Design Lecturer and project lead Marissa Giannasi, tells us more.
“This is the fifth year that we have collaborated with IKEA Glasgow and every time it gets bigger and better. We had 140 students from across the creative disciplines including: film, design, art and photography take part in this project, which is just fantastic.”
Working closely with IKEA’s Visual Merchandising Manager, Aileen Peter, the students were given a project brief of: exploring their environment, in a new way to come up with creative, inventive ideas inspired by change, producing interior products and prints for the home that would capture IKEA’S design conscious customers.
Marisa continued,
Working closely with Aileen we built an educational project where students got to manufacture products in Scotland.
'We worked with the Centre for Advanced Textiles within Glasgow School of Art to produce 68 bespoke textile designs, and the Glasgow Ceramic Studio to create limited edition ceramics, meaning every student created a collection they could see and touch.
‘As this was a collaborative project, we have had the media students working with the designers to document their journey through film and the photography students capturing the final designs.”
Image by student Nathan McNaughton
Gathering for the grand finale at IKEA’s Glasgow store on Thursday 9 November, students proudly showcased their designs, images and video’s to their peers, lecturers and the IKEA design team.
IKEA’s Aileen Peter, commented,
Our relationship with West College Scotland is without a doubt one of the most fulfilling, creative and inspirational projects were are involved in.
‘Throughout the years we’ve built a strong and lasting partnership and it’s something we are all very proud of. Working with the students and lecturers is a fantastic way to give back to the local community and beyond.”
Picture by student Nathan McNaughton
Prizes were awarded for Design, Photography and Media to following students:
DESIGN
Winner - Joanna Kropacz - HND Graphic Design Student
“Taking part in the Andra project was a great experience which taught me how to look on design in a different way. It allowed me to explore various ideas before I decided to choose a final one. I wanted my design to be simplistic, based on distorted geometric shapes and related to nature.”
Best 1st Year Design – Jack Potter – HNC Design & Illustration
“I was very excited to be a part of this years IKEA project, the opportunity to have designs judged by such a prestigious company was extremely valuable”
Jack Potter, image by student Nathan McNaughton
Runner Up - Michelle Rosinski – HNC Interior Design
“Working on a collaboration project with IKEA has been absolutely amazing. Growing up, my family always visited IKEA so it was an incredible feeling winning an award for my design. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in such a great project!”
Michelle Rosinski, image by student Nathan McNaughton
Runner Up - Maria Morgan – HNC Interior Design
"I thought working with IKEA was very interesting and exciting. It was great to experiment with different functions/edits on Photoshop to then develop my fabric design. It also gave a real insight to what working with a client is like with real deadlines."
PHOTOGRAPHY
Winner - Magdalena Kaminska – HND Photography
“I am delighted – I was so inspired by the design of the IKEA fabric I decided to reflect the movement and change within it with the movement of a human form. It was a really inspiring and challenging brief – it made me a better photographer – thank you.”
Magdalena Kaminska, image by student NathanMcNaughton
Runner Up - James Finlayson – HND Photography
“It was a project that gave me creative freedom and a unique opportunity to work with a huge company – it was daunting – but with the support from my tutors I was able to produce some great work, and to win a runner up place was amazing”
Best 1st year Photography - Ross Gardner – HNC Photography
“I am overjoyed to have earned a prize through the IKEA project. Having done very little studio work prior to this I was faced with a personal challenge to produce an image that both my lecturer and I were happy with. Earning a prize was both surprising and encouraging. I would like to thank everyone involved for the opportunity.”
Ross Gardner, image by student Frank Graham
Runner Up - Michal Kobiela – HNC Photography
“Product photography may seem boring and without creativity. That is why it was so challenging to create something that would stand out between many other product images. Thanks to the simple composition and colours used, I was able to create an eye-catching image - I think this is what made my image win a prize in the IKEA competition. In my opinion technique together with creativity can create something spectacular even in product photography.”
Michael Kobiela, image by student Frank Graham
MEDIA - BEST SHORT FILM
Winner - Natalia Wilinska – HNC Creative Industries
“I’m beyond excited to be a winner in the IKEA project. I always loved IKEA, the designs, patterns and things they create. I was very happy to be a part of Ändra project, to capture and show the evolution and all the changes in Emma’s designs”.
Click here to view Natalia’s winning film.
Pictured: Natalia Wilinska and Lecturer Kate Cotter
Runner Up - Aidan McCluskey - HNC Creative Industries
“It was a great experience making this film and collaborating with the designer. The fact that this film was for IKEA makes it 100% better.”
Pictured: Aidan McCluskey and Lecturer Kate Cotter
An exhibition showcasing the students work will take place in IKEA Glasgow during December.
Well done to all those involved with special thanks to project lead Marisa Gianasi and Ailleen Peter, pictured below.
Image by student Nathan McNaughton