2021 – 2023 | Common/Room

common/room: using Extended Reality technologies to support intercultural relationships in Aotearoa was a PhD in Design thesis project with creative practice by Mairi Gunn, supervised by Prof Mark Billinghurst, Director of the Empathic Computer Laboratory, Dr Moana Nepia, choreographer, video artist and curator, and myself as the main supervisor. The discursive design project common/room explored human–digital–human encounters across cultural difference. Overview: common/room comprised a suite of extended reality (XR) experiences that use technology as a bridge to support human connections and overcome intercultural discomfort. The installations are exhibited as an informal dining room, where each table hosts a distinct commensal experience designed to bring people together in a playful yet meaningful way. Each experience uses different technologies, including headset-displayed 360° 3D virtual reality (VR) (common/place), 180° stereoscopic projection (Common Sense) and three iterations of an augmented reality (AR) experience (Come to the Table!  First Contact–Take 2 and haptic HONGI). In ... Read More

2019 – 2021 | BRICS ID Curricula in the Era of 4IR

This postdoctoral research project by Dr Oluwafemi Samuel Adelabu explored Industrial Design curricula in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), with a specific focus on BRICS countries in the Global South. The project was supervised by myself and Dr Karen von Veh from the UJ Department of Visual Art. Samuel is currently a lecturer in Industrial Design at the School of Environmental Technology at the Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria and was awarded a GES 4.0 Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in the Department of Industrial Design, Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture, UJ, to undertake his postdoctoral research. Overview: Quality education is crucial for sustainable development and is a tool for driving desirable change in fluid technological, socio-political and economic landscapes. Since the era of the first industrial revolution, product design has played a significant role in bringing about social-economic transformation through technology, and still holds great potential ... Read More

2020 – 2021 | Kanala Stories

This project explores Coloured/Cape Malay identity through furniture design. It began as a BA Hons ID project in 2019 by Wazier Karim Kara in his blad en bokkie project and extended into a MA Industrial Design in 2020 to become Kanala Stories. Both projects were supervised by me. Overview: "Coloured culture does not exist. This statement can be viewed in two ways. Firstly, as a narrative imposed by some South African people, outside the Coloured community. Secondly, as a sincere belief shared by some within the Coloured community who are confused about their own identity. This confusion, due to disruption by colonisation and Apartheid, has created a generational cycle of internal misunderstanding of Coloured racial identity and culture. This confusion and ambiguity with regards to identity, is an experience that I have personally felt while trying to find my place in South African society. Through questioning my placement, I discovered ... Read More

2019 | Blad en Bokkie

This project explored Cape Malay cultural identity through furniture design. It was BA Hons ID project in 2019 by Wazier Karim Kara, and extended into a MA Industrial Design in 2020 into the Kanala Stories project. Both projects were supervised by myself. Overview: This design research project focused on the design of a Blad en bokkie (trestle table) inspired by Cape Malay cultural identity. The project focused on furniture because it plays a central role in Cape Malay gatherings, it was also found that Cape Malay identity was unexplored within the South African furniture design industry. Through an auto/ethnographic research approach, the study allowed Wazier to explore his own, as well as his family’s, cultural identity. Further research through literature about the history, the craftspeople, and the vibrant culture and religion of the Cape Malay community, together with insights from local furniture makers and community leaders, enabled a wide range ... Read More

2018 – 2019 | The Conversation Seat

This BA Hons Industrial Design (UJ) project began by Emma Zwart in 2018, and then continued into her MA Industrial Design (UJ) in 2019 under the supervision of myself and Dr Annemi Conradie, Senior Lecturer in Art History, North West Univerisity. Unfortunately, due to the impact of COVID-19, the project has been put on hold indefinitely but is still is a wonderful initiative that I am proud to showcase as an exploration of contemporary South African design identity through a design activist approach to collaborative furniture making. Overview: The Conversation Seat explores ways of expressing South African design identities through collaboration. More specifically, the project aimed to break down the perceived hierarchy of terms such as art, design and craft in order to showcase the diversity of creativity in South Africa. Despite its name, the Conversation Seat does not come complete with a seat. Instead, a bare frame was provided ... Read More

2017-2019 | Adaptable Glasses

"My face isn't designed for glasses!" - Project Participant This project explored a socio-technical systems approach to designing eyewear for South Africans. Marcha Naudé began the project as a student in a BA Industrial Design in 2017 and then expanded it into a MA Design (offered in Industrial Design) from 2018-2020. I was her superviser for this project for both qualifications. Overview: In South Africa, there is a scarcity of prescription glasses manufacturers and the majority of locally available eyewear frames are imported. The bulk of this imported eyewear comes from a singular umbrella organisation, which designs eyewear from a predominantly Eurocentric perspective. For example, there are currently only two types of eyewear fit, the “regular” fit, based on European facial data, and the “Asian” or “global” fit, which was developed in reaction to the inappropriateness of the “regular” fit. In South Africa, a country with a significantly diverse population, ... Read More