Ridgeline by Makushla Harper - 2024 Dean’s Award Winner

Ridgeline by Makushla Harper

Makushla Harper is the 2024 Dean's Award Winner within the Industrial Design (Honours) program. Her outstanding design outcomes, peer to peer learning contributions, and consistent effort throughout her 4 year journey with us has been acknowledged by the witnessing staff and students. Makushla's heart is aligned to the outdoors and her design outcomes gravitate towards enhancing people's ventures into nature.

Water bladder levels indicated by tactile bumps.

Designed for Disassembly, this mono-material constructed backpack has ease of disassembly in mind for end of life deconstruction.

In partnership with the company Kathmandu, Makushla’s final Honours capstone project titled 'Ridgeline', is a mono-sourced, material backpack that integrates interactivity into the design, enabling greater dependence on sensory feedback in unlit environments and scenarios. These tactile sensory cues can alert users to vital information at night, such as water bladder remaining levels or the direction to access stored items through distinct surfaces and textures. A unique non-digital, materiality outcome, centred on hiker's needs to enhance safety and the overall experience in unpredictable natural environments.