Megan Visagie

This project was completed as an exchange student in Offenbach, Germany at HfG. The objective of the project was to experiment with glass and glass concepts. MARK is a restaurant table that is stained on the surface with heat. The stains are shaped according to the footprint of the bottom of drinking glasses that will intrigue customers and allow them to match or mismatch their glasses to the print on the table. The concept of MARK is therefore to evoke customers' thoughts on the energy needed to produce the glass they receive their beverage in and inspire them to see the value of each glass

This project was completed as an exchange student at the HfG in Offenbach, Germany. The initial context for this design was to provide a design solution for a Youth Hostel in Würzburg, Germany. It was noted that residents of the Youth Hostel feel the need to store personal belongings while sleeping. Studies reveal that people feel most at ease when their valuables are stored at a comfortable reaching distance. The objective of the design process was to focus on the safety of valueable personal items one has when travelling such a smart-phone, sunglasses, wallet and keys. A design intervention was incorporated that will promote order and reduce chaos in a room by forcing the user to suspend an item of clothing, towel or backpack in order to keep the pod closed and secure items within.

The Autract-speaker is a concept designed to assist fishermen and to lure fish through sound produced by the TalkWithFish application that mimics sound such as shells crushing, bugs that fly above the water and other fish swimming. The speaker is designed to be dropped into the water with a smart-phone safely sealed inside. The Autract device is suspended directly into the water and anchored by a plasma fiber bag that can be filled with sand or rocks. The device is attached to the boat, a tree or a belt.

The JOTO gas heater offers a sophisticated, elegant finish that will not only heat up any room but light it up with flare representative of the African horizon. This exceptionally unique gas heater embodies what is Afro-chic. The power buttons are allocated within the etched JOTO logo. The JOTO logo is embossed within the aluminium body whilst acting as the power button, to create an element of surprise with an elegant finish. The JOTO gas heater will make a statement in the room as it is 1.4 meters high. The brief was to design a portable gas heater that looks at a specific design movement for inspiration and elements.

The objective was to design a fog collector for a specific chosen context using the specially designed 3-D woven material provided by FESTO with biomimicry as a design lens. I chose to design a water harvesting device for the bird sanctuary of Port Nolloth, Northern Cape, South Africa. Port Nolloth is a small fishing village by the sea in the Karoo region that receives a lot of fog but not a lot of rain.The design is large in scale to harvest more water. A biomimicry lens was used throughout the design phase in order to look at nature for design solutions. Therefore the triangular shape and structure is inspired by succulent plants and their ability to heal an individual leaf. Each triangular section is designed to be removable and disassemble to optimize repair and reduce the damage of fog harvesting material. Gutters run along the bottom edge of each triangle and guide the water harvested from the fog into a the bird sanctuary.

ii’s is designed to improve one’s vision whilst driving using infrared technology. The design employs two infrared lenses in the glasses itself to show the course of the road in a brighter light which is then displayed through the lenses of the glasses and offer added safety for night-time driving. ii’s is made of aluminum sheets with walnut veneer for a design brief that looked for a pair of glasses for a specific context made of wood. The frame of the glasses were designed to increase range of vision at night and block out sunlight on the sides during the day

As I have been working in the restaurant industry as a waitress and bartender for 5 years the Seat chair was designed as an outdoor restaurant chair to better suit the needs of restaurant customers as well as the employees. The Seat is lightweight, easy for employees to clean, move and stack as well as more comfortable for the customers to sit on. This environmentally sustainable product can be directly marketed to a wide audience in this context. Therefore the seating area is temporarily attached to the frame to be easily disassembled for repairs. The Seat weighs 3.6kg making it easy for employees to lift up, carry, move and stack as well as easy for customers to move towards and away from the table. An aluminium frame covered in a detachable ash wood splint seat and backrest allows for a highly recyclable and light weight product. The natural material allows the skin to breathe and reduces skin irritation for customers, uses less material and is lightweight.