Industrial Design

This year’s Industrial Design Class challenged the students to view their world through a new lens and consider how aspects of it could potentially be improved. Starting off by gathering information, the students took pictures, sketched, drew, measured, drafted and asked questions. They then generated ideas and conveyed them in two dimensions and three, moving between the two states with ease. Their pencil-drawn patterns on a piece of paper were easily assembled into an interesting 3D form which we found really needed to be photographed. In short order they were taking into account composition and lighting and before you know it they were telling the story of things that do not exist, but very well could and most likely should.

I could not be more proud of this year’s students. The passion and empathy they brought are the ingredients that created the successes they achieved. They whole-heartedly engaged in all the activities, each bringing with them their unique perspectives and skill sets. They bonded together quickly and watched over each other stopping me from moving on until they were sure their classmates were all up to speed. In our discussions it became clear that they are keenly aware of the social and environmental impacts of the choices we make when creating and that these concerns need to be factored in when we are designing our future.

I have no doubt that these students will achieve whatever they put their minds to, and because of this, the future looks all that much brighter for us all.

- Keith Shapland, Industrial Design Studio Instructor