TOA Students ‘Make a Better World’ Through Creativity

The Shanghai Maker Carnival is an annual exhibition which began in 2012 and is a platform for makers of all kinds and countries to come forth and exhibit their work. From then till now, this event has seen more than 600, 000 audiences and thousands of technological advances. It is truly an exciting event as well as an educational one. Each year, the exhibition is centered on a common theme and the work that is exhibited correlates to the theme set. For 2018, the theme was ‘Make a Better World’. During the three-day event, makers and audiences partake in various events that are ongoing in addition to the exhibition held. Examples of side events are forums, talks, performances and so on.

This year, a group of students from The One Academy’s School of Multimedia Design were invited to showcase their masterpieces at the exhibition. The two group’s projects, ‘S.A.W’ and ‘Mao’ were initially developed as part of the Sustainable Goals Development project held in conjunction with Sunway Malls x TOA. The students were ecstatic and honoured to learn that they had the opportunity to bring their work to showcase it on an international platform.

S.A.W which stands for Sexist Arm Wrestling aims to shed light on gender inequality faced by women on a daily basis. The creators Howe Xin Yu, Ng Wen Jun, Chew Woan Shan, and Phon Wei Sing wanted to allow the public to experience a literal, exaggerated representation of the frustrating social discrimination experienced by women. The game requires two players, preferably each of the opposite sex, who control the two robotic figures in an arm-wrestling game. The players get to control their robots via buttons and controls. The game is pre-programmed to ensure the female robot wins the game each time, however the words “Male Wins” will be flashed on the screen above. This captures the daily frustrations that gender inequality brings.

Another project is Mao, an interactive flip book that tells a short story through animation and aspires to convey how minor changes to our daily lifestyle can impact the environment. This project, produced by Justin Lee Chin Yeow, Loh Weimen Rendy, Low Kok Wei, Ong Jue Heng, and Steffie Eddy, hopes to inspire the audience to take the first step to achieve overall sustainability. Attendees are able to watch the short story and fully comprehend the effects our lifestyle has on the environment, and ultimately be motivated to adapt small changes to make a big difference. Throughout this, the viewer is prompted to interact with the display to help Mao make choices that contribute to Sustainable Development Goals such as consumption of electricity and so on. The display uses the Pepper’s Ghost technique to produce a fun and entertaining method of bringing awareness to real issues.

The techniques and methods used by the students to produce their masterpieces were a by-product of their education here at The One Academy. We constantly strive to ensure students have the resources, means and knowledge necessary to create technological advances such as these with ease. Having the opportunity to exhibit what they have learnt at an international platform such as the Shanghai Maker Carnival was truly a fruitful end to their hard work.

The One Academy is committed to providing the best art education programmes and continues to nurture its students passionately through its ‘Masters Train Masters’ coaching philosophy, which has been practised for the past 27 years, by providing diploma and degree courses namely Advertising & Graphic Design, Digital Animation, Digital Media Design, Film Visual Effects, Interior Architecture & Design, Illustration, Fine Arts and Paris Fashion Design & Pattern Making. For more information on The One Academy, visit www.toa.edu.my or call +603-5637 5510 or e-mail your enquiries to [email protected].