Tag: Degree Show project

Student’s creative concept aims to ease the isolation of hair loss

Morven MacKinnon was inspired by loved ones to develop her Degree Show project

An Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) student has drawn inspiration from her gran to design a space for people experiencing hair loss.

Morven MacKinnon’s project, The Wellness Factory, is the concept of a treatment centre based in the Biscuit Factory in Leith.

Her work is on display alongside fellow Interior & Spatial Design students as part of ENU’s 2026 Degree Show – which is currently being held at its Merchiston campus.

A combination of sketches, visual renderings and a scale model, The Wellness Factory imagines a treatment centre specialising in hair loss and regrowth, with a strong focus on nutrition and overall wellbeing of an individual.

It is designed as an inviting, stress-free environment, with an open plan food hall and breakout areas to promote connection and recovery.

The 22-year-old from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire was inspired by loved ones who have experienced hair loss. She said: “A lot of people close to me have been affected by hair loss – my gran being one of them.

“She went through chemotherapy twice and lost her hair. I understand how difficult it can be, so I wanted to do something which would help people in that situation.

“My gran was a massive help in putting it all together. I interviewed her to ask how she felt about it at the time.

“It is an understandably touchy subject for anyone who has gone through it. I think she was quite moved that I chose this as a project.

“I focussed on three case studies in particular, alopecia, eating disorders and chemotherapy patients.

“It formed a big part of my concept – which is bringing people together. People I interviewed told me how it is such a lonely and daunting prospect.”

For Morven the Degree Show marks a full-circle moment, as it was where she made the decision to study at Edinburgh Napier University.

She added: “I always wanted to do something arty and creative, so I spent time looking at different degree shows around the country.

“The work at Edinburgh Napier stood out as being very impressive. It looked so professional and clean, it really stuck with me.

“I’ve had sleepless nights putting my final project together, but I’m so excited to show it off.

“The lecturers have been amazing. You can tell how passionate they are. I can’t wait to start my career now.”

Showcasing work from across ENU’s School of Arts & Creative Industries, the 2026 Degree Show is being held at the University’s Merchiston campus between 29 May and 5 June.

You can find out more about attending here.

Creative students’ award-winning Degree Show project gives advertisers something to chew over!

Origumi aims to help neurodiverse teenagers

An idea to transform chewing gum wrappers into a fold-up coping device for neurodiverse teenagers has earned industry recognition for three Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) students.

Caitlin Christina Borst, Ewan Bell and Sana Ziyaeen’s project, Origumi, has been named among the winners of this year’s D&AD New Blood Awards – a notable honour for emerging creatives.

The MSc Creative Advertising students are among those displaying their work at the 2025 Degree Show, which is open to the public at ENU’s Merchiston campus until Friday 6 June.

Responding to a brief from the chewing gum giant Extra, the trio designed a series of special wrappers for strip gums, with folding lines to help create origami-inspired paper creations.

Their campaign is aimed at young neurodiverse people, many of whom use fidgeting and stimming to help manage stress and anxiety. It combines unique packaging, out of home billboard adverts and a social media strategy.

Being recognised by D&AD, the leading industry organisation for the UK creative industry, came as a very welcome surprise to the team.

Sana, who is 24 and from Iran, said: “It’s crazy! I remember opening the email and still not quite believing it.

“It was an amazing feeling!”

24-year-old Ewan, who is from Aberdeen, added: “I was actually getting my hair cut at the time! I looked at my phone afterwards and it was going wild!

“When we all met up afterwards, we jumped about like kids!”

The Origumi team will find out which level of D&AD New Blood pencil they have won during an award ceremony in London in July.

They have put this success down to a rewarding year on the MSc course, which they hope will help to launch their career in advertising – as it has done for many predecessors.

Caitlin, 25, from Livingston, said: “It is a massive confidence boost to know that we’ve developed these skills which can be used in the industry.

“I think throughout the year we’ve all learned a lot from each other.”

“It feels like we’ve come a long way very quickly,” added Sana.

“We all have quite different backgrounds in terms of what we were doing before – which has really helped.”

Caitlin, Ewan and Sana have also followed in the footsteps of previous ENU Creative Advertising students Brianna Price and Mairi MacRae, whose Heineken Stim project drew on similar ideas, and was also recognised by D&AD in 2023.

The trio sought out their advice while developing Origumi.

“The fact that we have had industry professionals coming in has been so helpful,” said Ewan. “Having the help of predecessors has been really nice.

“I like that the course teaches you about the structure of a campaign. I feel a lot more equipped to take that out into work.”

Caitlin said: “We learned a lot about neurodivergence when putting this together. We noticed we were involuntarily fidgeting and stimming while discussing ways to take away the stigma.

“The project took a lot of different turns along the way, but I think we’re all pleased with where it has ended up.”

You can see Origumi and other work from across ENU’s School of Arts & Creative Industries at the 2025 Degree Show.

The week-long celebration of undergraduate and postgraduate students is free to attend and open to all until Friday 6 June – find out more about it here.

Typography Trails aims to show Edinburgh through a new lens

Degree Show project encourages rediscovery of city’s history

From the Castle and cobbles of the Royal Mile to its secret underground streets, Edinburgh’s heritage and history is known worldwide. But what could be learnt from looking a little closer?

An Edinburgh Napier graphic design student is encouraging people to explore Edinburgh through a new lens by taking a closer look at what has been a mainstay of its streets for generations – its typography.

Fourth year graphic design student Rosa Marshall has unveiled her final year project – Type Revival Edinburgh – this week at the University’s annual Degree Show at Merchiston campus.

With an aim of encouraging tourists and design enthusiasts to visit lesser-known parts of the city, Rosa has created two type trail publications, one each for the New Town and Old Town areas, that contain a map and guided tour of historic and traditionally crafted lettering which adorn streets and buildings in both areas.

The trails take in numerous stone inscriptions and ghost signs as well as present-day examples of signwriting. The publications delve into Edinburgh’s past and allows the user to learn more about wayfinding, street signs, shop signs, graveyard inscriptions and more from years gone by.

Users are also encouraged to take typographic rubbings as they move around the trail to truly appreciate the variety of letting styles and sizes that appear.

Rosa’s fascination with typography and lettering has grown throughout her time at University after initially being peaked during a work trip to Malawi last year.

She explains: “I work for a charity in Edinburgh and I was lucky enough to be able to visit Malawi in June last year. While I was there, I was struck by the prevalence of signwriting and hand lettering.

“I saw loads of examples of, at times, really intricate hand-made signage, each of which had an individual charm, and the idea for my major project was born.

“When I was back in Edinburgh, I started noticing examples throughout the Old Town and New Town and found that both areas are distinctively different from each other. I developed the idea of a zine that helps people who are interested in typography to firstly explore the area, and also to learn more about the history behind the streets, buildings and locations that these signs appear on and in.

“One of my favourite discoveries is a ghost sign on Lynedoch Place in the New Town that has been almost revealed behind layers of concrete as well as some of the medieval inscriptions from the 1590s in the Old Town – there really is so much variety and history to be told just from noticing things as you walk through both areas.

“It’s been a really fun project to work on. It’s got me outside and it’s got me really interested in typography. I’ve done some signwriting workshops as a result and I would really love to bring some sort of typography festival to Edinburgh in the future too.

“There’s so much more left to discover in Edinburgh and so many more stories to learn and share. I feel like I’m just getting started.”

You can learn more about Rosa’s project and others at Edinburgh Napier’s Degree Show which takes place at Merchiston campus from 24-30 May.