Horowhenua College student designs elegant trophies for Electra Business and Innovation Awards

Steffani Miadores designed the awards for the Electra Business Awards. Photo / Grace Odlum

A Horowhenua College student’s art is on display in award-winning businesses across Horowhenua and Kāpiti.

Steffani Miadores, a year 13 student, was invited to design trophies for this year’s Electra Business and Innovation Awards, an opportunity the 17-year-old jumped at.

Teacher Donna Elliott said organisers contacted the school to see if any students with a passion for architecture and design would like to design this year’s trophies, and she immediately thought of Steffani.

Steffani was thrilled, as she really enjoys the subject, but dropped the class this year, in favour of other subjects needed for her planned dentistry degree.

The Steffani Miadores-designed awards.

When she began her research for the design project, she realised just how great an opportunity she had been given, she said.

“I didn’t realise how big it was until I researched it and it was an amazing opportunity.”

Electra wanted the design to follow themes of elegance and innovation.

Steffani said to her, flight was elegant, so her first idea was birds, and then she thought of blooming flowers as a way to signify growth.

“I got the idea of blooming flowers because they grow, and even if they’re small they’ll become big.”

From there she started thinking about how those ideas could be turned into a trophy.

She considered ideas around function and how the trophy would fit in the hand, and how the trophies would look in a space while still remaining true to the brief of simple and elegant.

Steffani Miadores. a year 13 student at Horowhenua College designed the trophy given to winners of this year's Electra Business Awards. She is pictured here with some of the prototypes she designed.

The biggest challenge was time she said, as she had to juggle classes and continue in her role as international prefect, in which she organises events for the exchange students.

Steffani started the project in term two and designed the trophies at home outside of school hours.

She is delighted with the end result but says if she could go back in time, she would get more involved in the manufacturing process.

“It was a huge thing, and it feels like an end of an era.”

Steffani Miadores' concept art.

Steffani’s passion for art began when she was young and saw her brother drawing.

She was inspired and researched other artists, and started creating art in her own style.

Her design interest began in college, when she was selecting subjects.

She recalled thinking DVC design and visual communication, which is now architecture, sounded interesting and signed up to take it.

“I loved it.”

Steffani is planning on studying health sciences next year and then dentistry, and will continue her interest in architecture and design as it’s a passion.