Old Grammarian to present at design conferernce

A FORMER Bacchus Marsh Grammar student will soon feature as a keynote speaker in the upcoming Design and Technology Teachers’ Association’s annual conference.

Travelling to Melbourne’s Northern College of the Arts and Technology in early December, Ashleigh McGuire, who graduated high school last year, will present on her VCE product design and technology project, the anti-anxiety hoodie.

She said she’s looking forward to presenting on the ideas behind the work.

“I’m excited to talk about the background of the work and what’s inside it,” she said.

“It’s very focused on the sensory side. When you go to look at it, you can see the outside obviously but a lot of people don’t know the background of it and the elements to it.

“I want people to listen and see if this is something that might help them in their day-to-day life, to get them thinking of other possibilities on how to target certain issues that’s different to what’s already out there.”

Ms McGuire’s anti-anxiety hoodie was one of nine textile projects to feature in this year’s Top Designs, a Museums Victoria initiative which highlights outstanding creative projects from VCE students throughout the state.

The project also won the Eckersley’s prize for Human-Centred Design.

Regularly dealing with anxiety herself, Ms McGuire said the project was born out of the pressures of undertaking year 12 last year.

“I was quite stressed at the time and looking for something like what the project is but there was nothing around so that really inspired me to create it,” she said.

“There’s also fidgets, and sequins that move up and down, fluffy inserts. All those sensory elements are inside the pocket so you can’t see it.

“I’ve found sensory things like compression can help. I have a weighted blanket at home, so there’s a compression element in there.

“It’s a discreet way of having those sensory needs met in a public setting.”