Meet the graduates: Nottingham Trent University’s Kavya Jain

Kavya Jain is a 21-year-old product design graduate from Nottingham Trent University. Her final project is Sensei. 

Design Week: Can you explain what your final project was about?

Kavya Jain: For my final year, I wanted to use my skills to deliver a project that focuses on inclusivity and underserved communities. Almost two million people in the UK are registered as visually impaired. Due to the lack of visual feedback, everyday activities like navigating around in interior spaces like schools and hospitals can be challenging.

Sensei is a range of tactile tapes; each tactile graphic depicts a particular room in the interior space, allowing visually impaired people to use their sense of touch to navigate independently. These can be placed either on the walls or the floors or just the entrance of a room. They help to make interior spaces more accessible by giving visually impaired people tactile feedback.

DW: More generally, what would you say your biggest inspirations are in your design practice?

KJ: I think product design is a perfect blend of my favourite hobbies: solving puzzles and art. Every new project is like a new puzzle where you try different styles until it fits perfectly. I feel my inspiration often arises from my curiosity to learn about various disciplines (art, history, architecture and film, for example). I often get inspired by movies, books and talking to people with diverse backgrounds who have different stories.

DW: What would be the ideal job for you, and why?

KJ: My final year at university has allowed me to reflect on my design practice and I feel I am drifting more towards user-centric and social design. As a budding designer, I am open to new opportunities that can help me widen my horizons and deliver meaningful stories.

You can view Kavya’s work, as well as her peers’ as part of the Nottingham Trent University Student Showcase. 

Read our full 2021 graduate show guide here.