UJ creatives recognised in Industrial Design Challenge

L-R: Greg De Villiers, Vermont Tool Sales; Nadja Korbel, Festool territory sales manager and specialist demonstrator; Edmar Maree, UJ honours student (second place); Kari De Villiers, UJ honours student (first place); Marcha Naude, UJ honours student (third place); Martin Bolton, senior lecturer, Department of Industrial Design and Johandie Slabbert, PR executive, Homemakers.

The students were required to undertake user and technical research in order to design a rechargeable Festool impact screwdriver/drill for household DIY and light-scale fabrication/workshop use.

The design approach had to carefully consider how people use handheld power tools for drilling, screwing, piloting, assembling and DIY’ing. Their rechargeable drill designs were required to push the boundaries of batteries, ergonomics and usability. In order to do this the students had to each work with a panel of user participants who assisted in providing feedback during the design process.

“All students involved in the project had their models on display. They were developed to suit the Festool brand whilst incorporating innovative technologies that are currently only available in the high-end Festool products,” said UJ’s Martin Bolton, senior lecturer in the Department of Industrial Design.

Major project

“This was a major project for the students as the design outcomes reflected empathy with the human interface of the product and showcased the students abilities to design complex forms aligned to the brand and the correct level of visual appeal to entice customers to purchase the products,” explained Bolton.

The overall winner of the project was Kari De Villiers. Her prize included a cash prize as well as a Festool cordless drill from Vermont Sales, South Africa’s Festool agent. Edmar Maree was runner-up and Marcha Naude received third place. They both also received cash prizes as well as Festool cordless drills.

“Mr Bolton put much effort into engaging industry for the final industrial design third year project in 2016. This is a perfect example for us how our students are able to meet the requirements of industry through their three years of undergraduate education,” highlighted Angus Campbell, head of the Department of Industrial Design.

“I salute each and every award recipient for doing UJ proud and inspiring greatness”, concluded Bolton.