Lauren coordinates the Top Designs program at Melbourne Museum.
As Top Designs 2012 enters its final weeks at Melbourne Museum, I'd like to share some of the highlights of this year's exhibition and programs. We say it every single year, but if it's possible, it really did seem like the best Top Designs yet. I was so impressed by everything on display, it is astonishing to think that teenage designers created these beautiful pieces while balancing the many pressures of VCE.
Red Riding Hood inspired garment designed and constructed by Stephanie Wake.
Source: VCAA
I love Stephanie Wake's hand-felted Red Riding Hood cape (so stylish it made the front cover of mX), George Meek's copper, steel and resin chess pieces are beautifully crafted, and Kyle Hui's architectural model and Berlin stamp set are absolutely stunning.
George Meek’s Architecture Themed Chess Set, created for Design and Technology.
Source: VCAA
Kyle Hui’s architectural model for Visual Communication and Design Unit 4
Source: VCAA
As always, the exhibition was accompanied by an education program for secondary students currently or soon to be studying VCE design. The thousands of Victorian students who attended the forums received advice and information about their studies, as well as inspiring presentations by innovative Melbourne designers sharing their experiences of professional practice. I loved sitting in and listening to the presentations – it was fascinating to hear how engineers tested the foundations of the proposed Nakheel Tower in Dubai, how a film director worked with the Aboriginal community of Fitzroy Crossing to make a beautiful film that screened in festivals from New York to Prague, or how you design and apply a 70 metre long sticker to the side of a Boeing 747! Now that the education program is all wrapped up for 2012, we will continue to share tips, insights and information with our Top Designs community via our Facebook fanpage.
Filmmaker Dominic Allen spoke to Media – Film students in our education forums.
Source: Clint Peloso
This year I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to make a short film about Top Designs with Robert Zugaro, an RMIT film student interning with the museum. It was so inspiring and entertaining to interview students selected for Top Designs 2012, who really are such clever, creative and charming young people. I also spoke with a couple of superstar Top Designs alumni, Chris Murphy and Genevieve Kulesza, about their experiences in the design industry beyond VCE. Robert has done a wonderful job creating the film, and I'm very excited to think of all the aspiring Top Designers who will watch it and start working towards work to submit for Top Designs 2013.
Watch this video with a transcript