Review: NTU's 2025 Student Showcase
By Liam Martin | Published on 3 June 2025
Categories: Press office; School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment;
Review: NTU's 2025 Student Showcase
A review of the 2025 NTU Student Showcase by Liam Martin, director and creative lead at Visune, and product design alumnus of NTU
On one side of the room, a student attempts to reinvent the orthopedic cast with biocompactible Nylon; on the other, a student has created a beautiful aromatherapy pendant to support and calm women through the menstrual cycle. The sheer breadth of interests, projects, media and skills on show at NTU’s Product a Furniture Design Degree Shows never ceases to amaze me. And the 2025 edition is no different.
This show has some of the best prototyping I’ve seen from the Product Design courses, particularly around consumer electronics. Evidence that 3D printing capabilities in the department and students’ CAD skills are evolving fast. Oscar Marchal’s ‘Aphid’ portable DJ decks, Zaki Razak’s 'Structra' modular NHS trolley, and Zak Boardman’s ‘Focus’ phone locker are three of the best examples of industrial design I can remember from NTU’s shows. And all have superb prototypes to back them up.
A product design student on the show's opening night
Meanwhile, on the softer side of design, Florrie Lithgrow’s ‘Curious and Create’ activity kit fuses astronomy and play in one big sensory overload. Designed for public libraries, this erupting box of materials, information cards, and drawing tools uses colour and texture to teach and inspire children about our solar system and beyond.
Across the plinth, Ishita Arora’s ‘Adapt’ uses adaptive pressure therapy to deliver calming feedback to users with ADHD. Ishita went to great lengths to consider the day-to-day wearability and cleaning whilst balancing advanced technology with a timeless vest design.
Both ladies gave us a sharp elevator pitch to sell the concepts which is a testament to their confidence and passion in discussing their designs.
NTU’s teaching has always had a commercial focus which shines through again this year. William Paterson’s ‘Inventory’ PC building toolbox is a crowdfunding success waiting to happen, and Daniel Davies’ ‘Hem’ bench and stool system is about as market-ready as a project could come.
Liam taking a photograph of ‘Drape N’ Drop’
But my favourite piece of the show goes to Ola Bielak’s ‘Drape N’ Drop’. We all have a chair in our bedroom that’s sole function is to hang the clothes we can’t summon the will power to put away. Ola’s playful take on this sets out to replace the so-called ‘clothing chair’ by building a simple frame around a laundry basket. This fun concept was presented perfectly and reminds us that design doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective.
Graduates are going out into a challenging economy and competitive job market. With designers learning to wear so many different hats during university, it’s no surprise that design and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. As someone who’s used their experience from Product Design to start a business, I hope some of these graduates take on the challenge and carve out opportunities of their own.
I know only too well the blood, sweat and marker pens that each of these students will have put in to deliver this huge showcase. They should be extremely proud of the show they’ve put together.
Liam Martin is the director and creative lead at Visune and a product design alumnus of NTU