Spring 2025
Humanitarian Design
A reflective cuff bracelet created to support children’s access to art and making in Kakuma refugee camp.
Kakuma Jewellery
overview
I designed this bracelet for a charity supporting children in Kakuma refugee camp, raising funds to give them opportunities to explore art and create things. The project connected the act of making jewellery with a purpose beyond the object itself: helping others experience the freedom to make.
The bracelet’s wave-like profile brings together the corrugated iron roofs of the camp and the flow of the Tarach River referenced in my original design research. Its polished silver finish invites the wearer to reflect on opportunities they may take for granted, including the chance to study art and express themselves creatively.
deliverables
Jewellery Design
Design for Social Impact
Model Making
Metalwork & Finishing
01 — Purpose & Inspiration
Connecting a charitable purpose with the materials, patterns and landscape that informed the bracelet.
about
My research began with jewellery references and visual studies of Kakuma and its wider context. I explored how a small, wearable object could carry a connection to the people the charity supported, while keeping the design simple enough to make by hand.
The corrugated roofing became a central reference, translated into a repeating rise and fall along the bracelet. The same flowing line also recalled water, bringing the river reference from my research into a form that could wrap around the wrist.
02 — Form & Prototyping
Exploring pattern, proportion and fit through sketches and wearable cardboard models.
about
I sketched several approaches before testing them as cardboard cuffs, including corrugated bands, layered strips and simpler open profiles. Trying the models on the wrist helped me compare their width, shape and visual weight beyond what a flat drawing could show.
These studies led to a continuous wave-like profile with an open cuff form. Further drawings and templates resolved the repeating pattern and the transition from a flat strip into a bracelet, providing a guide for the metal version.
03 — Making & Reflection
Translating the selected profile into metal, with a reflective finish that carries the project’s meaning.
about
The selected outline was cut by hand from a template and formed into a cuff. Finishing and polishing brought out the curves of the metal, allowing the repeated profile to catch the light as the bracelet moves.
The reflective surface was an intentional part of the design. I wanted it to prompt a moment of reflection on our own circumstances and the creative opportunities we can take for granted. Made in support of the charity, the bracelet linked that idea to helping children explore art and making.
nicholas elton
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