We speak to Matthew Shepherd and Sangeet Kaur about their Degree Show projects.
Kitchen unit aims to make food recycling second nature
‘Eko Kitchen’ has sustainability at its heart
For his final project, Matthew Shepherd, a Product Design student at Edinburgh Napier, has created the Eko Kitchen – a standalone kitchen unit, comprising of a chopping board and three separate recycling bins. 
Built around convenience, everything is in close proximity ensuring recycling cuts offs and packaging don’t become an afterthought when cooking.
Matthew’s passion for sustainable design originally inspired the idea, he said:
“It’s about being efficient and making the experience of cooking – including separating waste – more enjoyable.
“That ease will help encourage people to recycle, to the point that it becomes second nature.”
Also included in the design are organic papers, used to collect peelings to keep your work surface tidy. They help to absorb moisture in the bin, reduce odours and boost nutrients in compost.
“Originally, I wanted to find a way to make food recycling more engaging – to encourage people to do it. To me, it seemed like a horrible task to do…
“You never really saw the positive side of food recycling, you only saw the disgusting bin sat in your kitchen, a disgusting bin on the street with flies. That’s where the project started and then it gradually morphed into this.”
The Unity Project
The tartan that brings people together
The Unity Project is an online service where users can design their own tartan, with the colours and design reflecting their unique Scottish identity. It has been created by Sangeet Kaur, a Product Design student at Edinburgh Napier University.
Users can express their culture and history through their individual design, whilst educating others and inviting them to be a part of their story. 
Sangeet was inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement to create something that was ‘positive and celebratory’:
“This project was born out of my feelings as a Sikh, Punjabi, Scottish woman.
“At school it was hard to feel like I fitted in. I would try to ignore racists comments and forget about them… But you can never forget.”
The Unity Project is about connecting people and celebrating the differences.
People can send their designs to friends and family, or to a refugee to show them that Scotland is a welcoming country.
Sangeet added: “As a designer, I'm passionate about bringing people together through my art. It’s always fascinated me how little we know about one another... And sometimes, even ourselves.
“This was something I wanted to explore further as part of my final year project - to highlight the beauty of the untold stories that are often shadowed by the busyness of our day to day lives.”