From product design to photography, creative Edinburgh Napier students lead the way at annual showcase
Industry leaders hailed the work of creative Edinburgh Napier University students who led the way at its annual showcase.
Sharp social commentary and uniquely creative solutions have been recognised by industry leaders at Edinburgh Napier University’s 2026 Degree Show.
The annual showcase for students from across ENU’s School of Arts & Creative Industries drew hundreds of visitors to its Merchiston campus.
Several big industry names were invited to determine the winners of the annual Best in Show prizes – with a selection of awards given to students across five different programmes at the show’s launch night.
Meet the winners
The outstanding winners span an eclectic range of themes – typifying the diverse and personal range of work on show.
They all took home a trophy designed by ENU product design student Laura Georgie Baird and created by Midton, a specialist in manufacturing acrylic materials. Its design features two translucent shapes that can be detached from the base of the trophy, with winners encouraged to give one part to someone who has supported or inspired them, while keeping the second part for themselves.
Best in Show, presented by Ruth Galloway and Michelle Ridley of Significant Others – Drew Cole, Utopia
Drew Cole’s Utopia presents an addition to Edinburgh’s queer nightlife scene based around four core values: inclusivity, diversity, safety and change. The final display and renderings present a “living, breathing testament to what happens when freedom, acceptance, and love take centre stage”.
Lucas Crane’s invention, KakeKaizen is a martial arts bag designed to make training visible and part of daily routine. Rooted in Japanese philosophy, it rolls out into a structured display inspired by Japanese scrolls, turning kit into daily motivation rather than storage. Judges praised its immediate market potential.
Zuza Paciorkowska’s design concept, JOMO, stands for ‘joy of missing out’. In an age defined by social media overexposure and device dependency, the project explores how design can encourage healthier boundaries with technology. It includes a magazine and an app which challenge current norms and proposes a new direction: “one where stepping away feels natural, not wrong.”
· Fine Art Award, presented by Bobby Gavin of WEX – Roo Ford, NOT YOUR ENEMY
NOT YOUR ENEMY is a public art project featuring 12 members of the queer and trans community to create a space that amplifies their authentic voices and stories. The work was shown as a series of billboards around Edinburgh in April 2026. Roo Ford’s project reflects on the reaction to them, and how that mirrors the reaction to trans existence.
Industry Award, presented by Bobby Gavin of WEX – Rachel Dawkins, Girls
Girls explores the agency women have over their own bodies in relation to the photograph. Playing with the idea of the camera as the male gaze, Rachel Dawkins subverts and exaggerates typical portrayals of women, aiming to leave the viewer feeling unsettled.
Exhibition Award, presented by Christina Webber of AGITATE – Molly Smith, 15/07/23
15/07/23 is an immersive installation of moving image and sound across three-channels. Molly Smith describes the project as “a representation of the present day and the unpredictable timing and manifestation of trauma, how it consumes every fibre of your being.” The space uses archive imagery, video and soundscape into a seven-minute journey of audio and vision.
Visual Arts Scotland Graduate Award - Cara Boyce, Chemical Miracle and Lottie Evans, Dormant Legs Still Kick
Chemical Miracle is a mixed media project exploring people’s personal experiences and relationships with medication. The final installation turned each portrait into cyanotypes before then being sewn together into a large quilt, to visually replicate the chemical reaction that happens within the body when medication is taken.
Dormant Legs Still Kick is a visual exploration of Lottie Evans’ relationship with her grandparents, which exists only within her family archive. It uses both archival and contemporary photographs to navigate the viewer through complex feelings towards this evolving relationship.
Best in Show, presented by Graeme Clark of Multiply Agency – Lucy Gordon
Lucy Gordon’s work included a striking campaign against gender-based violence. The designs were produced in collaboration with law students at ENU, who set a brief for posters and digital screens to run as part of the United Nations 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence initiative.
Inspired to find out more about studying at ENU?
You can follow in the footsteps of Edinburgh Napier University’s inspiring Best in Show winners by choosing from a wide range of industry-backed programmes in the School of Arts & Creative Industries through Clearing.
From Thursday 2 July, you can find a range of places available on creative courses starting in September 2026.