Department Blog

Department news, events, and snapshots of student life at SVA in New York City.

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BIRTH REBORN: Using Design to Address Barriers to Equitable Maternal Care for Black Women
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

BIRTH REBORN: Using Design to Address Barriers to Equitable Maternal Care for Black Women

At a time when the maternal mortality rate in the US is soaring, Victoria Ayo's thesis, Birth Reborn: Using Design to Address Barriers to Equitable Maternal Care for Black Women, aims to give voice and power back to black women and mothers. Her project explores how design can build more awareness, facilitate the integration of ancestral knowledge, leverage the community, and help eliminate barriers to equitable birth outcomes. Victoria proposes new realities for collective care, bringing the wellbeing of mothers out of isolation and into solidarity.

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Grandma’s Teeth: An Exploration of Feminine Voice, Power, and Reclamation
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

Grandma’s Teeth: An Exploration of Feminine Voice, Power, and Reclamation

Stephanie Gamble’s thesis, Grandma’s Teeth: An Exploration of Feminine Voice, Power and Reclamation, is an in-depth examination of the physical, verbal, and emotional enforcement mechanisms of misogyny. Drawing from her own grandmother’s experience with the violence of misogyny, Stephanie designed a provocative body of work that interrogates and makes tangible how the enforcement mechanisms of misogyny are used to control and silence women. This thesis work proposes solutions that invert current power dynamics and challenge cultural values as a way to incite dialogue, ignite anger and impress upon men the substantial toll these experiences have on the daily lives of women.

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BY CHOICE: Designing the Abortion Journey
Thesis, Student Projects Products of Design Thesis, Student Projects Products of Design

BY CHOICE: Designing the Abortion Journey

Pantea Parsa grew up in Iran, where she encountered a confusing dichotomy: traditional Iranian society taught her that motherhood is the ultimate fulfillment for women, but, at home, she absorbed a different perspective. Her mother was an independent and successful woman who refused to be defined only as a mother and a wife. Pantea strived to be like her mother from a young age and ultimately decided that she doesn't want to become a mother in the future. However, should she become pregnant, she couldn't ignore the harsh reality that she would have to find an illegal back-alley abortion. For her thesis, By Choice: Designing the Abortion Journey, Pantea designed a suite of products that address the abortion journey from different lenses—including access, community, activism, and male accountability.

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RICH BITCH: Feminine Strategies for Financial Power
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

RICH BITCH: Feminine Strategies for Financial Power

Yuko Kanai’s thesis, Rich Bitch: Feminine Strategies for Financial Power, rejects the expectation that managing money is a masculine endeavor. Through addressing the emotional facets of money, breaking down the taboos of financial discussions, and presenting alternative models of financial success, her thesis aims to elevate femininity as a source of power rather than a handicap. The proposed strategies work at the level of community, the household, and the individual psyche as leverage points to address why financial illiteracy is more pronounced among women.

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DARE + DEFY: A Woman’s Place in the Great Outdoors
Thesis, Student work, Student Projects, Blog Krithi Rao Thesis, Student work, Student Projects, Blog Krithi Rao

DARE + DEFY: A Woman’s Place in the Great Outdoors

As an avid climber and hiker, Alexia Cohen found herself interested in examining the role of women in the great outdoors. When she started climbing three years ago, she attended an event organized by Flash Foxy—a group of women dedicated to celebrating and empowering women climbers. Through this event, she met her climbing partner Janice, who as Alexia recalls “quickly became a friend and a mentor. Her guidance and support helped me develop my climbing technique and become more comfortable in this new space.” She also began to understand the importance of community and women mentors in traditionally male-dominated spaces.

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THE MOTHER LOAD: Owning Motherhood and Offloading Burden
Student Projects, Thesis Guest User Student Projects, Thesis Guest User

THE MOTHER LOAD: Owning Motherhood and Offloading Burden

Carly Simmons’s thesis, The Mother Load: Owning Motherhood and Offloading Burden, aims to redistribute the burden and responsibility typically held by women and mothers to other individuals in their social network. In her research, Carly engaged with over two dozen new mothers who expressed feeling an absence of community support during and after pregnancy.

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HYSTERICAL WOMEN: Designing Experiences to Counter the Current Gaslighting Healthcare System
Student Projects, Thesis Guest User Student Projects, Thesis Guest User

HYSTERICAL WOMEN: Designing Experiences to Counter the Current Gaslighting Healthcare System

Through her thesis, Hysterical Women: Designing Experiences to Counter the Current Gaslighting Healthcare System, Rhea Bhandari aims to elevate the healthcare experience of women by designing more efficient and empathetic diagnostic and treatment strategies, and providing women with new tools with which to track and communicate their symptoms.

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Products of Design Works with Veterans Affairs Around Women Vets
Events, News, Student Projects Allan Chochinov Events, News, Student Projects Allan Chochinov

Products of Design Works with Veterans Affairs Around Women Vets

On the evening of September 26th, representatives from the Veterans Experience Office and the New York Harbor Healthcare System (VA Hospital) came to Products of Design to participate in a group discussion around women veterans. (This semester, the Design Research and Integration class is doing a 15-week project on the issues surrounding women vets.) Topics ranged from the perception of women military in our society, to their unique needs in accessing healthcare services throughout the VA system, to stakeholder eco-system mapping—trying to identify the main players in the area, along with learning about their top needs and interactions.

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