when one is willing to explore other avenues and possibilities that are not grounded in rules and regulations. As it floats out into the world, we the graduates will too.
Overall, PITCH is a celebration of creative ideas and the best work from students in Visual Communication, Applied Visual Arts, Motion Design, Fashion, and Photography.
The silver balloons show audiences that creativity can be fun, spontaneous and exciting, especially when one is willing to explore other avenues and possibilities that are not grounded in rules and regulations. As it floats out into the world, we the graduates will too.
Overall, PITCH is a celebration of creative ideas and the best work from students in Visual Communication, Applied Visual Arts, Motion Design, Fashion, and Photography.
Alice Rose – Snow Lies
Are fairy tale villains actually responsible for the crimes we’ve charged them with? Misinformation once seemed like harmless human curiosity and convenient stories to make sense of complex issues. With recent world events, the spread of misinformation has proven to have the capability to cause distrust in science and democracy, and to radicalise peers.
People process information more efficiently when it’s conveyed through narrative form, and once these narratives are established, information that challenges it is often resisted. Misinformation capitalises on this, which is why it can be so compelling and difficult to correct. Snow Lies explores fake news in fairy tales and offers a new perspective on the villains. Traditionally, fairy tales were used to teach lessons on societal values.
I’ve drawn on this by using them to demonstrate the framework of misinformation, while simultaneously making associations between fake news and fiction. I have a keen interest and find enjoyment in the process of creative problem solving, research and developing concepts. Ara has provided me with new methods and techniques to draw on and has challenged me to think even further outside of the box. “What if?” is a question I’ll continue asking.
People process information more efficiently when it’s conveyed through narrative form, and once these narratives are established, information that challenges it is often resisted. Misinformation capitalises on this, which is why it can be so compelling and difficult to correct. Snow Lies explores fake news in fairy tales and offers a new perspective on the villains. Traditionally, fairy tales were used to teach lessons on societal values.
I’ve drawn on this by using them to demonstrate the framework of misinformation, while simultaneously making associations between fake news and fiction. I have a keen interest and find enjoyment in the process of creative problem solving, research and developing concepts. Ara has provided me with new methods and techniques to draw on and has challenged me to think even further outside of the box. “What if?” is a question I’ll continue asking.
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Anjali Budhia – Wrapt
The idea behind Wrapt stemmed from my love of gift giving. However, behind the excitement and joy of it all, a heavy toll is being placed on our environment.
It’s no surprise that during the holiday season we tend to produce substantially more waste, due to unwanted gifts and excess wrapping materials, like bubble wrap and paper. Sadly, a lot of these mediums can’t be recycled through normal waste channels. Wrapt is a campaign that promotes and encourages mindful gift giving. Its key message is to: ‘give a gift that keeps on giving’. The name originates from the slang word, wrapped. The definition, while being the past tense of ‘wrap’, can also reflect the feelings of delightedness we experience when we receive a gift.
While not only thinking about the quality of the gift, Wrapt looks to lower the amount of waste produced around the holiday season. I was heavily inspired by the concept of ‘circular product design’ which encourages the concept of repeatable, recyclable processes. This involved exploring new design mediums, ensuring that products would fit this criteria. Wrapt‘s goal is for gift-giving individuals to change their habits and give mindfully by making sustainable choices.
While not only thinking about the quality of the gift, Wrapt looks to lower the amount of waste produced around the holiday season. I was heavily inspired by the concept of ‘circular product design’ which encourages the concept of repeatable, recyclable processes. This involved exploring new design mediums, ensuring that products would fit this criteria. Wrapt‘s goal is for gift-giving individuals to change their habits and give mindfully by making sustainable choices.
Ash Broadhurst – Grubby Kai
Grubby Kai, in a nutshell, is all about inspiring growth for your whānau. I’ve combined the essentials of quality family time with a chance to grow education, challenges and a happy and healthy lifestyle, all while getting a little grubby.
As the generations pass by us, we slowly lose connections to our roots. We have a land filled with rich Māori culture and a land lined with organic produce to fuel our bodies. While perceptions change and our connections grow weak, we lose the most important part of who we are as a nation. As I discovered this harsh reality, I questioned: How might we encourage young Kiwi families to grow their own produce, as a way of growing deeper connections between Māori culture and nourishing the mind and body.
Thus, Grubby Kai was born… to provide education, encourage growth and challenge perceptions, just by growing produce right in your own māra (garden). I’ve gathered valuable information, guides, tips and products to encourage whānau contribution and life-long values and education. The app guides users through every process; from notifications/reminders to plant and harvest crops, to Māori legends and stories to keep you connected. Grubby Kai expresses an authentic feeling of life. Chaotic, challenging and above all empowering.
Ella O’Donoghue – Voisin Fermentary
Beer was traditionally brewed by women in the 1500s, but as a woman I feel alienated by the industry’s male-focused beers and marketing. Voisin Fermentary aims to change people’s perception of traditional beer marketing and make it more inclusive.
Affordable gluten-free beer is almost impossible to find. I saw an opportunity to create a product without the bloating, to leave you feeling light and totally guilt free. Local botanicals like kāmahi, stoned fruits, lavender and citrus are used to show that all beer doesn’t have to taste the same, while my imagery is designed to indulge the senses and enchant.
Moths are known as ‘the butterflies of the night’ and symbolise the change that Voison represents: a beer designed for female customers for a change! Voisin leaves you feeling empowered; when you drink this beer, you can stay true to who you are. We’re women reclaiming brewing as an artform by creating an inclusive product that’s health conscious, sustainable and alluring.
Affordable gluten-free beer is almost impossible to find. I saw an opportunity to create a product without the bloating, to leave you feeling light and totally guilt free. Local botanicals like kāmahi, stoned fruits, lavender and citrus are used to show that all beer doesn’t have to taste the same, while my imagery is designed to indulge the senses and enchant.
Moths are known as ‘the butterflies of the night’ and symbolise the change that Voison represents: a beer designed for female customers for a change! Voisin leaves you feeling empowered; when you drink this beer, you can stay true to who you are. We’re women reclaiming brewing as an artform by creating an inclusive product that’s health conscious, sustainable and alluring.
Emma Patmore – The Bind Contemporary Art Exhibition
The Bind Contemporary Art Exhibition celebrates Asian art and artists and contributes to cultural diversity in New Zealand.
With art, makers and viewers can be connected through visuals and ideas. This exhibition creates a space for Asian New Zealand artists to display works that challenge expectations and celebrate the diversity of art in New Zealand.
The rise of Asian misrepresentation in Western countries encouraged me to positively display Asian culture in New Zealand. Asian New Zealand art and artists aren’t well known. Because of this, my aim is to celebrate New Zealand’s vast cultural diversity and to bring awareness of this issue in our society.
After finishing my degree at Ara, I’m planning to pursue a career in print design and illustration. I’m hoping to get back into painting in my spare time, as this is something I’m also passionate about.
With art, makers and viewers can be connected through visuals and ideas. This exhibition creates a space for Asian New Zealand artists to display works that challenge expectations and celebrate the diversity of art in New Zealand.
The rise of Asian misrepresentation in Western countries encouraged me to positively display Asian culture in New Zealand. Asian New Zealand art and artists aren’t well known. Because of this, my aim is to celebrate New Zealand’s vast cultural diversity and to bring awareness of this issue in our society.
After finishing my degree at Ara, I’m planning to pursue a career in print design and illustration. I’m hoping to get back into painting in my spare time, as this is something I’m also passionate about.
Max Silva – Wayfinding
We hear a lot about climate change and the effects it’s having on the world, but we don’t stop to think how much of an impact we are having on the small islands. The entire Pacific region contributes the least to climate change, yet millions of Pacific Islanders are subjected to bearing the severe impact of climate change, which is undeniably an existential threat to their homeland, culture, livelihoods, and Pacific identity.
My desire to create change and awareness of the ongoing problem of climate change is reflected in my final project. The aim of wayfinding is to empower Pacific Peoples to become the global navigators through climate change. I’ve designed a brand and a campaign to bring awareness and give Pacific Islanders a voice as they are unheard, not voiceless.
Wayfinding is a movement that focuses on encouraging Pacific Islanders to tackle the issues of climate change and bringing awareness to the issues that are threatening their homeland. The website will have a petition to make a change, sending a message to developed nations that there’s a need for a system change, not climate change.
My desire to create change and awareness of the ongoing problem of climate change is reflected in my final project. The aim of wayfinding is to empower Pacific Peoples to become the global navigators through climate change. I’ve designed a brand and a campaign to bring awareness and give Pacific Islanders a voice as they are unheard, not voiceless.
Wayfinding is a movement that focuses on encouraging Pacific Islanders to tackle the issues of climate change and bringing awareness to the issues that are threatening their homeland. The website will have a petition to make a change, sending a message to developed nations that there’s a need for a system change, not climate change.
Murooj Mohammed Moizuddin Al Sheikh
Kia ora. I’m a multi-cultural and creative design professional with ten years’ experience in digital media and print design.
Artists often play a key role in social movements, critically examining our world and our responsibilities. Their visual arts can and do generate a positive change. This project addresses the systemic, structural, and gendered nature of violence against women prevalent in New Zealand and argues that the risk is heightened in ethnic and migrant people. This is due to the overarching factors of displacement, dispossession, gender norms of societies, constructions of male identity and challenges to their power.
The creative solution was to design the brand identity for a product to raise awareness about honour-based violence, and simultaneously to support a social cause by donating a percentage of the profits to Shakti a national feminist organisation that advocates for women survivors of domestic violence.
In 2022, I intend to pursue post graduate studies. Ngā mihi.
Artists often play a key role in social movements, critically examining our world and our responsibilities. Their visual arts can and do generate a positive change. This project addresses the systemic, structural, and gendered nature of violence against women prevalent in New Zealand and argues that the risk is heightened in ethnic and migrant people. This is due to the overarching factors of displacement, dispossession, gender norms of societies, constructions of male identity and challenges to their power.
The creative solution was to design the brand identity for a product to raise awareness about honour-based violence, and simultaneously to support a social cause by donating a percentage of the profits to Shakti a national feminist organisation that advocates for women survivors of domestic violence.
In 2022, I intend to pursue post graduate studies. Ngā mihi.
Renée Pitt – Rejoem Display
This year I decided to try my luck at designing my own typeface. Rejoem display is the result of this challenge, a font exploring the impact of collective identity. It reflects on feelings, emotions and the idea of these themes through its unique indented stems, playful soft edges and friendly curves. It aims to articulate these feelings through form. The overall project is a document of precious ephemera; an archive of the experience of being a triplet.
I’ve explored a lot within design while studying here at Ara. I particularly enjoy packaging design, print, brand expression and obviously, type. I think I spent too many hours fixing straight lines and making Bézier curves in my last six months here, but it has opened my mind to think even more about design and I’ll never look at a font the same way again. I hope to continue working on projects I’m passionate about and to work with some cool people who see the purpose and meaning in design just like I do.
I’ve explored a lot within design while studying here at Ara. I particularly enjoy packaging design, print, brand expression and obviously, type. I think I spent too many hours fixing straight lines and making Bézier curves in my last six months here, but it has opened my mind to think even more about design and I’ll never look at a font the same way again. I hope to continue working on projects I’m passionate about and to work with some cool people who see the purpose and meaning in design just like I do.
Malaya is a typographic expression that honours Filipino culture and values. Its ethos is inspired by the literary work of Carlos P. Romulo, I am a Filipino. One particular paragraph reads…“I am a Filipino born to freedom, and I shall not rest until freedom shall have been added unto my inheritance—for myself and my children and my children’s children—forever.” (Romulo, 1941).
My final project is an acknowledgement of the values and freedom that myself and other Filipinos have inherited because of our culture, our ancestors and especially our families. Malaya is a font that embraces the past while venturing towards the future.
As for my future, I don’t really know what it holds, nor do I expect or want anything. All I know is that if I am given a task, I will strive my best to perform it well.
Sarah McCook-Weir – Antidote
I’m passionate about the tactile nature of print-based design. I’ve also been a lifelong reader, leading to my final project Antidote, where in a world of screens and notifications, reading is the cure.
Antidote is a subscription service that gets young people reading a curated selection of stories each month. It’s about making the experience of reading exciting and a contrast to the way people are forced to read at high school or university. It helps people encounter a variety of stories they might not otherwise have ever read or been interested in. It’s designed to be a collectable series of volumes that people are proud to display as a beautiful object. With Antidote, I hope to start a lifelong reading habit that the individual can enjoy, and to help them increase their knowledge and understanding of themselves and the world.
I value ethical and sustainable design that can change the world for the better. With these principles in mind, Antidote is printed with soy-based inks on recycled paper to care for ourselves and our planet.
Antidote is a subscription service that gets young people reading a curated selection of stories each month. It’s about making the experience of reading exciting and a contrast to the way people are forced to read at high school or university. It helps people encounter a variety of stories they might not otherwise have ever read or been interested in. It’s designed to be a collectable series of volumes that people are proud to display as a beautiful object. With Antidote, I hope to start a lifelong reading habit that the individual can enjoy, and to help them increase their knowledge and understanding of themselves and the world.
I value ethical and sustainable design that can change the world for the better. With these principles in mind, Antidote is printed with soy-based inks on recycled paper to care for ourselves and our planet.
