10 Favorite of Dubai Grad Show 2016

We have handpicked 10 of our favorite Grad projects that help redefine the vision of Dubai Grad Show, with out-of-this world experiences, prototypes, design, and creativity.

T

his year during Dubai Design week (D3), the Global Grad show returns with 145 projects from 50 leading global universities, representing an almost three-fold increase in participation over last year and, for the first time, includes schools from the region. The growing interest in exhibiting one-of-a-kind designs aimed at improving and transforming lives is evident this year in response to the call for ideas with distinct ability to create real possibilities and lasting impact on the world.

Global Grad Show is held at Dubai Design District (d3) and plays a key role in Dubai’s transformation into an innovation-led economy. Mohammad Saeed Al Shehhi, COO of d3 commented: “Building on the success of last year’s Global Grad Show, d3 is once again delighted to be welcoming such a wealth of rising international talent from wide-ranging regional schools, here in Dubai. As we witness the growth of the design industry and talent in this region, it is important to have a global outlook so that our regional design students and business partners can seek inspiration from each other. Initiatives such as the Global Grad Show directly underpin d3’s objective of supporting education across the region, whilst inspiring a collaborative approach to creativity and fostering a genuine community spirit for the design sector.”

“We are seeing the future now,”

Brendan McGetrick, Global Grad Show Curator.

One of the highlights of the diverse designs is the focus on humanity. From a jacket that transforms into a sleeping bag, a system of inhabitable roofscapes designed for the Jerash refugee camp in Campeones, by Miguel Angel Cuevas Miranda from CENTRO University
Jordan to a set of geometric figures for intravenous pole designed to change how child patients relates to medical treatment, students provide creative and practical solutions to modern day issues.

Designed by Gabriella Geagea and Anne-Sophie Geay from the Royal College of Art, the wearable shelter is a direct response to the Syrian refugee crisis. The jacket with large storage pockets converts into a sleeping bag enough to shelter a parent and child or as a tent that can sleep four adults.

American University of Sharjah’s architecture graduate Dina Samara has designed shelters for extended families at Jerash refugee camp in Jordan with inhabitable roofscapes allowing for shared activities and communal spaces while providing privacy and service spaces.

Lightbound by EmiliaTapprest Aalto University Finland
Lightbound by EmiliaTapprest Aalto University Finland scaled
Lightbound by EmiliaTapprest Aalto University Finland
#1
Lightbound by Emilia Tapprest
[Finland]

Lightbound is a communication system with only one purpose: to enable two loving individuals feel present in each other’s lives despite physical distance.

The prototype consists of a pair of networked objects that mediate ambient light as a subtle, non-verbal language of mutual awareness.

In practice, the feeling of togetherness is communicated in two levels: On the one hand you can intentionally express that “I’m thinking about you right now” through the simple gesture of touch, which is translated into light in the other living environment. Besides, you can sense the other person’s existence through continuous pulsating light, which represents his or her real-time heartbeat.

The core idea is to bring remote communication from screens to our physical world; to connect spaces rather than objects; to allow peripheral awareness as well as spontaneous gestures of caring; and to harness the poetic dimension of technology for connecting with people who make us happy.

“This year’s designs could be the solution to some of the pressing problems that the world is facing. The Global Grad Show is providing the platform for graduate students to introduce their brilliant thought-provoking designs to a wider audience. We encourage leaders and decision-makers to take part and see the myriad of possibilities and new ways of thinking to transform lives.”

#2
Hub by Rotimi Solola
[Chicago]

HUB is a multipurpose kitchen appliance designed for long life and easy repair. In a single product, HUB combines a coffee maker, kettle, blender, and mixer. The product’s modular design allows for simple disassembly and repair or replacement of component parts.

HUB employs a part share modularity to build an ecosystem of consumer advice and engagement which relies on business to consumer relations that lead to transparency and trust.

HUB project
hub rotimi solola
hub blk wht scaled
devoted by Sin Bing Wong
devoted by Sin Bing Wong
devoted by Sin Bing Wong
#3
Devoted by Sin Bing Wong
[Hong Kong]

Career Women are very common in cosmopolitan cities like Hong Kong.

Many of working mother are forced to stop breastfeeding despite its benefit to both the baby and mother. Breastfeeding is widely known to provide irreplaceable benefit such as the most natural way to strengthen baby immunity through transmitting antibiotic, and reinforces mothers’ recovery after delivery, enhancing the intimacy between baby and mother.

However, due to unfavorable conditions in workplace, working mother have to encounter difficulties like lack of privacy, unwanted attention from others and stress from using time-consuming and uncomfortable pumping milk products.

DEVOTED is breast pumping set that offers new way to pump milk in workplace. The design hopes to foster a private, comfortable, smart and convenient experience so as to avoid the unpleasant feeling of pumping milk in toilet.

#4
Window Socket by Kyuho Song & Boa Oh
[Korea]

Window Socket is a simple solar charger that is designed to attach, via a suction pad, to any window that receives sunlight, and immediately begin producing electricity.

The portable device has a plug socket that can be used to charge small devices directly or act as a fully portable charge station. Window Socket is intended to give its user access to electricity freely and conveniently in a space with restricted availability, such as in a plane, a car, and outdoors.

window socket
window socket
bs orbit_anastasiaivanova_paulopannuzzo_tuomash
beo sound orbit_anastasiaivanova_paulopannuzzo_tuomash
beo sound orbit_anastasiaivanova_paulopannuzzo_tuomash
#5
Beo Sound Orbit by Anastasia Ivanova, Paulo Pannuzzo, and Tuomas Hamalainen
[Finland]

BeoSound Orbit is a music player that expands its digital user interface beyond the physical boundaries of the device itself to provide a simple yet captivating way to listen to music at home. A button on the top of the player starts or stops the music. Information about the song is projected on the table around the device. The player recognizes touch gestures on any surface around it through infrared, while coordinated light animations provide feedback.

The interactive prototyping project, done in collaboration with Bang & Olufsen, was about designing new interactions for music listening and then building, programming and testing them in tape-to-a-table prototypes. The form and aesthetics were not considered at this point, which explains the rough appearance of the prototype.

Introducing new levels of technology and innovation that will shape the future is also a highlight in this year’s Global Grad Show. From Japan, a virtual reality suit was created by designers Yukari Konishi, Nobuhisa Hanamitsu, Benjamin Outram and Kouta Minamizawa from Keio University. The Synesthesia Suit provides a full body sensation wherein a user experiences being immersed in the virtual world, enclosed by variety of texture and sound.

#6
REZ INFINITE SYNESTHESIA SUIT
[Tokyo]

Synesthesia Suit is designed to provide an immersive embodied experience in Virtual Reality environments. The suit has 24 vibrotactile channels that provide touch sensations, synchronized with music and interaction in the VR environment. These haptic sensations provide multi-sensory feedback unlike simple vibrations in traditional game controllers. Users feel immersed in a virtual world and enclosed by the texture of the sounds; test users have reported feeling that they have returned from another world after removing the suit.

They originally developed the Synesthesia Suit for promoting a game called ”Rez infinite”, which has been developed for PlayStation VR. However, at that time, the interaction was limited only on PlayStation, so they developed more active full-body interaction with other VR platform.

Rez Infinite Synesthesia Suit
Rez Infinite Synesthesia Suit
not a matter of taste by maija jplusaerviniemi _ outi mustonen aalto university photo credit_ eeva suorlahti
not a matter of taste by maija jplusaerviniemi _ outi mustonen aalto university photo credit_ eeva suorlahti
#7
Not a Matter of Taste
[Finland]
Not a Matter of Taste is a set of edible dishes made by combining bacterial grown cellulose with pettu, a nutritious flour made from pine bark. Pettu was frequently used in Finland as a flour substitute in baking during World War II. Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture and School of Chemical Technology have come together to raise awareness about this nutritious, neglected ingredient and how pettu can be used as a base for edible, biodegradable vessels.
not a matter of taste by maija jplusaerviniemi _ outi mustonen aalto university photo credit_ eeva suorlahti
#8
Wearable Shelter
[London]

Wearable Shelter is a garment with three convertible functions: a jacket with large storage pockets for personal items, when unzipped it can be used as either a sleeping bag roomy enough for a parent and child, or as a four person tent.

The project was designed as a response to the Syrian refugee crisis, with the intention of providing light, weatherproof shelter for families forced to move.

Wearable Shelter
Wearable Shelter
Wearable Shelter
Aventure Romantique_Alexis tourron
#9
AVENTURE ROMANTIQUE
[Lausanne]

Aventure Romantique is a picnic bag designed for travel, adventure, and escape. Made of leather, rattan and steel, this bag contains several accessories that allow its users to improvise a romantic meal out in the open.

Aventure Romantique is an elegant, easy to use alternative that does not compromise on elegance.

Aventure Romantique_Alexis tourron scaled
#10
Micro Wind Turbine by Nils Ferber
[Lausanne]
Electronic devices play an important role in navigating and documenting our activities in the great outdoors. But how do you charge your camera or GPS device during a trip, far away from civilization? The Micro Wind Turbine proposes a novel alternative to existing solar panels. It can operate at night and in harsh weather conditions. It features a USB port for direct charging, an integrated battery pack for storage and is compact, light and easy to assemble.
Micro Wind Turbine by Nils Ferber
Micro Wind Turbine by Nils Ferber

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