Chess meets classic design in innovative D&T classroom project

Published 17th July 2025

To celebrate World Chess Day, two design and technology teachers are sharing a student project that brings timeless design to the forefront using chess as the medium for creative exploration.

Originally developed by Owen Gilbert (Head of Design & Technology at Dubai College) and Padraig Gaughan (Head of Design Emerging Technologies at GEMS Dubai American Academy) while teaching together at Repton Dubai, the project continues to be run independently by both teachers in their current schools. The pair are using the opportunity to showcase the work and inspire other design and technology teachers to try something similar in their own classrooms.

The project invites students to reimagine chess pieces through the lens of the IB Design Technology 6.1 syllabus, exploring what makes a design “timeless”. Concepts such as image, obsolescence, mass production and cultural symbolism are central to the brief. Rather than working with traditional chess motifs, students draw inspiration from nostalgic or obsolete technologies including cassette tapes, iPods, CDs, vinyl records and USB drives.

Each student begins by researching their chosen object, reflecting on its emotional and cultural significance. These reflections shape their initial design sketches, such as a bishop featuring a CD to represent obsolescence, or a pawn inspired by a USB stick. The process encourages students to think not just about function, but also the emotional and symbolic power of design.

Using Autodesk Fusion, students transform their sketches into 3D CAD models, carefully adapting them to standard chess dimensions and the practical constraints of 3D printing. Working with slicing software like Creality and CURA, they consider the impact of supports, brims, and material usage to keep their designs feasible and functional.

To take it further, students then explore injection moulding techniques by producing clay and silicone moulds of their pieces. This step brings traditional manufacturing into the mix and introduces conversations around scalability, production methods and surface finish.

The outcomes are both thoughtful and inventive. Chess pieces that reflect past design eras, and students who develop a richer understanding of how to balance creativity with purpose. More than just a chess set, the project becomes a vehicle for learning about what makes design iconic and enduring.

Shared on World Chess Day, this project is a celebration of creative teaching in design and technology and a brilliant example of how teachers are using familiar tools to spark deep, imaginative thinking in the classroom.