AUT winners at Best Awards 2023
AUT staff and students won 45 pins at the 2023 Best Awards, including 15 Gold, 10 Silver and 19 Bronze.
Professor Mandy Smith, Head of School of Art and Design, say this is the best year to date for AUT at the Best Awards.
“This year, 73 AUT student projects were shortlisted for the Design Institute of New Zealand’s annual Best Awards, which recognise excellence in graphic, toitanga, digital, moving image, spatial and product design,” she says.
“A huge congratulationsto all our students and staff involved.”In addition to student wins, artist, graphic designer and senior lecturer Dr George Hajian received a Silver Pin in the Graphic Design Editorial & Books category for “Charlie Rose & Peter Brown: The gay artist and his lover”, a publication that focuses on the self-portraits of New Zealand artist Charlie Rose and his portraits of his lifelong partner Peter Brown.
Dr Hajian worked on this project with Art and Design summer scholarship assistant, communication design graduate and AUT teaching assistant Sammy Good, who also received a Bronze Pin for her project "Kicking Against the Pricks: A tribute to Sharon Alston (Student & Academic Graphics category.)
On top of the 45-pin haul, the former dean of AUT’s Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies, and former School of Art and Design head, Professor Desna Jury, received a prestigious Black Pin – one of only four awarded annually to individuals for outstanding achievement.
Professor Smith says she acknowledges all School of Art and Design staff and students for their work towards this year’s Best Awards competition.
“Congratulations to all the students, and the staff who worked alongside them on their educational journey.
“With almost 90 entries this year, it has been a huge effort.”
Established in the 1970s, the Best Awards are the Design Institute of New Zealand’s annual showcase of excellence and are open to all.
In 2021, AUT School of Art and Design students won 40 Best Awards. Last year, staff and students from the schools of Art and Design and Future Environments won 31 awards in total.
Full list of winners:
Gold
Aakifa Chida - Will You Notice? Will You Change? (Student & Academic Graphics)
Olivia Erskine - They/Them (Student & Academic Graphics)
Shahade Bradley - Tapok: Graphic design as a bridge between a person and their cultural identity
(Student & Academic Graphics)
Jordan Tane - Ka mua, ka muri: Looking back in order to move forward (Student & Academic Graphics)
Lesley Ung: Dénouement: A Subjective Reflection on Death, Loss and Grief through Animation Practice (Student Moving Image)
Hollie Riddell - Grounded – A Sole For Nature (Student & Academic Product)
Caleb Breen – Seedy (Student & Academic Product)
Giulia Harper -Cubby (Student & Academic Product)
Imogen McIntyre - Hugg - Sensory Hat (Student & Academic Product)
Jackson Moore – Motion (Student & Academic Product)
Bede Bennett – Votedrop (Public Good Award)
Jordan Tane - Ka mua, ka muri: Looking back in order to move forward (Public Good Award)
Grace Fraser - Unseen Forces: Jewellery Studio (Spatial)
Hodaya Yarden - Jew.ellery (Spatial)
Jordan Tane - Ka mua, ka muri: Looking back in order to move forward (Toitanga)
Silver
Varvara Solovyeva - USO (Unidentified Swimming Object) (Student Moving image)
Avalon Martin - Retreat — A More Comfortable Toileting Option for Ostomy User (Student & Academic Product)
Ha Anh Vu - A very floaty Tet (Moving Image)
Savannah Boulle - Sea Sippers (Student & Academic Product)
Abbey Barlow - AB3D (Student & Academic Product)
Eden Doull - Impact Airbag (Student & Academic Product)
Grace Costello - Inclusive Intelligence (Public Good Award)
Sophie Lewis - Less than 5mm (Public Good Award)
Bryre Dowling - Aro & Ha: Turn to face, share breath. (Toitanga)
Madelaine Julia Janiga-Warren - Motu Match (Toitanga)
George Hajian (academic staff) & Charlie Rose - Peter Brown The Gay Artist and His Lover (Graphic Design Editorial & Books)
Bronze
Reid McLeay – CarbonRank (Student Digital)
Tong Hiranat - Thumbs up (Student Digital)
Kate Tran – Engverse (Student Digital)
Sammy Good - Kicking Against the Pricks: A tribute to Sharon Alston (Student & Academic Graphics)
Janine Carlos - Umali Kayo (Student & Academic Graphics)
Sophie Ardern – Awaken (Student & Academic Graphics)
Jacob Davies - Finding Control (Student & Academic Graphics)
Harriet Campbell - Whakatū Wāhine (Student & Academic Graphics)
Jannisa Seck, Hansika Tiyyagura – Labels (Student Moving image)
Sarah Shepherd - Strong Wool Speaks (Student & Academic Product)
Deanna Griffin - 'Co' — communication and learning system for children's bath time routines (Student & Academic Product)
Mark Rous – WanderBars (Student & Academic Product)
Jessica Kwong, Ashleigh Sun, Michelle Sheng, Sonia Zhang, Jacky Jones, Anya Hill, Emily Liu – Making medication information accessible (Public Good)
Holly Craig – Insideher (Public Good)
Bom Verkade – COZY (Public Good)
Pilar Cruz - The Second Shift (Public Good)
Alice Wang - Through the Glass (Spatial)
Taylor Downard - Sticky Correspondence: An animist design encounter (Spatial)
Daniel Eaton - Turning Toward (Spatial)
Useful links:
- View AUT winning projects on the Best Awards website here and here
- Study Art & Design at AUT
- 2022 Best Awards winners