Sarina Oetgen

Design portfolio

A selection of completed solo and collaborative design projects.

Anthrotype:
Imprint of a human

Concluding my study at Massey University, this project came to life during my honours year, through explorations into my own relationship with making and the spaces I inhabit as a maker.

'Anthrotype: Imprint of a human' investigates the complexities of designing for a post-human Aotearoa. It interrogates the relationship between myself, a Pākehā designer, and the whenua, through material-based making practices.

Each toolkit connects a way of making with a location, through a material found there. Through engaging with introduced materials, this project highlights the impacts of human activity on natural landscapes.

These tools unleash potential for creativity and environmental restoration.

Heli Habitat Helpers

An immersive, tactile game that brings children into the world of Kākāpō conservation. Designed to be to be played outdoors, Heli Habitat Helpers encourages players to solve complex problems through communication and creative thinking.

Both educational and fun, this game was developed with the help of 'play testers' from Forest and Bird's Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC).

Tsofli

Tsofli is an egg chair reimagined. Made only with wool, and coloured with natural dyes, this hanging chair has been designed with a focus on user comfort, durability and sustainability.

The inherent properties of wool fibres are utilised throughout every aspect of the Tsofli hanging chair. Spun into ropes, the tensile strength of strong wool is utilised to suspend its ‘shell’ and add tension, while finer strong wool yarn adds structure to the form. Knitted panels are stretched over the exterior of the chair body, adding texture, colour and another layer of structural support.