2024 Grad Show Preview – Media Design School’s Unahiroa
A snapshot of some of the featured students at this year’s graduate show at Media Design School, Unahiroa on 15 November from 5:00-9:00 pm.
Alyssa Henderson
‘Yarn’
Yarn is an art installation that tells the story of my cultural Journey. I grew up not really understanding my Samoan or Māori heritage and slowly learnt more as I was inspired by the creative people around me. Weaving is a big part of both Samoan and Māori culture and also feels similar to crochet; This also plays into the strong themes in this project which are Culture, Connection, Family and Storytelling.
Alongside the art installation there will be a designed explainer book that will also feature the process of creating ‘YARN’. This project’s objective is to not only tell my story but also inspire other people who have lived similar stories. Hopefully they will want to learn more about their own cultural heritage.
http://www.lilibetdesigns.co.nz/
Aquilla Logan
‘Keen Mind’
Keen Mind is an innovative learning platform designed to help university students develop essential problem-solving skills through immersive Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) scenarios. Problem-solving is a critical asset in today’s workforce, yet many graduates lack proficiency in this area. Keen Mind offers a solution by blending education and entertainment, allowing students to collaborate in 1-2 hour campaigns, each focusing on a specific problem-solving skill.
Players choose from pre-designed characters and work together to overcome complex challenges in a richly detailed fantasy world. Along the way, students can track their progress, access valuable resources, connect with friends, and customise their experience for maximum engagement. Inspired by my own growth through playing D&D, Keen Mind transforms traditional learning into an exciting and interactive experience, preparing students for future academic and career success.
Calum de Fanti
‘ReForm’
ReForm is an adaptive audio tool that transforms everyday environments or activities into personalised meditative worlds.
The app empowers users to engage with their surroundings by isolating and adjusting real-time ambient sounds, allowing them to curate soundscapes that match their mood, intention, or activity. With a single tap, users can mute urban noise, amplify natural sounds, or turn mundane tasks like chores into moments of mindfulness.
ReForm also offers social features, letting users blend soundscapes with friends in real-time for shared meditative sessions. The app’s mission is to seamlessly integrate mindfulness into daily routines, without added expectations or the need for extra time, making it more accessible to everyone.
Jason Panapa
‘Echoes’
Echoes is a Māori enterprise dedicated to reconnecting urban Māori with their culture through innovative, meaningful experiences. The premier product is a modular sculpture that grows alongside its owner. With each life milestone, a custom-designed segment is added, creating a unique, evolving piece that represents the journey of the individual. Tailored for Gen Z Urban Māori, Echoes provides a modern way to engage with Māori heritage, echoing the storytelling traditions of our ancestors while reflecting contemporary urban life.
Josephine Tahapehi
‘Hau o te Pā’
Ka rere a toroa ki tai, kāore e kite atu i te kainga.
As the albatross soars out to sea, its home can no longer be seen.
Hau o te Pā’ explores how the bright lights in Tāmaki Makaurau CBD affect native bird life. When the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, Māori and the British committed to protecting the land and its natural environment. Today, the bright city lights disrupt bird navigation, making it difficult for them to travel between coastal and inland areas. This issue highlights how our modern city impacts the promises made in the Treaty to safeguard nature.
The project presents a speculative vision of what Aotearoa could have been if those promises had been fulfilled. Told from the perspective of a Toroa named Whetu, the story unfolds across different timelines since the signing of the Treaty. Rather than conveying a sense of lost hope, the piece encourages us to focus on preserving our ecosystem, understanding the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi, and recognizing its importance for all New Zealanders. It’s about amplifying our political voice, protecting our identity, and, most importantly, our home.
Kathy Park
‘Tracing Air’
“Tracing Air” is a project aimed to visualise the evolving impact of greenhouse gas emissions across key sectors—energy, industrial processes, agriculture, forestry, and waste—over the past decades. By translating complex data into easily understandable visuals, the project aims to make the urgency of the climate crisis clearer and more accessible. It serves as a tool to communicate the scale of emissions and the insufficient efforts at carbon removal, inviting individuals, communities, and organisations to engage with the data. Tracing Air intends to spark a deeper awareness and drive action toward reducing emissions and promoting sustainability.
https://ktpdesigns.cohttps://ktpdesigns.co
Kit Erwin
‘[AR]CANA’
[AR]CANA is a 22-card AR interactive tarot deck designed to help unlock creative potential. Each card in the deck features a unique prompt, themed around the traditional meanings of the Major Arcana, encouraging users to explore new ideas and generate creative work. When each card is scanned with Adobe Aero, the cards reveal an animated “reverse” side with an added constraint, giving users a more focused or challenging approach to their task. Targeted toward Gen Z and Millennials, [AR]CANA offers playful, vibrant, and collage-style visuals, appealing to young creators seeking new ways to spark inspiration. The deck draws on tarot’s rich symbolism to guide users through creative exercises—whether they’re seeking to express themselves through art, writing, or design. By balancing prompts with constraints, [AR]CANA helps users navigate the sometimes overwhelming task of creating from scratch, offering both direction and freedom to tap into their creative flow.
Monica Luu
‘Jiā’
Names connect us to family, history, and culture, grounding our identity. Yet, in a globalized world, many migrants—especially Chinese immigrants—lose touch with their heritage, even their names. Heritage can be reconnected by transforming a name, whether Chinese or English, into a living typeface that reflects one’s true identity.
Jiā is a web experience designed to deepen the connection between individuals and their names. Through generative typography, each user creates a unique expression of their identity and heritage, inspired by Chinese culture. The experience invites participants to rediscover the meaning behind both their Chinese and English names, offering a reflective journey into personal and cultural roots.
By transforming names into dynamic visual forms, Jiā blends tradition with modernity, providing an interactive space for self-expression that bridges the past and present. It fosters a sense of belonging, celebrating the diversity of personal stories through the art of generative design.
Nara Won
‘Little Night Helpers’
‘Little Night Helpers’ aims to take a subject that causes discomfort and disinterest—moths—and explore how interactive illustration can create a learning resource that people are willing to engage with.
Moths play an essential role in environmental health, contributing to pollination even more effectively than many day-flying insects like bees. However, their reputation is largely negative, evoking feelings of discomfort, annoyance, or even fear. This stigma, along with a lack of engaging resources, contributes to a general unwillingness to engage with the subject, resulting in widespread ignorance towards moths and their ecological importance.
‘Little Night Helpers’ seeks to change this narrative. By presenting moths in an approachable way, more people can feel comfortable exploring the subject. The goal is not only to improve awareness but to also show people the small ways they can make a big difference for these little helpers of the night.
Richard Chhum
‘Welcome Home’
Growing up, I had always dreamed about being able to move out and become independent. Upon doing so, I faced many challenges that I had not planned for and because of that, the communication I had with my family suffered as I had started to neglect them subconsciously.
‘Welcome Home’ is a fictional story influenced by my own experiences presented as a short animation. The story follows a boy‘s search for independence and his relationship with his mum back at home.
This project is a personal reflective piece that allows myself and viewers who have gone through similar experiences to explore their own past, reflect and learn from them. It also aims to inspire viewers who plan to move out to not forget about their families and roots back at home.
https://richardchhum.myportfolio.com
This event will showcase a diverse collection of creative work from across our Bachelor of Media Design and Graduate Diploma of Creative Technologies Programmes. Come along to celebrate and experience our students design work with us.
Venue: Media Design School & The Annex
10 Madden Street,
Wynyard Quarter, Auckland 1010
You can also view the student work online via MDS showcase website: www.mdsshowcase.com
