Department Blog

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

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A Fascination with Noise: Contact Mics, Everyday Objects, and Product Design
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

A Fascination with Noise: Contact Mics, Everyday Objects, and Product Design

Contact mics exist at the intersection of experimental music, sound art, analog electronics, and DIY-making culture. In her thesis, Anne Keating explores the design challenge of analog sound circuits, contact mic'd instruments, and the DIY maker culture surrounding the contact mic. She looks at the space occupied by noise artists and boutique guitar pedal makers who build contact mic'd noise devices. She examines how building contact mics serve as a gateway to analog circuit building and why this activity is relevant against the backdrop of digital devices and experiences.

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Do As a Pirate Does: An Unauthorized Hacking Guide to a Creative Future
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

Do As a Pirate Does: An Unauthorized Hacking Guide to a Creative Future

Designers hate piracy. We have been told that pirates are the natural enemy of designers and the corruption of this industry. Nevertheless, Zekun Yang still chose piracy as her topic because she believes that we must challenge our assumptions to create change. In her thesis, Zekun acts as a pirate herself to "hack" into the design industry and address the problem of imbalance between designers and users, bringing a more inclusive future. This thesis can be summarized with a simple axiom: Do as a pirate does—it serves as an Unauthorized Hacking Guide to a Creative Future. In what follows, Zekun has designed products to encourage people to act like pirates, critique designs, and invite more people to build, make and design. She has also pirated the way pirates behave and applied it to make a formerly exclusive industry more inclusive.

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The Powerless Metaverse: Inclusivity, Equity, and Ownership
Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design Student Projects, Thesis Products of Design

The Powerless Metaverse: Inclusivity, Equity, and Ownership

Isabell Park's thesis, The Powerless Metaverse: Inclusivity, Equity, and Ownership, investigates the Metaverse through the lens of design to solve complex problems of access, socioeconomic gaps, and more. Metaverse, a recent buzzword, is defined as a digital world currently entered through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) that allows people to interact, mimicking the real world. Isabell was inspired to explore the topic when the South Korean government recently decided to significantly invest in the Metaverse. “This funding expanded opportunities for people to enter the Metaverse.” Isabell explains. “With skyrocketing rents and low wages, the socioeconomic gap is significant.” This inequality allowed only the top 10% to afford physical properties—whereas people found the Metaverse to be an opportunity to own digital investments and properties. In Isabell’s design investigations she asks the question, “Does this technology have to lead to such a dark future?”

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2022 Core77 Design Awards: Voda Wins in Two Categories!
News, Student Projects Allan Chochinov News, Student Projects Allan Chochinov

2022 Core77 Design Awards: Voda Wins in Two Categories!

This year’s Core77 Design Awards were just announced, and Products of Design alum Helen Chen won two awards for one of the projects she created as part of her Masters thesis, Fruiting Bodies: Fungal Futures for Collaborative Survival. The project, Internet of Mycelium was honored with the Student Winner in the Strategy & Research Award category, as well as a Student Runner Up in the Speculative Design Award category. Congratulations Helen!

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Snapshots from N9NTH: Our 2022 Thesis Presentations!
Thesis, Student Projects Allan Chochinov Thesis, Student Projects Allan Chochinov

Snapshots from N9NTH: Our 2022 Thesis Presentations!

On May 6th, the ninth group of MFA Products of Design graduates presented their thesis projects. Friends, family, design professionals, faculty, and staff gathered at the SVA Theatre in New York City to watch and share in the festivities. Ranging in topics from designing towards fat liberation and understanding chronic pain, to “raising a healthier AI” and using technology to nurture distant relationships, the graduates shared hundreds of products, services, apps, platforms and experiences. Look for comprehensive project posts coming up, but for now please enjoy snapshots of the day!

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Announcing N9NTH: MFA Products of Design Thesis Presentations are May 6th!
Events, News Allan Chochinov Events, News Allan Chochinov

Announcing N9NTH: MFA Products of Design Thesis Presentations are May 6th!

We invite you to attend the Master’s Thesis Presentations of the 2022 graduating class of the MFA in Products of Design program live at the SVA Theatre on Friday, May 6th from 1:00pm - 5:00pm (EDT, GMT-4). Twelve graduating master’s students will each present their year-long thesis work, comprised of research, artifacts, services, experiences, and platforms.

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Oscar Night 2021: Video Storytelling During a Pandemic
Student Projects Allan Chochinov Student Projects Allan Chochinov

Oscar Night 2021: Video Storytelling During a Pandemic

For those who follow the department’s annual traditions, one of the most celebrated is “Oscar Night”—when the final outputs of Michael Chung’s Video Storytelling Course show as a final screening. Of course, this year, neither the celebration nor the films themselves could happen in “the real world,” and so the films were made in lockdown.

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