Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Zach Stringham ’15 Wins Industrial Designers Society of America Student Merit Award

Tuesday, May 5, 2015, By Erica Blust
Share
awardsCollege of Visual and Performing Arts

Zach Stringham ’15, an industrial and interaction design (IID) major in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ Department of Design, was named the Student Merit Award (SMA) winner of the Industrial Designers Society of America’s (IDSA) Northeast district during the district conference in Boston April 24-25.

Zach Stringham, third from right, with fellow IID students at the IDSA conference at which he won asdfasdfasdf.

Zach Stringham, third from right, with fellow IID students at the IDSA conference at which he was named the Student Merit Award winner of the Northeast district.

The SMA program provides students of industrial design with opportunities to showcase their talent and achievements at their schools, to their local professional communities and at the district and national levels. Syracuse University is one of more than 20 colleges and universities in the IDSA’s Northeast district.

Stringham, who was chosen by local design professionals to represent SU in Boston, will now represent the University and the Northeast district in August at the international IDSA conference in Seattle, where he will present his work along with the four other SMA district winners. He will also be profiled in the IDSA publication INNOVATION.

“The decision by IDSA to select one top student from each region has raised the bar and makes Zach’s accomplishment even more impressive,” says Don Carr, professor of IID and the program’s IDSA student chapter advisor. “The exposure he will receive at the national conference will be outstanding. As a faculty, we’re excited to see one of our talented seniors represent our University and showcase the kind of innovative work that takes place within the Department of Design.”

Stringham presented two projects in Boston: a pair of downhill mountain biking shoes that he designed as a personal project while interning at Puma, and a deep pressure therapy vest designed to help people with autism who suffer from sensory overload. The latter is his senior thesis project.

“Recently I’ve become interested in designing products that help people with disabilities that not only make their lives easier but that also aren’t stigmatizing,” says Stringham, who minored in psychology. “Many people with autism suffer from sensory overload, where one becomes overwhelmed and irritated by certain stimuli (sensory input), making it hard to function in everyday situations. The vest uses ‘deep pressure therapy,’ which is basically just applying pressure to the torso, which helps calm the central nervous system and gives a feeling of ‘groundedness’ and has been shown to help lots of people who have these sensory issues.”

Stringham's deep pressure therapy vest, which will help people with autism asdfasdfasf

Stringham’s deep pressure therapy vest, which will help people with autism who are suffering from sensory overload.

Stringham’s vest is different from others currently on the market. Instead of using an inflatable air bladder with a blood pressure pump, which can be stigmatizing, bulky and cumbersome, his vest uses a cord that is tightened using cranks and cinches around the body. In the later stages of his project, he worked with Laurel Morton, an instructor of fashion design in the Department of Design, to explore how the vest could be made and to create a high-fidelity prototype.

“The styling and functional components are inspired by athletic and outdoor gear,” he notes. “As a result, my vest is easier to use and less stigmatizing than current solutions and looks more like a piece of athletic apparel than an assistive device. My goal is that if someone were to wear this vest in public, they would be admired rather than looked down upon.

“For a long time I’ve pondered how I could use design to make a positive impact and help those in need, and I’ve finally found a way to do that,” he adds. “I hope to continue using this user-centered design approach to design products that help improve the lives of others.”

View Stringham’s projects at http://www.zachstringham.com.

 

  • Author

Erica Blust

  • Recent
  • Graduate Students Bring Physics to Local Classrooms With Outreach Program
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By Dan Bernardi
  • COVID-19 Update: Effective Wednesday, June 1, Masking Level Returns to Yellow
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By News Staff
  • Preparing Students for a Life of Success
    Friday, May 27, 2022, By Caroline K. Reff
  • Alumni Draw on Their Military Experience in Their Roles as Teachers
    Thursday, May 26, 2022, By Martin Walls
  • Bringing ‘CSI’ Into the Classroom
    Thursday, May 26, 2022, By Dan Bernardi

More In Arts & Culture

Syracuse University Art Museum Piloting Object-Based Teaching and Research Faculty Fellows Program

Faculty from all disciplines are invited to apply for a pilot Faculty Fellows Program being hosted this summer by the Syracuse University Art Museum. The program focuses on object-based teaching and research. It is both a way for the art…

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 to Deliver 2022 VPA Convocation Address

Innovator Lorrie Vogel ’88 will deliver the 2022 convocation address to bachelor’s and master’s degree candidates of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) at the college’s convocation ceremony on Saturday, May 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the stadium….

M.F.A. Exhibition ‘Steady/Retcon’ to be Exhibited on New York City’s Governors Island

  Master of fine arts (M.F.A.) candidates in the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) are presenting the thesis exhibition “Steady/Retcon” over two weekends in May at the Syracuse University Governors Island House, 407A Colonels Row, Governors Island, New…

Department of Drama Presents ‘As You Like It’

The Department of Drama presents the final show of the 2021/2022 season with “As You Like It,” a ravishing new musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic story by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery. The production, directed by Rodney Hudson, will perform…

Movie Based on SU Press Book ‘Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano’ Debuts

“The Survivor,” a movie based on the Alan Scott Haft book, “Harry Haft: Survivor of Auschwitz, Challenger of Rocky Marciano,” debuted on HBO and HBO Max on Wednesday, April 27. It is being released on Holocaust Remembrance Day, commemorating the…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2022 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.