Sheikha Latifa honours region’s first batch of design graduates

Students from Dubai Institute of Design & Innovation put forth projects that span the health and fashion industries

Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and member of the Dubai Council, at the DIDI graduation ceremony. Dubai Media Office

Decolonising Digital Fashion by Pavwan Ahmad Malik. The interactive garments enhance the wearer’s understanding of culture through digital artefacts and print manipulations.

MiFloof by Ayesha Abdulla Alsuwaidi and Shamma Ibrahim Almulla. The phygital companion assists children in developing emotional regulation skills.

The Metaverse: A Bridge Between Realities by Nayef Faisal Albastaki. The project proposes a metaverse space that will aid feelings of comfort with and safety in virtual worlds.

Theo by Alhaan Ahmed. The light, wearable and interactive paediatric physiotherapy solution makes physiotherapy more accessible, simple and fun for children.

Curio by Nikhilesh Mohan. The visual stimulation device assists teachers and therapists to engage better with low vision children in a bid to boost participation.

Everlasting by Nour Nasser Maadad and Aisha Mohammed Abdulsalam. A comparison of traditional Emirati and Lebanese fashion for reinterpretation through a contemporary, digital lens.

MindPlay by Sana Elmardi Mohamed. The headset and monitoring app explore how the gamification of neurofeedback therapy can support the treatment of ADHD.

Recollect by Rafif Alhassen. The app provides a way for those with early to mid-stage dementia to perform reminiscence therapy through the use of artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

Abdulaziz Zamil Alzamil explored the development of a design methodology based on the laws from the 1908 book 'The Kybalion'. Principles such as mentalism, vibration, polarity, rhythm, gender, and cause and effect were then applied to design provocative furniture pieces.

Connecting 3D Printing in the Automotive Industry by Noor Mohamed Alfahim. The online platform is designed to facilitate communication and connection between the automotive, design and manufacturing industries to provide low-cost 3D-printed components for cars.

The Customisation of High Heels using 3D Printing Technology by Sara Nael Alnajadawi. The project uses a three-step process that includes pressure identification tests, scanning and 3D printing, to redesign a woman's pre-existing pair of high heels or create new, more comfortable ones.

Tawahadna by Maha Khalid Baseed and Vaidehi Pal. The outfits are based on the needs of children with sensory disorders.

Circular Fashion: From Waste to Value by Maha Ezzat Abdalla. The project maps fabric waste through identifying, testing and applying transitional solutions towards fashion circularity.

The DIDI's invitation to its first graduation ceremony. The four eggs represent each of the institute's four disciplines, as well as 'a new generation ready to hatch'.

In 2018, when the Dubai Institute of Design & Innovation opened its doors, its dean at the time, Sass Brown, told The National: “Design has a much more important role in business, and designers are becoming part of the research and development process.”

This week, DIDI celebrates its first crop of graduates, who received their bachelor of design (also the first degree of its kind in the region) at a ceremony held at the Museum of the Future on Monday. Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and member of the Dubai Council, was on hand to confer the certificates and interact with the aspiring designers.

Hailing from all over the Mena region, as well as India, Pakistan and South Africa, the student-designers have dreamt up, worked on and realised some ground-breaking ideas over the past four years.

Ayesha Abdulla Al Suwaidi and Shamma Ibrahim Al Mulla, for instance, created MiFloof, a cheery yellow phygital companion, which assists children in developing emotional regulation skills.

Improving the quality of children’s lives was also top of mind for Nikhilesh Mohan, Sana Elmardi Mohamed, Maha Khalid Baseed and Vaidehi Pal.

Mohan built a visual stimulation device to assist teachers and therapists to engage better with children who suffer from low vision, in a bid to boost participation, while Mohamed’s MindPlay is a headset and app that explore how the gamification of neurofeedback therapy can support the treatment of ADHD.

Baseed and Pal worked together to explore the behavioural patterns and choices of children with autism when they are exposed to different textures of clothing. The results of the study showed that most experienced fabric sensitivity, embellishment issues and fastening difficulties.

Accordingly, the duo created a collection of garments with Velcro fastening, QR code tags, magnetic buttons and elastic waistbands.

Another fashion-forward idea, called the Customisation of High Heels using 3D Printing Technology, was put forth by Sara Nael Alnajadawi. The project uses a three-step process that includes pressure identification tests, scanning and 3D-printing to redesign a woman’s pre-existing pair of high heels or create new, more comfortable ones.

Finally, with the metaverse on everyone’s mind, DIDI design student Nayef Faisal Albastaki took it a step forward and proposed a metaverse space that will promote feelings of comfort and safety in virtual worlds, for those still not comfortable or savvy with this parallel universe.

“The graduation of the first bachelor's of design class from DIDI represents another milestone in our progress towards a vibrant creative economy [for which] we need to make sure the infrastructure and the right programmes and institutions are in place for creatives to develop, grow and flourish. This is not only for our community in Dubai, but for the region and beyond," Sheikha Latifa said.

The ceremony was also attended by Malek Al Malek, director general of the Dubai Development Authority and chairman of DIDI; Hala Badri, director general of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; Mohammad Abdullah, president of DIDI; Rachel Schreiber, executive dean of Parsons School of Design; Hani Asfour, dean of DIDI.