Product Design

Designing for people and the planet through Human Centred Design and Design for Sustainability is at the core of Machiko’s teaching and research. In particular, she finds community partnership projects and project-based teaching are some of the rewarding aspects of her work.

Machiko has mentored students to succeed in various awards including the Design Institute of New Zealand Best Awards, Audacious Start-up Awards, and Map the System Canada - System Thinking Awards. Her interdisciplinary team work on Vision 20|20 also won a silver in 2021 Best Design Awards in the Social Good section.

Currently teaching Human Centred Design in Year 1, Studio Courses in Year 3 and Honours and Postgraduate courses.

We are thrilled to have Matt as our dedicated technician. He is a product designer with two decades of industry experience in NZ and the UK, and has a wealth of knowledge about materials and types of production. He brings a great range of skills and a practical mindset to the role, and helps lift our student and staff projects to a professional level.

Outside of work, Matt loves spending time with family, building things, riding bikes on long adventures.
 

Tim has worked in Aotearoa, the US, Canada and Europe as an industrial designer, consultant and entrepreneur. Practicing largely in the cycling and outdoor design industries, Tim is focussed on developing innovative, human-centred products.

Since graduating from Otago Polytechnic in 2003, he has worked in diverse teams to create and market award-winning designs; from load-carrying solutions for bikes, sleeping bags for arctic exploration, to backpacks for the daily urban assault.

Tim is an experienced design teacher, and has recently completed his Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education. His interests include education, sustainability, local innovation and production, soft-goods design, and materials and manufacturing processes.

Tim is passionate about outdoor adventure, and is often disappearing into remote areas of the country to explore on foot, ski or bike, and to take down wilding pines whenever possible.

Andrew has designed many mass-produced products and has worked as an industrial designer in several roles across his career. His roles include working for large-scale injection moulding companies and design consultancies in New Zealand, Australia and Malaysia.

Andrew has been teaching at the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic for the last 16 years. His OP work includes teaching on entrepreneurship programs and supporting Dunedin student startup business events.

During the first COVID lockdown Andrew helped form SouthMED team to develop Suzy, an oxygen hood for NZ hospitals. He has also worked on research collaborations for education resources, accessibility products and waste and packaging solutions. His projects and teams have featured in various design awards in NZ, Germany and USA.

Gavin’s teaching career spans over 30 years in teaching design history and practice.

His Master’s thesis explored the history of Hayes Engineering, New Zealand’s own fencing strainer manufacturer and his curious nature has led to acquire a vast knowledge about New Zealand design history.

Gavin also has a keen interest in craft and fabrication. One of the resulting project of many is his Butterflies project inspired by Enid Hunter’s 1970 iconic design of a New Zealand postage stamp. Gavin often contributes to the 'Curiosities Exhibition' displayed to entice and inspire the design community at Otago Polytechnic.

Gavin is currently teaching drawing and in a furniture-making elective project.

Angus completed his Bachelor of Design (Product) in 2021 and has since joined the Product Design team. His interests surround conservation, sustainability and creating more inclusive frameworks and language in design.

In the Product Design programme, Angus teaches the second-year Studio 3 Sustainability and first-year Computer-Aided Design courses and teaches within the elective project and interdisciplinary courses. He also assists his colleagues in various other courses within the degree programme.

Angus has been recognised with two DINZ Best Awards for his projects in recent years and is always looking for opportunities to collaborate with others.

Alex is lucky to be the 2D guy in the great Product Design team. He teaches Communication Fundamentals – an introduction to using digital tools to convey ideas, and Professional Presentation – creating design portfolios and re-visualising project work. He also teaches Design Culture and Context, where we try to connect design to the world around us.

Alex has worked as a designer at a tech company, a high school art and design teacher, and a teaching fellow at university. He still works a side hustle as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator. Alex is interested in design, music, art and visual culture, education, neurodivergence and disability, plain language and clear thinking, science and data, tech and innovative business.

He was part of a Vision 20|20 design team with Machiko that won a silver in the 2021 Best Design Awards.