Concepts over content: Effective design units go beyond just delivering content—they are shaped by key concepts that guide the planning and structure of each new unit.
Here, you can explore some of the projects I currently teach or have taught to students aged 11 to 16.
WHAT IS A CHAIR?
Definning what makes a chair, a chair before designing our own.
FUTURE SPACES
Exploring the possible future needs for space and structure and proposing solutions.
DESIGN FOR ENTERPRISE
Designing products with commercial viability and sales in mind.
HABITAT
Designing sustainably to help reduced habitats whilst reducing household waste.
REACH.GRIP.LIFT
Developing inclusive solutions to extreme problems to empower the less physically able.
SMART CITY
A robotics-oriented unit whereby students design smart traffic solutions to reduce local congestion at peak times.
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ITERATIVE CABLE WINDER
Using the process of iterative design and analysis to incrementally solve the issue of cable mess.
PHENOMENA
Students explore phenomena-based, real-world problems and attempt to solve through systems thinking models.
HEALTHY HORIZONS
A Food Design unit whereby students design and make a culturally sensitive meal suitable for Singapore Airlines
ECO SUPERHERO
An on-campus problem-driven coding project rooted in sustainability and service.
SWATCH WATCH [GRAPHIC DESIGN]
Exploring cultural identity and using it as a tool for design inspiration.
DESIGN WITH PURPOSE
Producing creative solutions for phone storage, for specific target audiences through CAD CAM.
DESIGN FOR ADJECTIVES, NOT NOUNS
Designing for the emotional connections that we form with products.
IB MYP STUDENT INNOVATORS GRANT
I helped to support a group of passionate and empathetic design students who were 2020 IB Student Innovator finalists with a fantastic initiative aimed at reducing textile waste. They have since received funding to continue and implement their project, which they are currently working towards completing. I have also supported a number of students who have used their design projects to enter a school STEM initiative called Area 320. I supported these students with idea generation and development and the general design and manufacturing of components for their project(s).
Above: Students pitch their invention of an ‘exhaust snorkel’ to a panel of judges from RMIT, Vietnam.