IIE-Vega School graduates earn global nominations in the UX Design Awards

Two Independent Institute of Education (IIE)-Vega School, in Bordeaux, graduates, Brian Ncube and Ester Terblanche, were recently named finalists in the globally recognised UX Design Awards, Ncube, an IIE BA Honours in Design Leadership (distance) graduate, and Terblanche, an IIE BA in Digital Design graduate.
Their innovative projects showcased and addressed real world challenges, among the 69 international new talent category entries received from respected institutions, including Harvard University.

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They are thrilled to be finalists and have rallied friends and family to vote for them on the awards website. Public choice voting closes on February 25 and the winners will be announced via a live stream on the UX Design Awards website on March 5.

The awards celebrate meaningful digital solutions that tackle pressing social and environmental issues. From over 440 submissions, spanning 38 countries, 162 nominees in total were selected this year in the new talent, concept, product, and vision categories.

Ncube, earned two nominations for his projects, which stem from his passion for solving societal problems through innovative design.

His first: ‘Mpho: SA’s first virtual presidential candidate’, is a transmedia campaign designed to combat voter apathy in South Africa.

Reflecting on the inspiration behind the campaign, he explained that, at the time of the 2024 elections, he had voter apathy, and so did his friends. “I was sure others felt the same way too. So, I thought to myself: ‘What if we had a candidate to vote for?’. That’s how Mpho was born.”

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Ncube’s second nomination: ‘AgriLove: Uganda’s farmers marketplace’, aims to support small scale farmers in Uganda by providing a digital platform for collaboration, resource sharing, and financial access.

“Uganda is a key market for Standard Bank’s Africa division, and I noticed small scale farmers were often excluded from opportunities. This project focuses on giving them a voice, showing how they can access funding and improve their livelihoods.”

Terblanche’s nomination: ‘Disfluency: Even humans stutter’, uses a custom designed font to visually simulate the experience of stuttering. Paired with an immersive website, it raises awareness through interactive storytelling.

The font distorts letterforms using waveforms, mimicking speech disfluency. Launched on World Stuttering Awareness Day via Google, the website lets users download the font and experience the challenge of typing with a stutter, building empathy through participation.

“One weekend at home, my dad’s friend – who stutters – tried to greet me but struggled. It caught me off guard. Months later, I thought: ‘What if I created a font to raise awareness?’.”

The website also includes soundbites of real-life experiences, highlighting the insensitive remarks people with speech disfluencies often face.

Christiaan Graaff, head of communication design at Vega, expressed his pride. He explained that this is only the second time that the school has entered the UX Design Awards.

“We are thrilled that our students excelled, securing three nominations this year. What makes this even more remarkable is that two of the nominated projects come from the distance programmes. We are incredibly proud of Brian and Ester, and their guiding lecturers, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for an excellent outcome.”

To vote for Ncube or Terblanche in the new talent category, visit: Ux-design-awards.com

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