All four of student’s projects selected as Best Design Awards finalists

One of his lecturers encouraged him to submit his projects for the Awards, which he had never entered before.

He says he was excited when he learned that all four of his projects had been selected as finalists.

“It's a pretty big achievement. I was super stoked that all four that I entered were all named as finalists. Usually, I think people enter one or two projects, projects that they've worked on in the past year. But I think partly because I hadn't entered anything previously, I put them all in, but I didn't expect everything to do so well,” he says.

He describes the four projects as a summary of his work over the past four years, and says it was a great achievement to be recognised for his hard work.

Mr McGuffie first started studying graphic design at Massey, but switched to industrial design in his second year.

He says he was drawn to the freedom that industrial design offered.

He describes the move from graphic design to industrial design as the best decision he’s ever made.

He also says he liked how broad industrial design was, and how he was able to design anything he wanted. This inspired him to pursue his passion for making everyday objects more aesthetically pleasing.

“We use so many functional products every day, and I'm interested in finding ways to make those objects feel more interesting and engaging without compromising their purpose.”

His industrial design studies have taught him a lot of new things. One of his papers taught him about casting and moulding, a technique he has since used in his projects.

Each of his projects was designed to be functional, and each serve a different purpose in day-to-day life.

His first project, FUSE, was inspired by the idea of creating a functional hot glue gun with a beautiful, ergonomic design.

His second project, BIRD WATCH, is an artificial intelligence-powered system to track bird movements. This conservation-themed group project was created in response to a question to the Department of Conservation about what products would be useful to them. The project received an honourable mention in the Paris Design Awards.

The third project, AERON, is inspired by his love of cross-country mountain biking. He created an all-in-one cockpit complete with controls, sensors and navigation functionality.

Drawing on the kotuku, or white heron, his most recent project ZYRA is a modern desk lamp inspired by the bird’s slender form and balanced posture.

Mr McGuffie says he is interested in organic forms and how they can evoke a sense of familiarity in what we see around us.

“I think there's something about organic forms that feels familiar and intuitive, even when they aren't directly copying something from nature.”

He’s proud of all his projects and admits he’s a bit of a perfectionist and always goes the extra mile, including creating authentic-looking packaging.

“I'm always the kind of person to do that extra bit more, even if it's just for myself, to make my projects go that little bit further and make them much more special,” he says.

Studying industrial design at Massey has prepared him for a future in the field. He’s learned a lot from his small, tight-knit cohort, while positive feedback from his lecturers helped confirm industrial design was the right path for him.

For Mr McGuffie, industrial design is a fun, creative way to make everyday life a bit more interesting.

“There’s so many boring things in our world. Why not make your day a little bit better by having something a bit fun, playful and interesting?”

The Best Design Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on Friday 9 October.

TOBY MCGUFFIE’S PROJECTS

Second year project – FUSE

Fuse reimagines the hot glue gun as a tool designed around people rather than machines. The project explored how users naturally hold, manipulate, and interact with glue guns during the creative process. Rather than relying on the conventional pistol-grip format, Fuse adopts a compact sculptural form that allows users to hold the body itself. The soft geometry supports multiple grip positions, encouraging a more fluid and comfortable interaction while providing greater freedom during detailed creative work.

Third year project – BIRD WATCH

Bird Watch is an accessible system to turn backyards into vital data sources for researchers, by turning citizens into conservation scientists. Bird Watch's Smart Perch reimagines monitoring as something anyone can do, not just trained scientists. It integrates species recognition, individual identification and health tracking into a single autonomous system.

Third year project – AERON

Designed for cross-country mountain biking, Aeron reimagines the mountain bike cockpit as a unified interface where handlebars, controls, sensors, displays, and ride data within a single streamlined system, delivering the information riders need while maintaining a clean, lightweight and purposeful riding experience.

Third year project – ZYRA

Zyra was developed as part of a university course requiring the batch production of 39 lamps. It is a desk lamp that combines functional illumination with a strong visual presence. In a category often defined by generic forms and overly technical aesthetics, the project sought to create an object that feels refined, timeless and equally suited to work and living environments.