University of Cincinnati – Industrial Design:
Sustainable Product Design Studio (Summer 2021)
All student work is protected/copyrighted through the University of Cincinnati
This course is one of several topic based studios that 5th year students take before their Capstone Semester in the Spring, where students work independently on their Capstone. This course focuses on the complexities of Sustainable Product Design, including product use (making consumer lives more sustainable), materiality (eliminating waste through Circularity and creating demand for carbon sequestering Regenerative Agriculture) and energy (reducing carbon footprints). Students began with research on possible topics and then once solidified, began to research where opportunities existed in making the product sustainable or making consumers lives more sustainable. The results were a wide spectrum of topics and sustainable adaptations. They ran the spectrum from appropriate technology to assist in Disaster Aid and International Development to a User Centered Home Compost System to a Community Designed Play set at a community Non-Profit. Here are some of the best examples that came from that course:
Solara: A Solar Powered Refrigeration Backpack. By Michaela Dial, Felicia Head & Maya Fernandes (Class of 2022)
These students set out to address the topic of International Development through a sustainable lens along with an interest in Soft Goods. Out of their research came this concept of a Solar Powered Backpack, based on previous students work who helped launch GoSun Stove, the world’s largest solar cooking company. Their full final presentation is linked here: annotated-8-3-FinalPresentation_Studio
Enlighted: By Graham Wilz, Johnnie Paul, Andrew Eppley & Ian Ferguson
These students had a strong inspiration to work with recycled plastic as Graham had just Interned at Precious Plastics Cincinnati, a local plastics recycling company. They focused on high end lighting and pulled together a very inspiring project where they recycled their own plastic for their final model. The full presentation is here: annotated-C3Pitch_WIlz
Modular Wear: By Kate Perazzo, Clare Guckenburger, Tara Prabhu, Carlos Reyes Zgarrick
This project looked at how to increase the versatility of existing hiking gear through the addition of modular add ons to extend its life made of sustainable fabrics and materials. This reduces the demand of new products on the market by keeping existing gear in use longer. It’s footprint is also reduced through recycled and bio based fabrics. This is a concept not often talked about in a world of fast fashion and short lifespans, yet is a big opportunity for reducing our ecological footprint. annotated-ModularWear_FinalPresentation
Product Capstone Design Communication – (Spring 2018 – Present)
This course compliments the Senior Capstone Studio through helping them communicate their ideas for their final student presentation and critique. They also ask for help with the development of their capstone depending on the project. Some of these students I also worked with in the course, Capstone Development, to help them identify possible capstone projects based on their interests, relevance and scope of work to qualify as a good capstone project.
All student work is protected/copyrighted through the University of Cincinnati
A1R By Alexander Ordonez & Kendall Toerner – Class of 2020
Their Capstone sought to expand people’s comfort with pushing the boundaries of outdoor exploration through a series of products that would help those people to survive and be tracked down if they became lost through various networked technologies. It won the School Director’s Choice Award for the top project in their class of 60+ students. I helped them understand the needs of hikers along with possible technologies and communicating the project itself. See the full presentation here: annotated-A1R
Amazon Echo Gourmet by Pierce Golkhe & Dustin Chan – Class of 2018
Pierce and Dustin brought a lot of ambition with this project, creating a top notch, networked system that assists users to make their lives easier through predictive food and cuisine choices, AI grocery shopping and ultimately cooking education through facilitated and interactive technology. They designed the UI and the network of kitchen sensors to facilitate this process. They pioneered a system that still holds much promise in a world of increasing automation due to lack of time, yet still savoring and expanding the joy of cooking for users. See the full presentation here: 180406_Process Document_NoCover
Thrive: Predictive Health by Rachel Fagan – Class of 2021
Rachel’s Capstone was a suite of networked products that through AI and other complimentary technologies, would help identify possible health issues and ultimately remedies for the user. It pushes the boundaries of technology and preventive health and conveys the potential of the future of medicine.
See the full presentation here: annotated-RachelFagan_CapstoneFinalPresentation_1
Loop Footwear by Justin Hiles – Class of 2021
Justin has worked in the Shoe Industry over several Coops and saw the potential of sustainable shoes exemplified through Allbirds, founded by UC Grad, Tim Brown. Justin sought to push these boundaries further through the process of Mutualistic Design and its theories to build sustainable resilience through understanding Net Energy and Materials Theory. He incorporated many aspects including product lifespan alignments through appropriate regenerative materials as well as regional acquisition, processing, manufacturing and distribution. It won the School Director’s Choice Award for the top project in his class of 60+ students. See the full presentation here: annotated-HILES_JUSTIN_ProcessBook
Oculus Rota by Michael Mallory – Class of 2021
Michael recognized a major opportunity for Gamified/Networked VR exercise in pushing the boundaries of Exercise and VR to increase motivation and competition in an indoor setting for its users. The potential of this technology can revolutionize home or club exercise programs through these technology. See the full presentation here: annotated-INDL4045S21_Milestone5_Michael_mallory
Ouvi by Josephine Edelbrock – Class of 2019
Josephine was interested in applying mindfulness to daily life to address life’s daily stressors. The technology she proposes is scientifically proven to shift brainwaves although some aspects of this technology step into speculative design and would need further research. Nonetheless, the proposal she makes with Ouvi is inspiring in todays stressful world to help us all become a little more calm and balanced. See the full presentation here: annotated-Edelbrock_FinalPresentation
Scout by Luke Becker – Class of 2018
Luke’s project, Scout, really ties in with the potential of todays technology in helping those who are vision impaired live more independent lives. His proposal is very real through GPS, data tracking and blue tooth technology, all available today, and can hold true promise in unleashing it in equitable ways. See the full presentation here: Becker Process Book
With Intention by Ben Weatherhead – Class of 2020
Ben’s project steps into speculative design through envisioning technology that can give us true data privacy and awareness, a real challenge in a world where ‘we are the product’. It envisions a simple user interface that informs of every time a company would like to collect out data, allowing us to give or deny permission. See the full presentation here: annotated-BenWeatherhead_CapstonePresentation
kind habits by Julietta Toiberman – Class of 2021
Julietta’s capstone proposes using a system of technology to make healthy eating habits more attainable in our daily lives. It employs a simple device that would live on the outside of your refrigerator and networked with your smartphone to identify, track and communicate with and coach you on how to increase healthy eating habits. It is a project that holds a lot of promise in informing us throughout the day in how we can keep moving towards healthy eating. See the full Presentation here: INDL4045S21_Milestone5_Toiberman_Julieta-2 (1)
Here is a small sampling of the student work and their portfolio updates as one project in this class over the years
Pre-Coop Program (Summer 2018 – Present: unofficial elective)
I helped in the development of this program to help rising Freshmen students in the Industrial Design program at University of Cincinnati continue developing their skills after their first year of school over the summer. I served as the organizer of the program while they are teamed up with a Senior Mentor who meets with them twice a week. I facilitated the program and structure of the program to keep the students and their mentors on track to complete 2 projects over the program. I met with the seniors once a week to help them in their mentoring as well. Here are some of the results:
…and here are some of the portfolio pages that came of the program:
University of Cincinnati – Masters of Design:
Translation Research co-taught with Master’s of Design Director – Claudia Rebola PhD and Mike Roller (Spring 2018 – required)
This class taught students how to develop their own research methodologies to address unique design problems. It was founded in the concepts of the book 101 Design Methods by Vijay Kumar and had students present their new methods in the format of the book as seen in the work below:
Vision, Perception & Form (Fall 2017)
This is a sampling of the project oriented around systems design and business development founded in Project Drawdown which has identified the top 100 strategies we can use to stop and reverse climate change in the next 30 years. These students chose to address Bamboo for Timber and Food Waste for their project, both strategies from Drawdown.
This Project employed RFID technology to track food usage in restaurant coolers to identify algorithms of use and ultimately food ordering based on an annual cycle to eliminate food waste, a major contributor to Climate change
University of Cincinnati – School of Design:
Global Design Issues: co-taught with former School of Design Director – Dale Murray (Summer 2017 – Present: required Interdisciplinary course for Senior Fashion, Industrial and Graphic/Communication Design)
Student Group Presentation/Presentation exploring Ocean Pollution as an issue of Design
Student Group Project/Presentation exploring the environmental impacts of clothes dying around the world:
Student Group Project/Presentation exploring the ethical issues of photoshop in media
A Student Group Project/Presentation exploring how Graphic Design can help consumers make ethical choices
University of Cincinnati – College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning
Greening the College of DAAP: Interdisciplinary Course – Spring 2017 co taught with Horticulture Program Director Virginia Russell (Elective)
Students took a look at one aspect of greening the College to convert its footprint to a positive impact. These are a few of the highlights:
Thesis Research on Effectiveness of the Symbiotic/Mutualistic Design Guide: (Spring 2017)
Junior Industrial Design Students in their Theory and Methods of Design Course redesigned a previous project of theirs, first with Circular Design Principles and then with Symbiotic/Mutualistic Design Principles. These are the results of a few of them with each step:
University of Cincinnati – Masters of Design – Teaching Assistant:
Design Strategy & Theory – TA for Professor of Record, Associate Dean of the College of DAAP – Craig Vogel (Fall 2016 – required)
Project: The Global Millennial Hero’s Journey – Living an Ethical Life and Businesses that can empower them. (Collaboratively Developed with Associate Dean of the College of DAAP – Craig Vogel and P&G Historian – Shane Meeker)
These are two examples of some of the students work in creating a story around the ethical products of the global Millennial.
Masters & PhD College of DAAP Orientation Week:
I helped organize and lead 3 separate events and 1 project for all 126 Master’s of Design, Fine Arts and Master’s & PhD’s of Planning & Architecture. The program broke students into groups where they researched 1 of the top 100 strategies to stop and reverse climate change as identified by Drawdown.org and how it is being implemented in the Cincinnati region.
Presentation to introduce students to the project:
Pictures of the students breaking into groups on the first day after the presentation:
Pictures of the students final presentations and the reception for them at the end of the Orientation Week:
CPI Permaculture Design Certification Winter 2011:
2 of our students who met in that class teamed up with another student, Patrick Sherwin to help develop his solar cook stove concept into reality. They launched with a Kickstarter that brought in 6x their goal. They went on to be the only solar cookstove to be funded by the United Nations Clean Cookstove Initiative to assist the 3 billion people globally still cooking with wood. They have gone on to bring in well over $1 million dollars in start up funding, mostly through Kickstarter. They are now the world’s largest solar cooking company valued at $10 Million.
Other Permaculture Oriented Courses organized and taught going back to 2008 can be found at CincinnatiPermacultureInstitute.org or OMValleyPermaculture.com
Mutualistic Design 