Great things are happening at TAFE in the field of design this year. Talia Tunstall, a student at TAFE NSW – South Western Sydney's Lidcombe College has won a national Design Institute of Australia (DIA) award for her eco-friendly design the CycleBoot, one of the many great design pieces TAFE NSW students produced last year.

The colombian student Talia Tunstall was the first prize winner in the Industrial Design category at the 2006 DIA Awards. The theme for the awards was sustainable design for the environment and Talia faced tough competition from design students all around Australia.  Her brief for the Industrial Design category was to create a product that would allow independent cyclists to transport goods. Basically, it was an environmentally responsible alternative to the car boot. With Talia's design the rider can remove the CycleBoot when they arrive at their destination and use it as a trolley. The CycleBoot is made from recycled or reused materials, adding to its sustainability. Entries were displayed at the Sydney Exhibition Centre at Darling Harbour as part of DesignEx 2006.

"I began my study at Lidcombe TAFE with a Design Fundamentals course, introducing me to the different areas of design," Talia says.

"Product design was the area that interested me the most so I enrolled in the Product Design Diploma then went on to do the Advanced Diploma which I finished last year.

"The teachers at TAFE were attentive and interested in having us achieve a high level of work, so I could excel in my design projects. We learnt a wide range of skills, including hand sketching and rendering, computer rendering, how to present completed works in a professional manner as well as learning about manufacturing methods and material technologies.

"I design objects which are of interest to me, something that I would love to have, and that are as environmentally responsible as possible without hindering the intended use or sacrificing the design element of the product. Ideally in my work I'd like to find like minded people to work with and bounce ideas off.

"The thing about design that absorbs me is the fact that there are always new design avenues that cross and merge with each other, where different design disciplines can be used together or exclusively to create some wonderful design pieces. Textile design and jewellery are two other areas of interest to me which I would like to explore."

There are more great things happening in design at TAFE NSW. Graduating students from Interior Decoration put on their end of year exhibition as a part of their professional development, and were assisted by the Product Design and Furniture Design students. It was an impressive exhibition where the students' creativity paid off with these exciting cutting edge furniture designs. The pieces combined man-made materials, natural woods, and super textiles with contemporary design.

Talia's award-winning design, the CycleBoot.