Design Students Present Safer Campus Solutions, Rust Belt Projects

Industrial and interaction design (IID) students in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Design will give final presentations this week for two semester-long assignments: designing a safer campus and transforming the Rust Belt. Both presentations are open to the public and will be held at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., Syracuse.

The Nancy Cantor Warehouse will host the presentations for two semester-long IID projects this week.

On Monday, Dec. 8, at 4:30 p.m. in the first-floor Warehouse Auditorium, teams of fifth-year IID students along with their advisors—Motorola Solutions Inc. UX (user interface) designers and IID alumni Shane MacGregor ’98, Lexie Spiro ’02, Catherine Witkin ’12 and Eric Johnson ’97—will present nine concepts for creating a safer campus. In partnership with Motorola, a leading provider of mission-critical communication solutions, the students were asked to focus on developing industrial and user interface design scenarios leading to the creation of a safer campus. The students conducted extensive research with Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety, which fueled the creation of these innovative solutions. A reception and poster session with the teams and alumni will follow.

On Wednesday, Dec. 10, from 2-5 p.m. on the fourth floor of The Warehouse, teams of fourth-year IID students will compete in the program’s annual 360° IID Competition, which encourages comprehensive research, analysis and visionary problem-solving. The goal of this year’s competition, “The Rust Belt Transformed,” was to create a collection of beautiful glass products and new systems for new markets inspired by the history, present and future of the Rust Belt, a term used to describe the postindustrial region of the northeastern and east north central United States.

Joined by advisors Eric Meek of the Corning Museum of Glass/GlassLab Studio and Harry Allen of Harry Allen Design, the students will present nine projects that examine the new industrial landscape. An exhibition of the projects and an awards ceremony will follow. The winning team will receive the Philip H. Stevens Award, which is named in honor of the late Stevens ’51, who was an industrial designer and president of Philip Stevens Associates Ltd. in Skaneateles, N.Y.

For more information about the presentations, contact Donald Carr, professor of IID, at dwcarr@syr.edu.