Show designed to elevate students' best work

Nichola Trudgen's international award-winning design Wanderest, a seat attached to lamp post to provide a public resting place, is one of the array of transport, industrial and visual design works by the Auckland School of Design's 227 students, which will be on display this Friday and Saturday at Albany.

The students are calling the show Elevate to reflect their aim of creating work at the highest level, Ms Trudgen says. Other projects by second, third and fourth-year students include alternative, sustainable transport design for the 21st century, alternative egg packaging and innovative ways to grow organic vegetables.

Guests will walk down a central raised aisle, with various products suspended from the ceiling on either side. "It will not only feel like the products are elevated but you are elevated as well," Ms Trudgen says.

“We came up with the floating idea because we want to elevate the design school and students products above all the rest and show that we are a top design school."

Wanderest won the fourth-year student a bronze award in the student section at last year's Best Design Awards, a national competition, and an urban sustainable design award in the International Design Awards, the world's largest design competition for students.

College of Creative Arts academic director Sue McLaren says the exhibition is a credit to the students who have collaborated and developed organisational and management skills in addition to their design skills. “They are showing they will be really useful employees to business organisations in the future," Ms McLaren says. "The exciting factor of this exhibition is that it allows our future design leaders, at this early stage of their career, to show the community what a hidden gem the Auckland School of design really is and the scope of creative ability that’s on their doorstep.”

For more information: elevatedesign10.blogspot.com