UJ design students clinch FIRST PLACE in Furniture Design Competition
Several University of Johannesburg (UJ) Industrial Design students, within the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture (FADA), took top honours in the national Furniture Design Competition hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the DTIC) in 2021. UJ students, Amukelani Mathebula, Michal Shushan and Mikhayla Peterson, scooped the first prize in the student category for their entry eKhaya. Djembe Collection 2020, followed by Katlego Madumo and James Fowler who bagged third place for Indigenous Afrika Collection. “eKhaya. Djembe Collection 2020 was designed to push boundaries and it feels great to be recognised for doing what we love, which is solving problems through design,” said Mathebula. “In future we hope to be as efficient in taking on design challenges in teams as well as individually.” The theme of this seventh edition of the annual competition, which the DTIC presented in partnership with Proudly South Africa, the South African Furniture Initiative, Coricraft Furniture, Mecad Solidworks, Furntech Centre of Excellence, Lewis Stores, the African Institute of Interior Designers and Tsogo Sun Hotels was: “This is mine and these are ours”.
The students were challenged to design furniture for four young newly-employed people who have come together to rent a modest apartment. With minimal budget, they were required to design a range of multipurpose and functional furniture, which is modular and can be purchased as budgets allow. The entries from design and architecture students across South Africa were judged
MAN Design Competition, winning third place for his table and lamp set, which was to be showcased at Design Miami from 1 December to 5 December 2021. He said he chose to study at UJ because “I wanted something that involved different types of design, and Industrial Design seemed like something that had a bit of everything”. “One of my goals is to help people by problem solving through design,” he said. Peterson, who is involved in design at Coricraft, says the win was a “complete surprise”. “Our team was extremely thankful for this opportunity, as it has opened doors for me and the rest of the team.” The Industrial Design course at UJ proved to be a “beautiful space where designers can be designers”, Peterson says. “The course is designed to represent the industry in reality, so when we graduated it was not a major culture shock.” Her goal is to have her own furniture company specialising in local design. “I’ve always loved design, but furniture just stood out the most to me,” Peterson says.
by some of the most well- known professionals in the design industry.
“I was so grateful to be part of a team that worked together with a common goal of excellence and producing our best work,” said Shushan. “To be recognised by industry professionals was the topping on the cake and made the thorough design process we took feel even more worthwhile,” she said. Shushan said that studying industrial design at UJ had been the most rewarding experience, “with lecturers that really care about you and your growth as a designer, who give you their time and energy in growing you into the best designer you can be. It was humbling to be taught by such great designers and educators”. Mathebula also entered another design competition called the HUE
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