Student Projects
Products, Mobile Apps, Platforms, Thesis Work, and Design Thinking.
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Featured Projects
Latest Projects
Brand New MoMA Product: Landscape Candle Holders
The latest product to come out of PoD’s partnership with MoMA is this set of Landscape Candle Holders—designed by Class of 2021 alum Zhenxuan Wang.
Haggl.ing: an App and Movement for a Future Cashless Economy
Haggl.ing is a network and app that creates an ecosystem for people to facilitate transactions in their neighborhood using negotiations and trade—all without cash. The project imagines a future cashless economy while building social capital and connections within one's own community. Second-year student Siddhant Goyle created Haggl.ing as part of his MFA thesis—an exploration into the grey market (or the informal economy) and building systems for cashless transactions.
Kuddle: The Phone Charger that Fuels Interpersonal Connection
Kuddle is a wireless phone charger that encourages couples to spend more meaningful time communicating face-to-face. Designed by second-year student Crystal Ching Yi Lo, the dock only charges when two phones are placed side-by-side. “If only one partner puts their phone down, the device won’t charge,” Crystal explains. “Like a metaphor of a relationship, the phones will only charge if the two are close together on the dock.”
Timescape: A Speculative Neural Hacking Kit
Timescape is a speculative neural hacking kit that aims to deconstruct the notion of linearity in perceived time. It consists of injectable proteins that temporarily alter the brain's neural plasticity, which changes various perceptions of time—including sequence, direction, change, and duration. Second-year student Karan Bansal created Timescape as part of his MFA thesis—an exploration into time poverty, colonialist origins of timekeeping, and ways to augment time that restore choice.
Covered & Anti: Exploring Clothing For a Pandemic
Second-year student Regena Paloma Reyes is currently hard at work on her MFA thesis—an investigation into the factors that promote city-dwellers' resilience during crises. Finding herself in New York City at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Regena was inspired to create two garment projects that blur the lines between protection and fashion: Covered and Anti.
Orbt: The Ballpoint Pen Designed to Stay Around for Years
Orbt is a set of convenient writing instruments, specifically ballpoint pens, that minimize their environmental impact by avoiding single-use plastic and promoting reusability. Inspired by the geostationary orbits revolving around the earth, Orbt is designed to, quite literally, stay around the user for years. The iconic Reuleaux Triangle shape of the stylus and its magnetic stand’s matching profile nudge the user to place the pen back in its home, preventing misplacement, use after use.
Bonding: a Mental Health Consultant App for Seniors and Their Family
Bonding is a mental health consultant platform for Chinese seniors suffering from depression, and for their children who want to support them. Joey Hang Yuan designed the app as part of his MFA thesis, which focuses on redesigning experiences to keep older adults engaged in social relationships despite the digital divide.
"Frubo" Fruit Bowl: A Case Study in Product, Brand, and Experience
Frubo is a fruit bowl with a modern aesthetic and a hidden agenda. Masquerading as a simple piece of home decor to store fruits and vegetables, Frubo creates a space for the user to store fruits that they want to consume immediately on the upper platter, and fruits that they would save for another day in the bottom portion of the container. Frubo is designed to live everywhere except the kitchen, with the intent of treating fruits the same way that we treat flowers: as pieces of beauty to be enjoyed at the height of their bloom.
A Proposed Redesign of the Promenade at Brooklyn Bridge
The Promenade at Brooklyn Bridge is a proposed redesign of the existing bridge walkway, created by first-year student Regena Reyes. Developed for an international design competition hosted by the Van Allen Institute, the project aims to enhance the visitor experience while addressing the challenges of public infrastructure. Regena's proposed design features additional curved walkways composed of eco-friendly materials to provide more space for visitors to take in the spectacular views from one of New York City's most beloved icons. At the same time, her proposal intends to alleviate congestion on the pathway, creating a more fluid traversal for cyclists and runners.
Launchathon-x: Solving Global Issues Through the Power of Collaborative Design
Launchathon-x invites creatives from all industries to take part in a series of virtual hackathons to solve real-time social, economic, and health problems. Born from the necessity to maintain creative collaboration during the global COVID-19 pandemic, first-year student Danna Krouham was inspired to create the website when she was unable to continue working with her classmates in the Products of Design studio.
Athena: Holding the Art World Accountable
Athena is a platform that creates a space for underrepresented (POC, women, non-binary, and queer) artists to come together to develop a community and voice for equality in the arts. Designed by first-year student Virginia Gordon, the project speaks directly to the revelation that museums globally are failing to demonstrate equitability in their collections, exhibitions, and acquisitions.
Lempup Handmade: Supporting China's Leprosy Villagers
Lempup Handmade is a service platform that aims to provide a self-sustainable economy for quarantined residents of China's leprosy villages. Designed by first-year student Wen Xie, the project is also intended as an anti-discrimination campaign.
Isolated and stigmatized, many residents living in these remote villages are skilled Miao/Yi craftspeople specializing in traditional silverwork, handmade embroidery, and dyed textiles. Wen created an app that would help the villagers share their craftwork—as well as their personal experiences—with the outside world.