A recreational fly fisher herself, Miss McCarthy found a consistent complaint from women was how traditional vests could quickly become overloaded with all the various pockets.
"It gets really heavy and uncomfortable on the chest," she said.
Miss McCarthy said in a statement women who fly fish wanted equal performance, functionality and visual design.
"But the limited range of women’s gear on the market is often a simplified ‘shrink it and pink it’ version of the men’s range."
So together with industry partner Alex Broad from Evolve Outdoors, Miss McCarthy designed the Axis Hip Pack, offering what she calls "a boob-friendly alternative".
The generously sized hip pack features elasticised pockets, magnets and drainage holes, with an ergonomically curved waistband to comfortably to fit a woman’s body (the men’s belt having a straight fit).
Miss McCarthy said the polytech’s product design course had given her the opportunity to try a lot of different manufacturing processes and methods of communication.
"I feel like I’ve been given all the tools that I need to be able to go out into the workplace," she said.
Fellow product design student Liam Black has designed the Calm Corner sensory space to help address the growing need in busy early childcare centres to support younger neuro-diverse learners (conditions like ADHD, autism, and sensory processing disorder).
"The compact, shelter-like space helps children self-regulate their emotions through the toys and tools inside, including soft felt-covered walls," he said in a statement.
The portable hut featured mesh viewing slots with a gradient pattern, designed to allow teachers to see through while giving the children some privacy.
Mr Black worked on the design with Claire McDonald, a senior early childhood teacher at Andersons Bay Community Kindergarten, to ensure it met the needs of both teachers and learners.
He has appreciated the freedom of the product design programme.
"Each product can be completely different and there are so many areas you can go into and focus on towards a career," he said.
Both students were national award winners at last month’s Best Design Awards.
Janiqua McCarthy claimed two gold awards for her biodegradable placenta burial kit Whenua ki te whenua, and Liam Black won a silver award for his lightweight stackable pest system, Stack Trap.
"Debrief" exhibition
The work of Miss McCarthy and Mr Black is among 14 major projects by Otago Polytechnic product design graduates on display for the next fortnight, in the School of Design’s annual student showcase, "Debrief".
The exhibition in The Hub highlights work by ākonga/students in the polytech’s product, fashion and communication programmes, part of a series of exhibitions and events covering courses across the campus this month.
Product Design head of programme Machiko Niimi said the "Debrief" exhibition was a unique chance for the public to "experience bold ideas, fresh perspectives and the future of design". — Allied Media
