Universal Design-A-Thon

Our first Universal Design-A-Thon at Mount Ida College took place on Friday, March 18^th and Saturday, March 19^th. During these two days groups of students, faculty, interior designers, architects, care-givers, and community members with or without disabilities came together to gain insight about Universal Design and how it can be incorporated into our future designs. This was done by listening to a number of guest speakers, participating in team empathy exercises, and creating or improving designs.

Empathy Exercises

Interior Architecture and Design students Taylor Porter and Nicole Handzel

Brett Heising, Matt Haynes, and School of Design Dean, Jason Donati

Discussing Topics to explore

Brett Heising, Matt Haynes, and School of Design Dean, Jason Donati

Wila Crolius, coordinator to users/experts from the Institute of Human Centered Design

Friday night fun at TripAdvisor

McKenzie Meserve, Taylor Porter, Makayla MacSaveny, and Nicole Handzel

School of Design Dean, Jason Donati and Taylor Porter shooting hoops

Nicole Handzel and Interior Design Professor, Stephanie McGoldrick  

Constructing Prototypes

Final Presentations

Judge Dianne Dunnell 

Final boards and prototypes displayed in the School of Design

Flex-Able a new design to the everyday crutch

UP&UP Systems a wheelchair ramp built into a set of stairs

The Chariot of Deliciousness a helping hand to anyone with their shopping experience 

Congratulations to Team 6 (Chef Techs) who received the People’s Choice award for designing an App called Dinner Bell that uses alerts and voice activation to safely assist individuals with visually impairment, memory issues, and people who just want to have some additional cooking oversight.  User expert, Jeff Drucker, influenced this project.

Congratulations to Team 3, who received the Judges’ Choice Award for designing Grip.Able, a smart phone accessory that offers a secure grip for individuals with dexterity limitations, which was greatly influenced by the user/expert Penny Shaw

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

-Our generous sponsors and contributors: New EnglandHome, TripAdvisor, American Society of Interior Designers New England Chapter, Institute for Human Centered Design, IIDA New England Chapter, Eone, For All toPlay, and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

-Our work study students who tirelessly helped prepare for the event and exhibit: Melissa Pastore, Casey Whitney, Lauren LoPresti, Stacey Marino, McKenzie Meserve, Stephanie Buttrick and Makayla MacSaveny.

-The guest speakers who provided amazing insight on universal design, Valerie Fletcher, Brett Heising, Ben Judge, Owen Leach, and Jerry Berrier

-The leadership at Mount Ida College who supported the event including Barry Brown (President), Ron Akie (Provost), Jason Donati (Dean of the School of Design), and  Rose Botti-Salitsky (Interior Design Department Chair)

 -Our facilities group and catering at Mount Ida College for ensuring coordination and providing delicious food to keep us going throughout the 2 days, especially Sari Musmon, Steve DArcy, Romeo Lopez, and Katie Hopkins.

-Media Services, including David Botelho and Manouche Madanipour, for coordinating our sound and visuals

-Individuals who helped us to promote the event, including  Halee Rasco, who assisted with our frequent website edits, Christina Pickering, and Fran Berger

-Mount Ida College staff/admissions support from Luke Wilson, Trixie Darcy, and Allaphia Richards

-Willa Crolius from the Institute for Human CenteredDesign, coordinator of the user/experts who shared interesting stories and provided us with unique challenges to tackle

-The professionals who gave their time to sit on our judging panel: Jason Donati, Dianne Dunnell, Nicolette Gordon, Brett Heising, Owen Leach, and Willa Crolius

-Our faculty mentors including Dan Kornrumpf, Owen Leach, and Jill Janasiewicz

-The CAGE at Mount Ida College, with oversight from Aaron Bourque, for the careful printing and trimming of our exhibition pieces

-Alison Poor-Donahue, Graphic Design & Digital Media Department Chair at Mount Ida College for designing and coordinating the exhibition graphics and Kathleen Driscoll, Art Foundation and Gallery Coordinator at Mount Ida College for helping to oversee the exhibition installation

-Paula Frederick and Betsy Scheivert for additional assistance and coordination efforts

AND especially

-The  wonderful student, faculty, and professional participants for bringing your enthusiasm and creative energy to this 2-day event

It was truly an amazing couple of days.

More pictures of the event can be found here. 

Our Universal Design exhibition will be on display until April 17th and includes the outcomes of the Design-athon, so please stop by.

Thank you to everyone who participated, 

Thank you to Rose Botti-Salitsky and to Stephanie McGoldrick for organizing the event. We were sure to remember this for years to come and it will certainly help within our upcoming projects.