Glasgow-based web hosting and domain name company Easyspace has presented a cheque for £1,050 to the 3D design division at Glasgow Metropolitan College, after a group of first year students designed and decorated a life-sized model of a baby elephant to highlight the plight of the Asian elephant.
Easyspace asked a group of first year students at Glasgow Met to come up with a design to represent both communication and the campaign’s theme, in response to a campaign organised by charity organisation The Elephant Family to increase awareness of the Asian elephant’s troubles. In the last 100 years its population has declined by 90%, to the extent that if current trends continue the Asian elephant could be extinct within the next thirty years.
The Easyspace elephant – Cosmos – was displayed at the Elephant Parade this summer, a public art exhibition of 250 model elephants around the streets of central London.
Ewelina Kawarska, 27, an NQ interior design student, created Cosmos, which was painted with the planets to illustrate the global nature of modern communication and to emphasise the scale of the Asian elephant population crisis.
Her winning design went on display in front of Bank Station, right in the heart of the City, ensuring it was one of the most visible elephants on show. Famous artists and designers who shared the limelight with Ewelina included Jack Vettriano, Marc Quinn, Diane Von Furstenberg and Lulu Guinness.
Sarah Haran, managing director Easyspace, stated: “We were absolutely blown away by the quality of designs produced by the students and wanted to reward the college for its hard work. It was a tough job picking a winner but Ewelina’s creation really stood out.
“In fact, we were so impressed, and felt so attached to our baby elephant, that we purchased Cosmos at the Elephant Parade Auction and had her transferred from London to our Glasgow headquarters. Shet now takes pride of place in our reception area.”
Ewelina, who along with model maker Barry Wakenshaw also received arts vouchers from Easyspace, said: “I couldn’t believe it when my design was chosen as the winner, but to then see it become a reality was amazing. We all really enjoyed the project, especially as it came to life, and it’s great to see that so much money has been raised for charity.”
Eddie Carr, Head of Glasgow Met’s 3D design division, added: ”This has been a fantastic project for our students to get involved with, especially as it highlighted real environmental issues. All 37 students came up with excellent designs and concepts and everyone appreciated that it gave them an opportunity to work from start to finish on a real project – which is invaluable experience as each develops their careers. The whole process has been fascinating.”
Easyspace has been donating cash raised from the sale of domain names to the charitable campaign behind the London Elephant Parade since last September. The Elephant Family raised over £4 million from the sale of the London Parade Elephants in July, more than double the original target.
