Department Blog
Department news, events, and snapshots of student life at SVA in New York City.
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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.
Futuring Workshop 2016: Envisioning New Devices and Behaviors For Future Scenarios
For our annual orientation futuring workshop, the Class of 2018 engaged in an all-day speculative design charette led by the Extrapolation Factory's Chris Woebken and PoD graduate Steve Hamilton. Following a lecture presentation on conceptual frameworks around the futuring and speculation, the students dove deep into creating artifacts and behiors around scenarios triggered by present and near-future scientific phenomena. Let's dive into the results below (and keep in mind that the team projects were conceived, prototyped, and performed "on the streets of New York" all within 4 hours!
"Yawnie": The Smart Alarm Clock Makes You Yawn (and get to bed)!
Yawnie is a smart product that helps people develop good sleeping habits. Designed by Products of Design students Roya Ramezani and Ziyun Qi and Interaction Design student Nic Barajas, Yawnie tracks users' sleeping conditions and reminds them to go to bed on time by triggering them to yawn. Yawnie capitalizes on the notion that yawning is contagious, and uses it to help improve the sleeping habits of its user.
Snapshots From Our 2016 Student Orientation!
18 new graduate students joined Products of Design this year, and kicking off the experience was a two-day Orientation with a futuring workshop at the start and a (delicious) reception at the end. (Erin Clarkson's Cloudy Kitchen catered the closing event.) Enjoys some of the photos below!
OUTSIDERS: Designing Engagement With the Incarcerated
Marianna Mezhibovkaya's Masters thesis, Outsiders: Designing Engagement With the Incarcerated, explores how design can foster compassion for the marginalized and disenfranchised incarcerated population through the creation of social support services and products.
Announcing the Speakers for the Fall 2016 Visiting Lecture Series
We are delighted to announce our Visiting Lecture Series lineup for the Fall 2016 season. Read more below about Neri Oxman, Anthony Dunne, Matt Manos, and Matthew Burnett, and don't forget to RSVP for the public lectures if you're in NYC!
VAKIT: On the Elasticity and Subjectivity of Time
The objective of Adem Önalan’s master’s thesis, Vakit: On the Elasticity and Subjectivity of Time, is to reframe our relationship with time—identifying opportunities that lead people to spend time well—from recontextualizing time, to slowing it down through meaningful, memorable life experiences.
PERMANISM: Towards the Obsolescence of Disposable Furniture
Not more than 50 or 60 years ago, the idea of "disposable" did not exist; the physical objects in our lives were intended to be with us for a lifetime...or longer. Today, the convenience of disposability in the United States has become the status quo, and everything from packaging to electronics to even large-scale items like appliances and furniture are now considered throw-away. Spurred by our imperative for constant economic growth, our consumerist culture is having a detrimental impact on our environment. Judy Chi’s master thesis, Permanism: Towards the Obsolescence of Disposable Furniture, looks to reengage people with the physical products in their lives as "objects of permanence."
MASTERMINDS and the Art of Misbehaving
In order to become more brave and confident, MFA Products of Design student Eden Lew embarked on a year-long experiment to become a better designer by learning the ways of a criminal mastermind.
In her thesis, Masterminds and the Art of Misbehaving, Eden’s definition of a criminal mastermind alludes to the romanticized sector of criminals—including burglars, con men, hackers and heist planners. They are con artists who persuade victims into giving up money and valuables. They are craftsmen and tinkerers who decipher the mechanics of systems in order to later break them down. They are hackers who write inventive code to go around highly-secured firewalls, and drug cartel kingpins who run businesses as effectively as CEOs of major corporations.