This year, the Visual Communication Design Program concluded its four-year program with the capstone design projects, which showcased the exemplary works of 12 students on the program at a graduation ceremony under the patronage of the Al Othman Portfolio.
The Capstone projects are a culmination of the skills that the students have gained over the last four years, and the final project is based on a year-long assignment where students are asked to find solutions to industry challenges, create their own invention and develop innovative solutions for projects with social and cultural responsibilities. The projects go from concept to design to fabrication.
The Visual Communication Program is one of the first design-based educational experiences that combine the art of visualization with the science of innovation. The project falls within the Department of Visual Communication Design & Interior Architecture of the College of Architecture at Kuwait University. This year the students showcased their unique projects at a graduation ceremony on Sunday 19th June. The event was held at Soapbox in The Promenade.
The projects were overseen by Dr Amar Behbehani, professor and capstone project mentor, and Dr Ahmed Al Oumi, professor and mentor, from Kuwait University. Both the professors stressed the importance of providing students with the opportunity to display their works to the public and showcase their talents as well as the innovative experience. They also highlighted that showcasing their works to the public also gave them the chance to stress-test their ideas.
The Al Othman portfolio was represented by Abdullah Zeki Al Othman, Dar Al Othman manager. The Al Othman portfolio participated in this year’s capstone since supporting education on all levels is a cause close to their hearts. They believe that promoting these projects and events are essential for cultural growth. Al Othman portfolio was delighted to see the exquisite works that the graduating students presented.
The product designs by the graduating students included several domains, such as human well-being, mental health (application), education, sports experiences, sign language, communications, games (application), and organizational skills (application), family communications (application), transportation experiences (mixed media), cultural heritage, and women’s self-defense.
Some amazing ideas came from this year’s capstone. One idea is to design scissors for people with special needs or those that suffer with issues of the hands. Another project was creating a smart wardrobe, this is an app where you can take photos of your entire wardrobe and the app will recommend outfits based on weather, friends and family feedback, and inform you when you haven’t worn certain pieces in a while.
Another project is to create an application to facilitate the organization of family tasks and responsibilities and involve the whole family in managing the home and defining chores – we especially like this one. Another of our favorite ideas is to encourage people to use public transport to alleviate traffic jams, car parking issues, and pollution. The student analyzed areas underserved by public transport routes, and provided solutions consisting of internal paths in the areas serving the residential and neighboring areas to increase the use of public transport.
The event concluded with a closing ceremony, where the Al Othman Portfolio’s representative, Abdullah Zeki Al Othman, presented graduating students with gifts and he received a token of appreciation by the Kuwait University’s Department of Visual Communication.
To find out more about Kuwait University’s College of Architecture, visit @coa.ku on Instagram. To learn more information about the event venue, visit @soapboxkw – which offers a fully turnkey event space for rent.
