Design lab helping budding businesses to market

A company which uses clothing to measure the heart rate of its wearers is among a host of budding businesses which look set to benefit from a collaboration between Massey University design students and regional economic development agency Grow Wellington.

The Open Lab is a design studio located at the Institute of Communication Design on Massey’s Wellington campus to provide help to start-up businesses using the talents of students from College of Creative Arts.

Third and fourth year visual communication design students are paid a fee for their work which is overseen by recent graduates Tom Le Bas and Philip Tan. Tutor Brooke Cheeseright liaises between students – who are mentored by institute staff – and the businesses including website designers, book publishers and brand marketers referred to them by Grow Wellington.

One such business is Footfalls and Heartbeats, which devised clothing to measure the heartbeat without the user having to wear miniaturised electronics.

“The fabric is the technology,” the company’s chief executive Karen Bender says, explaining how it eliminates chafing, an issue with heart-rate straps, while still allowing potential heart attack sufferers to monitor their condition. Ms Bender says the revolutionary textile fabric was achieved through a combination of chemistry, nanotechnology and textile structure.

If all that sounds a bit technical, then Ms Bender says the practical support offered by the Open Lab concept is invaluable.

The students helped her business with designs for a letterhead, business cards, power point templates and a product logo.

“From little things big things grow and I’ve really appreciated the help and advice students and staff have provided.”

Institute of Communication design head Chris Bennewith says the on-campus studio is a great opportunity to give young designers real-life experience to complement their studies.

“The students have an opportunity to apply and extend what they’ve learnt from their course work in a pressure environment, collaborating in teams to meet real client expectations and deadlines.”

He also welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with organisations like Grow Wellington that help develop international competitiveness for businesses in the region.

“It’s a real win-win opportunity where both clients and designers get a huge boost from collaboration,” Associate Professor Bennewith says.

Grow Wellington has identified another 10 businesses to use the services of the Open Lab. The agency selected the start-ups from the top 50 placed in its Bright Ideas challenge last year.

Grow Wellington technical business manager Abby Hassan says the collaboration with the institute offers quality resources for the businesses and practical work experience for the students in their area of study.