MEDIA RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY 14TH JULY, 2008
Two Canterbury Winners For International Design Competition
The Designing Our Future international design competition winners have been announced as two Canterbury designers. Ben
Fussell from Rangiora High School won the Secondary School section and Rob Dauvergne from Kaiapoi won the Open section
and along with that the opportunity to study at the Design and Arts College of New Zealand (D) for two years for free.
The competition was set up by the Design and Arts College of New Zealand (D) to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Participants had to design a piece of work that was based around the theme
‘Designing Our Future’ and could be designed from any media. Prizes were valued at over $30,000. Over 250 registrations
came from 16 different countries that included art, design, fashion, sculpture and print works. Marketing Manager of D, Annabel Gudsell, was thrilled to see the winning entries come from the Canterbury region.
‘The competition was developed to push the boundaries of design worldwide, for participants to put their thoughts on how
the future of design looks to them. It was great to see the winning entries come from the Canterbury region – showing
the strength of local designers on the worldwide stage.’
Ben Fussell’s winning design was done in Photoshop and depicted an image of a human character made of part metal. His
design looked at the future and how humanity will one day start to mix things which they shouldn’t.
Rob Dauvergne used a sculpture to tell his story of the future of design.
‘Our future demands alternative energy sources and a closer integration of technology and nature. This wind-powered
sculpture expresses this through mechanising the generic form and swimming motion of a shark.’
The competition was judged by international judges that included Leanne Beard, President of DINZ; Derek Lockwood,
Worldwide Director of Design for Saatchi & Saatchi; Sean Kinmont, Managing Partner of 23red and Chris Flack, Art Director for 23red. Chris Flack commented on the
competition and entries;
‘A great brief and the chance to win a very good prize meant there was going to be a very high standard of entries -
really liked the interpretation of the brief and the range of different and fresh thinking. A good range of
illustrations and graphic style starting to develop. Will be good to see the student’s development as they progress
their learning in a creative environment.’
Ben Fussell was presented with his certificate at Rangiora High School and won the opportunity to study at the Design
and Arts College for two years with a value of $11,000. Rob Dauvergne was presented his certificate at D and is looking into studying the architectural design course next year with his winning prize.
The winning entries will be shown in an exhibition at D from today.
ENDS
DESIGNING OUR FUTURE
INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION RESULTS
Secondary School Section
First Place - Ben Fussell from Rangiora High School. Entry - Half Man, Half Machine
Second Place – Serena Chen from New Plymouth Girls High School. Entry – The Sky is Not The Limit
Third Place – Brennan Keys from Freyberg High School. Entry - Designing the Way to a Superior Tomorrow
Open Section
First Place - Rob Dauvergne from Kaiapoi. Entry – Icthys
Second Place - Christina Voyles from Montana, USA. Entry – Honesty
Third Place – Brendan Rohan from Invercargill. Entry – International Design