Industrial and Product Design Commons^™

Meta, Andrew Saldutti

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

META strives provide an adaptable lacrosse pad system for children, to provide a safe and economical transition into the sport of Lacrosse.

Psicobag, Shane Siever

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

Psicobag is a waterproof, accessible, chalk dispersal system for the deep water solo climber. Psicobag uses a system of valves to spray chalk powder onto the hand when pumped, then seals instantly upon water submersion so the chalk remains dry and ready for the next ascent of the rock face.

Harmony: Better Stroller Handle, Evan Gasparini

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

The Harmony Better Stroller Handle is a stroller handle designed to increase comfort and control for caregivers with arthritis. The family dynamic and economy in China particularly create an opportunity to cater to the needs of a demographic that is both mainstream and completely underrepresented in a growing product segment. A licensable design integrated directly into the manufacturing of full size strollers is ideal for this scenario. This product was developed to improve the child caretaking experience for users with arthritis without sacrificing performance for those who do not.

V Sports: An Even Ground For Deaf Athletes, Charbel Houinato

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

This project explores the communication problems that hearing impaired athletes may face during a game. It will also identify an area of opportunity and propose a product solution to address these communication problems.

Polyplay, Nick Snyder

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

PolyPlay is a virtual reality gaming controller for first person shooters and role playing games. It’s modularity and versatility allows enhanced player immersion and game cohesion.

Vila: A Stress Relieving Lighting Solution For The Workplace, Louise Sandstroem

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

The health of Americans is deteriorating because of the stress caused in the workplace. Designers experience this frequently because of fast work pace, constant revisions, and a lack of direct control over their work.

Vila is designed to relieve this stress by introducing warm lighting into their workspace. Warm light at 2200 to 3000 Kelvin has been proven to reduce stress. Lighting is also considered work appropriate as it is essentially non-disturbing to coworkers.

Ido Posture Chair, Justin Grambor

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

Through movement, Ido seeks to engage and support the development of young children’s healthy work habits.

Huckr, Stephanie Watson

Program of Industrial Design Capstones

Huckr is the first portable frisbee launcher of its kind. Nothing on the market like it exists allowing it to stand against no other brand in comparison.

Recovery From Design, Cassandra J. Ellison

Theses and Dissertations

Through research, inquiry, and an evaluation of Recovery By Design, a ‘design therapy’ program that serves people with mental illness, substance use disorders, and developmental disabilities, it is my assertion that the practice of design has therapeutic potential and can aid in the process of recovery. To the novice, the practices of conception, shaping form, and praxis have empowering benefit especially when guided by Conditional and Transformation Design methods together with an emphasis on materiality and vernacular form.

Sound Perception:Encapsulating Intangible Voice Memories In A Physical Memento, Mona Mahmoud Makhlouf

Theses and Dissertations

We live in a very busy world with a variety of sensory stimulation including the olfactory, visual, tactile, and auditory. The five senses are triggered by our surroundings and help us to form meaning about the world.ⅰ Based on where someone grows up, she or he is introduced to various sites and sounds, affecting how they interpret the world. Sounds relate meaning through the association between hearing, memory and an event. Hearing is one of the learning processes, in which individuals give, receive, and store information. We typically rely on our five senses, which contribute to the process of understanding, …

Adaptive Environments For Enabling Senior Citizens: An Holistic Assessment Tool For Housing Design And Iot-Based Technologies, Matteo Zallio, Damon Berry, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference papers

The population of older adults will continuously increase over the coming decades. As they get older, people will require assistance and regular monitoring, with higher costs for welfare system and families. Two vital aspects of a healthy lifestyle, are domestic autonomy and maintenance of relationships within the neighborhood. This leads to an interesting research issue: “Could houses and appliances have the potential to improve autonomy and quality of life of citizens? Which methods and tools could enhance wellbeing and healthy conditions? The house has the potential to be a safe, adaptive environment, integrated with technologies for life support. This work …

The Manhattan Collection: A Study On Furniture Design, Gabriel Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

I have designed a series of pieces of furniture that all share some key similarities, not in form or even style (though my personal aesthetic will be seen in all of them), but rather in materials. All of my pieces use a combination of metal, wood, and stone. Obviously, this is not remarkable as these materials have been used to build furniture for as long as furniture has been built. However, I have endeavored to explore how these materials can interact with one another within a piece of furniture. My goal was to create furniture where the materials do not …

Museum 4.0 As The Future Of Steam In Museums, Mark Walhimer

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Informal STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) activities (programs) and exhibits are common in science centers, children’s museums and natural history museums. As museums change to Museum 4.0 models (1), the STEAM exhibits and programs in museums also change. Museums 4.0 is the transformation of museums from a monolithic fixed location institution to a nimble community driven event driven organization. The Museum 4.0 becomes personalized to the visitor without fixed outcomes and without the physical restrictions of a single fixed location. As museums evolve to a Museum 4.0 model with visitor lead activities, STEAM activities within museums also change …

Change Agents

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Two recent visitors to HKDI helped students understand how design and a sustainable lifestyle can be good partners but as Summer Cao reports designers have to inspire consumers to adopt better habits before long term improvements in the environment will be possible.

Play By Play

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Hong Kong's toy industry has had a dominant role on the global stage in the past but after a recent exhibition that showcased some of its halcyon days one of the city's biggest manufacturers of playthings says it's time for the region to win back its place in the world's toy box.

Play Time

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Although Hong Kong was once the centre of the world's toy manufacturing industry, the city does not have a museum honouring these icons of childhood. But that will soon change, writes Daisy Zhong.

Designed To Last

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Issues of creativity and sustainability have usually been separated since the industrial revolution in the West over two hundred years ago. While most designers have thought about how to sell their products, rather than how to save the earth, an increasing number have begun to argue that this separation is untenable. The HKDI's Yan Yan Lam is one of them. As she explains to Daniel Jeffreys, a sustainable future for the planet is something that will only happen by disign.

Our Future Selves

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

In 2009, Dr. Yanki Lee initiated a series of projects to challenge the concept of ageing as a problem to be solved, choosing instead to cast the ageing process as unique experience for each individual and a culture from which design lessons can be drawn. Her research is leading to a series of innovative design projects that will benefit all segments of the community.

A World That Works For Every One

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

In 1979, twenty-six year old Patricia Moore disguised herself as a woman in her 80s and travelled to 116 cities throughout North America, to discover if urban design met the needs of the elderly. Dressed in her grandmother's clothes, she developed a unique form of immersion research that revitalised the role of architecture and design in our daily lives. Now she is working with the HKDI to develop solutions that work for all age groups. Here she lays out here passionate vision for the future of design.

Meals On Wheels

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

All around the world, food trucks are revolutionising the dining industry as well as becoming design attractions in their own right. We explore the phenomenon, as well as the entrepreneurs and designers who are redefining the term "moveable feast'.

In The Living Room

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Salone del Mobile is the biggest event in Italy's furniture design calendar -- and now the world. We explore the great innovations from this April's packed-out fair in Milan and look forward to its exciting Shanghai debut.

Interior Intelligence

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

In celebration of World Interiors Day, HKDI held a series of seminars with prominent interior designers and a workshop to promote this year's theme of intelligence.

In The Frame

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

A sneak peak at what's to come at the HKDI this autumn.

Breaking The Sound Barrier

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Known for his curves and natural shapes, emminent product designer Ross Lovegrove has returned to the audio world to create the best sounding wireless speaker.

Driving Change

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Chelsia Lau is the chief designer for Ford in Shanghai and is behind some of its biggest projects. We speak to the Hongkonger about the changes in automotive design.

The Crafting Of Design Minds

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

The cache of graduate projects from ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne on display at HKDI reveals a wide-eyed curiosity that is characteristic of the renowned Swiss school's energetic approach to design education.

Mothers Of Invention

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

To explore the beauty of an object is to engage with the genius behind its creation and as Rik Glauert reports, the exhibition "Every Product Tells a Story" at HKDI is a window into the elusive mind of the designer.

The Year-Long Adventures Of The Blue Shoes & Their Friends, Michael R. Hill

Zea E-Books Collection

While participating in a Teacher Workshop organized by Georgina Valverde at the Art Institute of Chicago in 2013, Michael Hill began a one-year artistic and pedagogical odyssey making original images (always featuring some aspect of one or more athletic shoes) and posting them daily to a visual blog he created to help kick-start writing projects among the many student athletes he tutored at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He started the year self-identifying as “scholar/teacher,” but at year’s end Michael looked in the mirror and said, OK, still “scholar/ teacher,” but also “artist.” Here are the workshop organizer’s foreword, the scholar’s …

Capability Town

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Patricia Moore is one of the world's most accomplished industrial designers. As Summer Cao reports, the American polymath uses socially conscious creativity to improve the lives of those who might otherwise be neglected.

Perpetual Emotion

SIGNED: The Magazine of The Hong Kong Design Institute

Charles Kaisin is a designer who wears his heart and intellect on both sleeves, embracing the world with passionate enthusiasm and challenging ideas. His role as the co-curator of the Dress Code and Design in Motion exhibitions that will be at HKDI through the spring proves that one man can be in several places at once, so long as he has enough imagination.