Meet The Designers Of Tomorrow: Central St Martin’s NOVA Award Finalists

The MullenLowe NOVA Awards for Fresh Creative Talent highlight the brightest names – and their gamechanging ideas – from the graduating cohort of artists, designers and innovators at Central Saint Martins. C&TH proudly sponsors the Regeneration Award, which recognises a project that promotes circularity, moving away from a linear economy to one that encourages people and planet to thrive. 

‘Our collaboration with Central Saint Martins has given us a fantastic opportunity to view the world around us through the eyes of exceptionally talented creatives,’ says Jose Miguel Sokoloff, president of the MullenLowe Global Creative Council. ‘It is a privilege to be able to recognise their creativity while supporting their future.’

Meet the 15 shortlisted finalists… 

MullenLowe NOVA Awards 2024: Who Are The Finalists?

Patrick Garvey

BA Fashion (Knit)

‘Crystalline’ is inspired by Catholic guilt and Rococo imagery from Patrick’s Irish upbringing and time as an altar boy, merging traditional Catholicism with modern spirituality. Through a crystallisation process developed over two years, Patrick create ‘embroidered’ knits that symbolise a new spiritual connection through crystals. 

María Camila Lugo Riveros

MA Graphic Communication Design

Maria’s project shares the story of how her father lost his ability to speak as a result of ataxia; the book, ‘Unsteady Ground’, examines how typography can capture qualities in language and speech that words alone can’t.

Joshua Obichere

MA Fine Art

Joshua’s installation piece, ‘Take Me To Freedom’, is set within a skeletal timber ship and challenges the viewer to reconfigure their understanding of Black masculinity – particularly in the form of queer black bodies – in light of historic colonialism and the contemporary realities of blackness.

Jane Zheng

BA Fashion Communication (Journalism)

‘Steam Steam Day Up!’ is a 20-minute documentary tracking the day of British-Chinese dry cleaner Tony Chung, owner of Haggerston’s cult The Steam Room. It inspires the audience to embrace heritage in a post-pandemic world. 

Izzy McCormac

BA Fashion (Womenswear)

‘I am Really a Kite’ captures the joy of the British seaside through six looks that both challenge traditional garment design and champion sustainable design practices (including economic sustainability). The garments are made from waste pleating paper and scrap-sourced paper.  

Illaria Quinte

MA Material Futures

Utilising pigment extraction from micro-algae – which enjoy antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties – Illaria has created ‘Beyond Flare’, spotlighting textiles that are both wearable and combat atopic dermatitis.

Ghada Alamoudi

MA Design: Ceramics, Furniture & Jewellery

‘Khimar Collection’ is dedicated to reviving intarsia, an endangered craft blending tradition and innovation. Each piece shares tales from over 40 artisans, championing cultural preservation and sustainability.  

Funmi Olawuyi

BA Product and Industrial Design

‘Eso Extensions’ are plant based hair extensions made from pineapple fibre – creating a carcinogenic-free and lovely alternative to the traditional petrol based extensions that dominate the beauty market. The product is in collaboration with pineapple farmers in Nigeria, reusing their waste streams to ensure a circular design process.

Evelyn Prentice

MA Graphic Communication Design

Traditional Colombian food sayings are translated through graphic design – Evelyn’s ‘Hungry Sayings’ tracks ‘endangered’ publication formats like recipe books and maps (threatened by digitisation) and takes the form of a collectible album of cards inspired by the Jet Natural History Album. 

Donna Kim

MA Performance: Design & Practice

Deep Breath is a contemporary dance performance that reinterprets the life of Korean sea women, ‘Haenyeo’, in the context of human breath. Through multimedia visuals and innovative choreography, it offers a resonant sensory experience. 

Debarati Das

MA Biodesign

A project exploring the symbiotic relationship between people and bacteria in the wake of water scarcity, ‘BactoBerries’ discovers how hygiene and product functionality can evolve – as inspired by the self-cleansing mechanisms of the human skin – and creates cleansers and exfoliators not reliant on liquid.

Christopher Bellamy

MA Biodesign

‘Lucid Life’ is a living material made in collaboration with Polynesian artists bringing together traditional knowledge and science. The material is made up of bioluminescent micro-algae that emits light in response to touch.

Bhavna Madan Moha

MA Character Animation

An animated short film, ‘If I Raised My Mother’, born from an argument. Challenged on what she’d do differently were she the parent, this film is about being raised in an Indian household.

Anqi Liu

BA Fashion Communication

‘Connection Failed’ explores moments of disconnect – from reality and from the photographer – with alienation hinting at a bigger story.  

Aarony Bailey

BA Fine Art 4D

‘Intimate Pages’ is an honest personal publication that unpacks what it means to be a young woman – especially a woman of colour – in today’s social climate through anecdotal poetry and analogue photography.