Sam Van Kan, who completed Year 13 at Marist College in Auckland in 2009, has always had an interest in design. From a very young age, fashion has influenced her, rarely being seen growing up without some form of costume on. Other than fashion, Sam has developed interests in painting and graphic design. After achieving everything she wanted to achieve in school textile design and accepting that fashion design is a rather difficult career choice in the current financial climate, Sam developed her newest passion: graphic design. In Year 12, she began studying graphic design and her love of this discipline has continued to grow. This year, Sam is going to begin a Bachelor of Design majoring in graphic design at the Auckland University of Technology.

No stranger to the Young Designer Awards, Sam first entered the competition in Year 10 when a teacher told her it would be something good for her to do. She picked up second place in the Wearable Arts category that year. In Years 11 and 12, Sam took out first place for Wearable Arts and in 2009, Sam's last opportunity to enter the competition, she took away an outstanding 5 awards:

• High St Fashion - Senior 1st Equal

• Visual Arts 3D - Senior 1st

• Visual Arts - Category Winner

• Sustainability Award - Winner

• And the 2009 Overall Winner!

Without making mention of her obvious amount of talent, Sam credits her outstanding success in the Young Designer Awards to "knowing how to read a brief". She believes that in competitions it's important to really understand what the judges are looking for. With a clear view in her mind of what she hopes to achieve when she starts any project, Sam strongly believes that being yourself and not conforming to the norm is vital if you want to establish yourself as a unique and successful designer. Always wanting to improve or better something helps as well.

Sam found the Young Designer Awards briefs had a lot of room for self-interpretation, allowing her to "manipulate them in [her] own way". Sam's submissions, entitled "Hidden Society" comprised an installation and a rain jacket, both evoking different emotions. Not wanting to follow the same path as everyone else, Sam created a 3D installation using several different mediums including modelling compound and primer to "challenge people's views". The installation presented the connection between homeless people and society. In order to understand the relationship between society and homeless people from the homeless person's perspective, Sam studied the homeless in their own environment by talking to them, taking photos and observing. The final installation reflected the segregation and separation of the homeless with straight black lines. The rain jacket, however, was designed not to convey an idea or change people's minds, but to appeal to people. The jacket was an eco-friendly garment as requested by her client. It was made entirely out of a sail and used all the equipment needed when making an actual sail, including a special sewing machine designed specifically for making sails and a waterproof thread. 

After an amazing string of success in the Young Designer Awards, for the meantime, Sam is going to focus her energy on completing her design degree, which takes three years. She's eager to see where graphic design will take her and follow all the paths she can possibly take.

Young Designer Awards would like to congratulate Sam once again on her outstanding achievement in the Young Designer Awards and wish her all the very best in her future endeavors. She is an exceptionally talented young woman and there is no doubt we will be hearing more of her.