Showcase 2023 Student Spotlight: Lucy Steward
Student Spotlight featuring BA (Hons) Furniture and Product Design student, Lucy Steward and her project, Occlude.
Occlude by Lucy Steward
The project
Occlude is a Mobile Acoustic Shield designed to help improve the office experience for those with hearing loss. Its inclusive design allows the user to fully immerse themselves within their work without background noise and visual distractions. The retractable wings give the user the ability to control the privacy level depending on their mood.
The inspiration behind the project
Lucy is a keen advocate for inclusive design and her own personal experience with mild hearing loss was the driving point of this project. As designers, there is a responsibility to ensure things are made accessible and suitable for everyone. The events of COVID-19 caused everyone to resort to wearing masks and working from home which negatively impacted the hard-of-hearing and the deaf community. Lucy wanted to introduce a product which could bring confidence to those who lost it during this time.
For Lucy, working on the project has been a challenging couple of months with a lot of highs and many lows but the support from the staff and technical team has made the journey far easier.
Being part of NTU
Lucy has enjoyed her time at NTU and she's been given opportunities that she never thought she would have the chance to be a part of both inside and outside the course. She has developed skills such as time management and industry experience through a sandwich year offered by the course.
The university course took the whole class to Europe where they visited many places which gave them the opportunity to see some influential areas within design. She particularly enjoyed visiting Vitra in Germany which is home to all the timeless and iconic furniture designs throughout the decades. She also thought how it was a good laugh and time spent with coursemates.
Closing remarks
NTU is a great place to prepare you for the industry itself with the opportunity of a sandwich year you gain valuable insight into yourself as a designer and prepare you for the final push of your final year. Staff and technical support are always on hand to help and often go the extra mile.
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