Wanganui School of Design

Logo of Wanganui School of Design

The Whanganui School of Design (WSD) is a publicly funded tertiary institution that inhabits NZIA Heritage buildings on Taupo Quay in Whanganui, New Zealand. The building forms part of the Whanganui UCOL tertiary education campus. Whanganui Iwi named the campus Matapihi ki te Ao “Window of opportunity to the world” in Māori.

Terrace House, home to WSD's Department of Computer Graphic Design.
Another view of Terrace House. Photo by Markus Koljonen

History

The Whanganui School of Design was the first institute of its kind in New Zealand. It was established in 1987 by Professor Hazel Gamec on the Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic Main Campus and has an international reputation for experimental work in both time-based and print-based disciplines of graphic design. The WSD is a national member of the Designers Institute of New Zealand (DINZ) and an international alumni design school speaker at AGideas Conference held annually in Melbourne, Australia.

Over the years, the WSD has been located at the Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic campus, the Westpac Building, the old Department of Conservation building, the distinctive Terrace House and the Whanganui UCOL campus on Rutland Street.

On April 1, 2001, the Wanganui Regional Community Polytechnic and Wanganui School of Design were integrated with UCOL. The Wanganui School of Design adopted the ‘h’ in Whanganui, and as a part of UCOL continues to approach Design and Arts in a uniquely Whanganui way.

In 2015, the School will be located in safety strengthened Heritage buildings on Taupo Quay which are part of the Whanganui Campus site, and shared with the community.

Course programmes

As part of a plan to rejuvenate the Whanganui UCOL campus, a new degree offering was created for the Whanganui School of Design. The Bachelor of Design and Arts (BDA) is a 3-year offering which includes majors in Visual Arts, Textiles/Fashion Design and Graphic Design. The BDA shares papers with the established Bachelor of Computer Design, enhancing the cross-disciplinary learning experience for students in both programmes.

Awards

Recent awards the school has won

2004 Best Awards
2005 Best Awards
2006 Best Awards
2007 Best Awards
2009 Best Awards

The Wanganui School of Design was welcomed into the "Hall of Fame" on NZ Mac on the basis of their devotion to the use of Macintosh computers.

References

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