Two Industrial Design students finish first at Rocket Awards competition

Fourth-year Honours Bachelor of Craft and Design (Industrial Design) students Anna Keefe and Sung Ha Chu received top accolades at the recent Rocket Awards, an annual competition showcasing capstone projects by Ontario's top graduating industrial designers.

Keefe placed second in the overall competition for ohm shadow scape: A Contemporary Play Space Serving a Modern World, and received two merit awards: Category Breakthrough and Design Communication. Chu won the Prototyping Award for her project Mobi: RE-CYCLING Journey from Three to Eight on the Mobius Strip. Fellow Industrial Design students John Mercado and Tobin Nickle-Lott were competition finalists.

Hosted by the Association of Charted Industrial Designers of Ontario (ACIDO), the Rocket Awards feature graduates nominated at the top of their class from Carleton University, Humber College, Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) University and Sheridan. A jury of select industry professionals assess students’ fourth-year projects in areas across the design process, including project definition, design research, concept development, implementation, final prototype, graphic presentation and verbal pitches.

A movable playground

 

Keefe's ohm shadow scape: A Contemporary Play Space Serving a Modern World explores new opportunities for adults and adolescents to be active at public parks, providing a fresh and modern playground experience that is captivating and engaging for all ages.

Movable components allow users to cast shadows that create unique shapes, overlap marks on playground surfacing or match overlays on mobile phone apps. The components can also be arranged to make climbing easier or more difficult.

"Playgrounds are not designed to accommodate adult bodies, nor do they offer ample opportunities for caregivers to be active alongside children," Keefe stated in her design considerations. "Play helps us cope with stress and anxiety, while also aiding in the development of cognitive skills. Having supervisors actively vigilant can also help improve safety and prevent injuries."

A toy that grows with children

Chu's project, Mobi: RE-CYCLING Journey from Three to Eight on the Mobius Strip, addresses primary reasons for toy disposal: children's rapid growth and their tendency to easily become bored.

Inspired by the Mobius Strip (a one-sided looped surface with no boundaries), the riding toy features adjustable saddle and fork positions as well as capacity for additional pedals, allowing it to be used from ages three to eight.

"This not only increases the duration children spend playing with toys but also enables toys to grow with them, creating a circular design where toys can be passed down to others and continue to grow with new users," Chu stated in his circular pattern analysis.

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About Sheridan's Industrial Design program

Sheridan’s Honours Bachelor of Craft and Design (Industrial Design) teaches the tools needed to create smart, innovative and meaningful design. Students go through the entire design process – from research to finished product – identifying problems and imagining, developing and testing solutions for specific audiences.

They also work in collaboration with Sheridan’s other Craft and Design studios (Ceramics, Furniture, Glass and Textiles) to connect design with creation and broaden their knowledge.