Statement textiles and geometric shapes are the cornerstones of the five bold graduate projects featured in this VDF school show, curated by the organisers of New Designers.

Presented under the theme entitled Bold/Geometric, the listed projects range from ergonomic cutlery to vivid women’s sportswear and were developed by five recent graduates of universities from across the UK.

The work was selected from over 3,000 student projects that were due to be exhibited at this year’s edition of the New Designers exhibition, which takes place annually in London and dubbed as “the UK’s largest design graduate show” by its organisers.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show has now been taken online, with 20 standout students being celebrated as part of the Virtual Design Festival. Alongside this Bold/Geometric-themed show, New Designers is presenting three more digital exhibitions that explore the themes of nature, circular economy and gender.

New Designers graduate show

Showcase: New Designers
Theme: Bold/Geometric
Instagram: @newdesigners
Organiser: Upper Street Events

Event statement: 

“New Designers, the UK’s largest design graduate show, celebrates its 35th anniversary in 2020 with the launch of a series of digital initiatives throughout the summer. In lieu of a physical showcase, the event will aim to promote and celebrate the work of the graduate class of 2020. With these virtual initiatives, New Designers hopes to offer graduates alternative opportunities to gain better insights into the design industry and advance in their professional careers in such extraordinary circumstances.

“Since the start of June, New Designers has been running ND Selects, a social media campaign that hopes to offer visibility and recognition to students’ final projects. Each day, New Designers publishes a post about different students, highlighting their final piece, alongside their processes and influences.

“This year has seen a surge in final projects that respond directly to environmental and social issues. From game design to textile prints, the class of 2020 has offered creative design solutions for contemporary storage, diagnosing dyslexia and reconnecting children with nature. Making informed and considered material choices that are either recyclable or locally sourced has also been a key focus for many students.”

Rachel Elinor Toye

“Articulating her love for adding colour, Rachel draws inspiration from vibrant cities, combining textures and marks from materials like concrete, metal and wood that have been manipulated by different people and aesthetics over time. ⁠
⁠
“She ensures her practice carries the same playful and bright impact. Rachel designs her prints for interior and lifestyle accessories to put happiness and colour onto something tangible and useful every day.⁠”

Name: Rachel Elinor Toye
University: The Glasgow School of Art
Course: BA (Hons) Fashion and Textiles⁠

Geonature by Vahekeny Rodrigues

“Geonature offers two collections – a bespoke collection for the hospitality and hotel industry, and a commercial collection for transport design. Vahekeny has explored plant and natural forms, insects and fauna and examined structural qualities found within cityscapes, alongside the 2020/2021 trend and colour report Multi-Local from Heimtextil 2020 international trade fair.

“The transport collection has been inspired by renowned textile designers such as Enid Marx, and the hospitality collection made reference to design companies including Timorous Beasties, and others housed at the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre.

“Vahekeny has explored these diverse areas through methods of photographic research, and drawn studies incorporating a wide variety of painting processes, before taking these to the computer to digitally manipulate.

“Designs have been printed by repeat registration using a range of techniques such as devore, flock and foil printing onto different fabric substrates, both as fabric samples to obtain different textural qualities, and to take to the computer using Adobe Creative Suite and AVA CAD CAM as part of the inherent design process.”

Name: Vahekeny Rodrigues
University: University of Bolton
Course: BA(Hons)Textiles and Surface Design 

Geo cutlery by Sissel Gram Warringa

“Geo cutlery is everyday table jewellery, aimed at users honouring the little pleasures in everyday life. An exploration of how geometric shapes can become ergonomic.”

Name: Sissel Gram Warringa
University: Kingston University
Course: BA (Hons) Product and Furniture Design

City Glow by Asmita Gurung

“Gurung’s design City Glow is a collection inspired by the vibrant colours and shapes found within the city. ⁠

“This collection brings the city to your garments through energetic prints, inspiring individuals to be authentic.”

Name: Asmita Gurung
University: University of Huddersfield
Course: BA/BSc (Hons) Textile Practice⁠

Erin Wardingham

“This vibrant collection of printed textile designs was created for the women’s sportswear market with a potential for more diverse application to other products. Inspired by the mismatched compositions and distinctive geometric graphics of the Memphis movement, as well as utilising effects inspired by Op-Art, this collection aims to evoke a sensation of movement.

“Linear qualities balance block colours and a play with composition and pattern layouts create the illusion of movement for this dynamic market. All designs are digitally processed and are adaptable to a variety of sportswear material and surfaces.”

Name: Erin Wardingham
University: Leeds Arts University
Course: BA (Hons) Textile Design

Virtual Design Festival’s student and schools initiative offers a simple and affordable platform for student and graduate groups to present their work during the coronavirus pandemic. Click here for more details.

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Italian studio Didonè Comacchio Architects has built a football stand that references the work of Mies van der Rohe for the municipal stadium in Travettore di Rosà, Italy.

The architecture studio designed the shelter to cover 300 concrete seats alongside a stadium used by football team FCD Transvector in a village near Vicenza in the north of Italy.

Its design is a simple response to the brief of providing shelter for fans with unobscured views of the pitch.

“The idea was to create a sheltered area as free as possible from elements that could stop the view of the field so to guarantee the entire action of the game to the viewers,” said Didonè Comacchio Architects co-founder Paolo Didonè.

“The design of the shelter was the natural evolution of the concept,” he told Dezeen.

According to the studio, the form of the shelter was directly informed by the work of 20th century modernist architect Mies van der Rohe and in particular his design for the Neue National Gallery in Berlin.

“We are always inspired by the simplicity and rigorousness of Mies’s architecture, especially the National Gallery which is, to us, a classic design,” said Didonè.

Like Van der Rohe’s Neue National Gallery, Didonè Comacchio Architects’ stand is sheltered by a single horizontal steel element.

While at the gallery this is supported by a grid of slender steel columns, the football stand roof is placed on two rectangular concrete piers placed at right angles to each other.

“The shelter is based on a cantilevered structure which is a typical element for football stadiums,” explained Didonè.

“Our main objective was to create a structure that could answer to the initial brief – covered area, good view of the field – in the best way possible.”

The rectangular, 30.5 metres long and 10.5 metres wide, roof structure is a made from a grid of steel beams that form a coffered ceiling.

Lighting is contained between the beams and covered by a dark metal grid .

Didonè Comacchio Architects is an Italian architecture studio founded by Didonè and Devvy Comacchio in 2013.

German-American architect Van der Rode was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century and was also the third and final Bauhaus director. He coined numerous phrases, including “less is more” and “God is in the details”, and designed the iconic Barcelona Pavilion.

Photography is by Simone Bossi.

Project credits:

Designer: Didonè Comacchio Architects – Paolo Didonè, Devvy Comacchio
Collaborators: Gianmarco Miolo, Denis Stoppiglia, Lorenzo Fravezz
Structural engineer: Ing Stefano Scomazzon (i+da)
Concrete structure contractor: Impresa edile F.lli Bizzotto
Steel structure contractor: Lorenzin

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Proudly represent your favorite spot in New York City

As businesses begin to reopen in NYC, much media and consumer attention hones in on restaurants and bars. There are plenty of places, however, that remain closed, or cannot open to their full capacity, that still need support. While most of these spots sell gift cards and vouchers, merchandise is another way to send dollars in their direction—and represent your favorites wherever you wander. From tattoo parlors to book stores, record shops, museums, cinemas, bath houses and beyond, here’s a selection of our favorite merch from across the city.

Book + Record Stores

Non-profit Printed Matter purveys books, zines and prints, but the glorious treasure trove also sells apparel and accessories, including this “What is Art?” tote bag designed by Misaki Kawai. Word book stores (located in Greenpoint and Jersey City) have plenty of gear available, including hoodies, socks, beanies and shirts emblazoned with “I Read Books.” Located in the East Village and Greenpoint, Academy Records has several shirts and totes available, but our pick is their classic pocket design. Just off Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Earwax has been around since 1990 and has totes and tees for sale. East Village’s Limited to One record shop also sells tees and bags—and their tote easily fits 20 records. Founded back in 2008, the record store (and label) Captured Tracks sells a shirt emblazoned with their minimal logo. With locations in San Francisco, Oakland and New York, Stranded has several shirt designs available, as well as a sturdy tote bag. Best known for selling comic books, Forbidden Planet is also a purveyor of toys, collectibles and this excellent tee.

Museums

The beloved Tenement Museum, dedicated to stories of immigrants, pays homage to their LES home with this denim tote. Another crucial, magical place in NYC, the New York Public Library has heaps of merch available, including this classic sweatshirt. The transportive American Museum of Natural History sells all kinds of toys and books, as well as apparel. Pick your favorite subway line and wear it proudly, with these NYC Transit Museum caps, which make up part of their vast online shop. Pre-sale for the Brooklyn Museum’s Studio 54 merchandise has begun, but there’s plenty more merch available, including their collaboration with Only NY. Represent the Metropolitan Museum of Art by wearing one of their caps or sweatshirts. Also slinging Champion collaborations, MoMA has four colorways of their hoodie available.

Cinemas

The iconic and important Film Forum has just one item of merchandise available, but it’s a fantastic one: a reproduction of the shirt animator Robert Breer made for them back in 1981—which was based on a mural he painted on their Watts St location. Alamo Drafthouse has countless designs for sale online, but our pick is the Godzilla T-shirt, which is available from XS to 4XL. Williamsburg and Park Slope’s much-loved Nitehawk Cinema sells T-shirts for kids and adults, including one that depicts their famous VHS vault.

Tattoo Parlors

One of our favorites, babysfirstcig (aka Zachary Robinson Bailey) founded and tattoos at Bushwick’s queer-friendly Smallshop and has a few handmade and limited edition items available online. Another queer-friendly space, Welcome Home is part-store, part-tattoo parlor, and has long-sleeved shirts, totes and more online. Williamsburg’s Saved Tattoo sells prints and various other goods, including this long-sleeve T-shirt. Located in Carroll Gardens, Smith Street Tattoo Parlor has merchandise aplenty, from hoodies to embroidered caps, and even beach balls.

+ Beyond

Located in Boerum Hill, Espo’s Art World sells Stephen “ESPO” Powers’ artwork, as well as the occasional T-shirt and tote bag. Also in Brooklyn, the delightful Superhero Supply sells shirts and other apparel for infants, kids and adults—and all the proceeds are sent back to 826NYC, a non-profit that supports school students with writing skills through workshops, after-school programs, tutoring and more. SoHo’s legendary second-hand store Church St Surplus is raising funds via Merch Aid, with this Baron Von Fancy-designed shirt. Made in collaboration with designer Jeremy Dean, the Blind Barber has two T-shirts (long- and short-sleeved) for sale on their website. Of course, one can buy the classic sauna hats from the East Village’s Russian and Turkish Baths, but they also have three different T-shirts available. Located just down the street, also on East 10th St, Turntable Lab sells tees, totes and caps—some in collaboration with the Beastie Boys. Another East Village treasure, the beloved Gem Spa recently closed, but they still have merch galore—including caps, hoodies, keychains and more. NYC’s oldest magic shop, Tannen’s, was founded in 1925 but has some contemporary apparel online now.

Hero image courtesy of Only NY + Brooklyn Museum 

Around nine years ago Ohio-born creative Rachel Hess was studying fine arts at the University of Cincinnati. While she enjoyed playing with mixed media and creating things from scratch, she soon became interested in learning more about typography and working within the digital space. “So I shifted into graphic communication design the following year, taking drawing, screenprinting, ceramics and painting alongside my design courses throughout,” explains Hess. 

By alternating her studies with internships it led to a long and fruitful period of creative exploration. “I had the space to figure out what I liked and didn’t,” she says. “It wasn’t until after I graduated and was offered a part-illustration and part-design gig that I saw being both an illustrator and designer as a viable option.” 

Now based in Brooklyn, New York, Hess is working at an ad agency, art directing and illustrating primarily for online food services Seamless and Grubhub, though she still makes time to work on personal projects as well.

“When it’s for a client, I try to keep personal style separate from the work and allow the product or service to directly inform the visuals,” explains Hess. “When illustrating and designing for my personal work, it’s more intuitive and dependent on experimentation. I typically pull subject matter from friends and family or recent experiences.”

Hess has a range of creatives she is consistently inspired by for their perseverance to push their work into new territories, such as Bill Rebholz, Julien Gobled, Thomas Hedger, María Medem and many, many others. From these references, it’s clear Hess favours clean, sharp lines with pops of colour, but what’s great looking through her portfolio is there’s still this sense of experimentation.

Whether it’s a change in colour palette, the level of detail or perspective, it seems Hess is still keen to fuse together elements of both graphic design and illustration in her work. “Combining design with illustration can be a tricky push/pull situation,” she notes. “They have to consider one another in order to work well together, and I really enjoy the challenge of finding that balance.”

When working on a client project, Hess’s typical process starts with trying to absorb and learn everything about them before creating anything, but with her own projects it’s a lot looser.

“With personal work it’s sketching, sketching, sketching and leaning into whatever that inspires.” Again this fits into Hess’s experimental approach and she flits between digital and analogue techniques and different mediums, to the achieve a balance between “high concept and high energy”.

rachellhess.com

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Architecture studio Sārānsh used a range of materials to create a rich sense of tactility inside this family home in Ahmedabad, western India.

VS House is situated on the fringes of the city of Ahmedabad. It was built seven years ago as a four-bed home but has been reconfigured by Sārānsh. Now it hosts three bedrooms and more expansive living spaces.

“The house is designed with a very minimalist tone,” explained the studio. “Instead of adding more elements, the focus has been given on the nature of the materials used to finish the insides, which create the entire ambience.”

“An emphasis was given on an individual’s visual and tactile journey through the house.”

Flooring throughout the house has been completed in grey Kota stone – a variety of limestone that’s quarried north of India in Rajasthan.

In the living area, the Kota tiles have been applied across the floor in a herringbone pattern. A low-lying timber plinth punctuated with square-shaped holes runs around the perimeter of the room, supporting plush grey seating cushions.

Larger slabs of Kota have been used for flooring in the home’s less formal sitting area, which is dressed with timber-framed blue sofas. This room opens onto an outdoor terrace that overlooks a planted courtyard.

Small blocks of Kota have then been arranged in linear strips on the floor of “movement spaces” like corridors, or set alongside panels of wood for the bedroom floors.

The material palette takes a turn in the moody dining room, where the floor is clad with jet-black Kadappa tiles that hail from the Rayalseema region of southeast India. A matching black table and dining chairs with black-fabric seats sit at the centre.

Like the other rooms on the ground floor, walls here are washed with grey plaster to allow timber elements to stand out.

There’s also a clashing mix of Indian stone in the bathrooms. While flecked grey tiles have been laid on the floors and walls, a veiny, emerald-coloured marble has been used to back fixtures like the toilet and mirrors.

A study has been created upstairs on the first floor of VS House by connecting part of a passageway to an adjacent terrace.

Sārānsh envisioned this room as a “wooden box” – warm-hued timber lines the walls, floor and the upward-curving ceiling, half of which had to be built from scratch.

Timber has even been used to make the room’s desk, which balances on a huge spherical volume.

“The aim was to create a feeling of entering into a den, which is isolated from everything else,” the studio added.

The same materials used in VS House’s interior have been applied to its outdoor areas, which were also updated by Saransh.

A wooden deck has been erected to accommodate a jacuzzi, and Kota stone has been used for the flooring of the open-air lounge.

The studio also built a pavilion-like structure to host a personal gym for the family.

Sārānsh was established in 1994 by Manish and Malini Doshi. This isn’t the first residential project that the studio has completed in its home city of Ahmedabad – earlier this year, it transformed a two-bed apartment into an open-plan studio.

In the absence of walls, materials such as concrete, blue tiles and teak wood were used to create a sense of definition between living spaces.

Photography is by The Fishy Project.

Project credits:

Design: Saransh
Design lead: Malay Doshi
Design team: Kaveesha Shah, Dipti Kotak, Khyati Pankhania, Aashna Khetan, Punit Jain
Landscape: Rachana Creation
HVAC: Airstage Engineers
Electrics: Sudhir Sharma
Plumbing: Deepak
Lighting: Crystal Palace
Finishing: Karansinh

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