Maya has a grandmother with dementia. In VCE, she sewed her a sense of solace

When Maya Soha’s grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a decade ago, Soha learnt sensory toys could play a calming role for people with dementia.

But these objects were rarely part of a person’s daily life.

So when the Star of the Sea College student took the VCE subject product design and technologies, she got to work sewing a jacket with interchangeable cuffs with fuzzy and knobbly textures, ensuring the tactile materials were never far from the wearer.

Another set of transparent cuffs display printed photos of loved ones, the garment has large buttons to help with dexterity issues in older age, and it comes apart so it can also be worn as a vest.

“She’s not in the late stages of dementia yet,” Soha says of her grandmother, Liliana, 84. “But I knew it would reach that point, and I wanted to make something that would make her happy and her life easier.”

Soha is among 81 students who will have their work on show in this year’s Top Designs exhibition at Melbourne Museum, which opens on Saturday and showcases some of the best work from last year’s VCE and VET design students.

The works are from subjects including media, furnishing and systems engineering, and selection is based on students’ portfolio marks, not their exam results.

Top Designs exhibition curator Lizzie Graham said that this year many of the works had themes of sustainability in the face of a changing climate, and human connection in response to the rise of artificial intelligence.

“You can really see how the students are seeking that out, and that is influencing their design,” Graham said. “It’s all about how best to really utilise what they’re dealing with in the world around them.”

Graham points to one innovative idea on show that loads mobile navigation into bike handlebars that pulse left or right to help direct the rider and reduce accidents due to distraction. Far from reinventing the wheel, Graham said, the student had tried to solve a real-world problem.

“This is something that we all face; we’ve all seen the statistics,” she said.

One of the most extensive portfolios in the exhibition was created by St Helena Secondary College systems engineering student Liam Holmes, who has laid out in 200 pages instructions for building a rover that reseeds land after deforestation.

“I did a lot of learning about the deforestation that occurred in the Amazon and still does occur when I was in year 10, and I just wanted to make an impact on that,” said Holmes, who took the subject as a year 11.

His finished rover is made from polylactic acid, which glows in the dark, and can be controlled from all around the world using internet connection. “There are a couple of alternatives out there to mine, but they’re a lot more expensive, and they’re bigger,” he said.

As well as sharing students’ ideas with the public, the exhibition offers the opportunity for students and teachers involved in design subjects to gather inspiration. Holmes was initially considering a complex water filtration system, and recommends students choose an achievable project.

“I went through many different ideas of things I could make,” he said. “A lot of them weren’t very good, and then I finally landed on this when I started thinking about the environment.”

Soha hopes people might see her garment and find it could be useful on a broader scale and inspire nonmedical approaches to helping people with dementia.

After the exhibition, she plans to give the garment to her grandmother. “I don’t want to just sit in my room,” she said.

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