Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) School of Design (SoD) held its annual event, UPH Design Weel 2018, on July 23-27, 2018. This massive event showcases various works of SoD students from 4 different Study Programs – Architecture, Interior Design, Product Design, and Visual Communication Design. The preliminary exhibition, ‘Experiences’, displays around 50 of the students’ work at Lippo Mall Kemang and Lippo Mall Puri on July 20-22, 2018.

There is no formal opening to the exhibition; instead, the event is opened up with a bang in social media. Dr. Martin Luqman Katoppo, S.T., M.T., Pj., Dean of SoD, and Ferry Gunawan, S.T., M.A., the Head of the Architecture Study Program and Head of UPH Experiences, invited all lecturers and students to do Instagram Lives in each of their devices. By showcasing the works on display through Instagram Live, the exhibition is hoped to garner more audience in a shorter period of time.

Martin, Dean of SoD, explained that UPH Design Week was born to show people that SoD UPH is a design school based on the Christian faith but with the approach of design thinking.

“With this design thinking approach, SoD pushes both students and lecturers to always innovate based on social issues. We hope that the designs we make can have an impact – the betterment of our nation. Through this event, UPH SoD wants to be a blessing,” Martin explained.

Ferry Gunawan, S.T., M.A., the Head of Committee, explained that the theme ‘Experiences’ can help the public to experience the works displayed, be it in aspects of interior design, products, and graphic design. Ferry also explained that all pieces featured has been carefully selected through curation.

“These works are all products of curation – we ask lecturers to choose the students’ best work. The committee then chose 50 pieces out of the works submitted by the lecturers. One of the most unique displays here is the piece from Architecture students, where they experiment using virtual reality. Visitors can experience the sensation of being transported through another place using this VR technology,” Ferry explained.

External parties are also involved in this exhibition. Dian Siddya Budiman, Deputy President Director of HOMEDECO came and commended the works of Product Design students who explored materials sponsored by HOMEDECO. This is the first time HOMEDECO has ever collaborated with a university.

“HOMEDECO initially decided to collaborate with UPH Product Design to introduce our new multifunction material. We gave the material to be explored by the students – to see what the material can be used for. It turns out that the outcomes they produce exceeded our expectations. We asked them to experiment with the material and they ended up with mind-blowing products. We want to continue our partnership with UPH and we’d love to wait for other surprises,” Dian said, expressing her feelings on the collaboration with UPH.

Ferry hopes that this exhibition can promote SoD UPH to the public – can help the public see the quality of the faculty and also as a media for the works of the students to be known more widely. This helps propel the students towards producing their best work always and not only making projects to fulfill course requirements. Simply put, this event is SoD’s form of appreciation to its students.

This exhibition motivates students to continue showing their best work. One of the most eye-catching works in the showcase is a piece entitled ‘Connec – Creating Continibility Through Recreation Facility’ by Johan Raphael along with 4 other students (Berton Setiawan, David Krisitiawan, Jessica Deviani, and Natasya Gunardi), students of the Architecture 2015 study program.

“The main concept of this piece is ‘connection’ – our core aim is to build a connectivity between pedestrians and recreational facilities in one public area. We want to connect recreational facilities such as a library, garden, restaurant, etc. with a reliable pedestrian facility, so that all the sites can be accessed by foot. We decided to design this because we see the need of a pedestrian culture in Indonesia, which will make people enjoy the outdoor scenery while walking from place to place. My team and I managed to make this design only because of all the knowledge and concepts that have been taught by our lecturers, which push us to think outside the box. If I didn’t study in UPH, I will probably manage to only make basic designs without a philosophical understanding of why I want to make a piece, and what the piece means to the people around me,” Johan testified.

UPH Design Week 2018 will continue for the rest of the week, with a Design Camp, a National Design Seminar, and Movie Screening featuring Lukman Sardi on July 25, 2018 at the Cinemaxx Theater. (mt)