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Pratt Institute
Design for Well-being
The exhibition explores how people live and what they are lacking in the contemporary world. Presented projects are not about meeting user’s needs, but rather about following daily habits. They investigate wonts, preferences and routines.
Thanks to: Karol Murlak
Participating Students
- Alejandro Barroso
- Charlotte Logeais
- Dean Liaw
- Feng Wei
- Jeff Chen
- Xuechun Lu
- Zijian Chen
Alejandro Barroso
Lead the Way
This handheld device helps guide visually impaired users to specific destinations within interior spaces with confidence and ease. It guides these users via a series of multidirectional vibrations that informs the user when to turn left or right, continue forward, and even diagonally. The design solution is centered around observations made when shadowing blind and visually impaired people participate in the Picture This! Program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. When designing for the visually impaired, the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that contrast is key. Contrast in lighting, shape and color, are all so crucial to being able to discern objects from their surroundings. Many of the participants could not navigate their way through the galleries unless the docent or any other assistants were with them. Although many museums do have well lit interiors - often simulating sunlight - and the layouts of specific rooms are organized, participants struggled with moving freely because the rooms were tonally neutral, and it was difficult to discern things such as podiums, benches, handrails, safety rails and exits. Causing not only a sense of nervousness for the attendees well being and safety, but it added nervousness to their fear of tripping and bumping into priceless works of art. This device brings confidence to visually impaired users to navigate through intimidating interior spaces including museums, but also hospitals, airports, and shopping malls.
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Lead the Way Final Render
Lead the Way Instructions
Lead the Way Functions (Buttons and Design)
Lead the Way Functions (Multidirectional Vibrations)
Alejandro Barroso
Lead the Way
This handheld device helps guide visually impaired users to specific destinations within interior spaces with confidence and ease. It guides these users via a series of multidirectional vibrations that informs the user when to turn left or right, continue forward, and even diagonally. The design solution is centered around observations made when shadowing blind and visually impaired people participate in the Picture This! Program at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. When designing for the visually impaired, the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that contrast is key. Contrast in lighting, shape and color, are all so crucial to being able to discern objects from their surroundings. Many of the participants could not navigate their way through the galleries unless the docent or any other assistants were with them. Although many museums do have well lit interiors - often simulating sunlight - and the layouts of specific rooms are organized, participants struggled with moving freely because the rooms were tonally neutral, and it was difficult to discern things such as podiums, benches, handrails, safety rails and exits. Causing not only a sense of nervousness for the attendees well being and safety, but it added nervousness to their fear of tripping and bumping into priceless works of art. This device brings confidence to visually impaired users to navigate through intimidating interior spaces including museums, but also hospitals, airports, and shopping malls.
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Charlotte Logeais
TENDU is a set of discrete wearables that target stress relieving pressure points on the body to reduce performance anxiety and the resulting impact injuries in professional ballet dancers. Through research and personal experience dancing classical ballet for 10 years, culminating in one year professionally, I found significant correlation between anxiety and injuries in dancers. Although the inspiration for this project was professional dancers, performance anxiety can affect anyone. These discrete wearables can be used by a broad user base, regardless of whether your stage is large or small.
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In Use scenario: Ear Cuff / Bracelet
The final ear cuff and bracelet are made of brass, and the fine metal wire is rigid enough to apply pressure to the respective pressure points, while remaining discrete enough to almost disappear on the body during rehearsals and performances. This set of wearables are jewelry-like in aesthetic, rather than medical.
Bracelet, final prototype
The bracelet applies pulsating pressure to the "Union Valley" point, which reduces stress. The wire form was designed around the movement of the wrist in classical ballet technique.
Ear Cuff, final prototype
The ear cuff gently wraps the ear while targeting the "Heavenly Gate" pressure point, which reduces stress and anxiety.
Topographical Sandal
The overall minimal aesthetic and topographical feel of the insole are reminiscent of a Japanese zen garden. The sandal provides cushioning and arch support, and was designed based on pressure mapping of the foot to improve dancer's foot health.
Rest / Recovery scenario: Topographical Sandal
The final sandals feature a neutral, monochromatic color palette, and the toe attachment functions as a toe spacer to combat bunions, while applying pressure to the "Great Surge" point on the top of the foot.
Charlotte Logeais
TENDU is a set of discrete wearables that target stress relieving pressure points on the body to reduce performance anxiety and the resulting impact injuries in professional ballet dancers. Through research and personal experience dancing classical ballet for 10 years, culminating in one year professionally, I found significant correlation between anxiety and injuries in dancers. Although the inspiration for this project was professional dancers, performance anxiety can affect anyone. These discrete wearables can be used by a broad user base, regardless of whether your stage is large or small.
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Dean Liaw
Having a range of interests that span anywhere from aquascaping to soft goods, one of my hobbies is exploring new hobbies. I grew up not knowing about design or that it was a field I could even study, but curiosity about the world has always been a constant in my life.
I've been climbing for about 10 years now and I have no plans of ever stopping. Like many others can attest to, climbing has become much more than just physical activity, it has created a space for me to continuously push my limits and to exhibit critical problem solving (of a different kind). Though it's difficult to quantify, I would argue that climbing brings clarity to my thoughts and helps me see my work with fresh eyes.
As a designer who happens to rock climb it was only natural for me to look at existing products on the market, and see voids that needed to be filled. I hope to continue to apply my design consideration not only in the climbing industry, but wherever my curiosity may take me.
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Hook and loop closure with an elastic adjuster
Soft R1 utilizes webbing loops and a g-hook as its closure. The hook has an elastic adjuster to help cinch the bag when it is closed and to accommodate varying amounts of chalks and shoe sizes.
Magnetic closures
Soft R1 uses magnets to keep both the brush panel and chalk bag closed.
Closing the bag.
The chalk bag uses two different weights of ripstop; The top portion is lightweight and stuffs into the more rigid base. To close the bag, simply place your climbing shoes onto the sailcloth panel, roll everything up, and slide the hook into the appropriate loop.
Closing the bag
Shoes are placed on the sailcloth panel and everything is rolled tight to keep the items secure.
Material testing
This prototype uses standard webbing to create loops but could easily be swapped for the sheath of old climbing ropes.
Sailcloth decals
Sailcloth has a lot of interesting stitch details and decals to showcase and provides a fresh look in the climbing industry; The blue print on this prototype was once the sail's identification number.
Dean Liaw
Having a range of interests that span anywhere from aquascaping to soft goods, one of my hobbies is exploring new hobbies. I grew up not knowing about design or that it was a field I could even study, but curiosity about the world has always been a constant in my life.
I've been climbing for about 10 years now and I have no plans of ever stopping. Like many others can attest to, climbing has become much more than just physical activity, it has created a space for me to continuously push my limits and to exhibit critical problem solving (of a different kind). Though it's difficult to quantify, I would argue that climbing brings clarity to my thoughts and helps me see my work with fresh eyes.
As a designer who happens to rock climb it was only natural for me to look at existing products on the market, and see voids that needed to be filled. I hope to continue to apply my design consideration not only in the climbing industry, but wherever my curiosity may take me.
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Feng Wei
Recent coronavirus outbreak results in a severe shortage of face masks and other medical products on a global scale. To prevent the spread of the contagious disease, wearing a face mask is an effective method. An alternative solution to make a face mask is in demand. An instruction has been designed to guide people to create an effective DIY mask with materials from daily goods.
A study on the manufacture of the medical mask indicates that three layers of fabric construct a medical face mask. The outer layer is a hydrophobic non-woven fabric, which prevents droplet transmission from others. The middle layer is a melt-blown electret non-woven fabric that contains electrified disordered fibers that effectively filter the virus. The hydrophilic non-woven fabric laying inside absorbs the moisture of breathing and the droplets from the mouth.
Although the term of the fabrics sounds unfamiliar, they can be easily found in daily goods. The hydrophobic non-woven fabrics could be found from non-woven fabric shopping bags or plant nursery bags. The substitute for the middle filter layer could be the filters of the furnace, vent, and air conditioner. The disinfecting kitchen wipes, the flooring mop sheets, and the cotton T-shirt works similarly as the inner hydrophilic non-woven fabric.
These alternative materials share the same functions as each layer correspondingly. Compared to the surged demand for masks, the products with substitutional materials are more accessible because they are not primary necessities or for medical purposes. At the same time, the filterability of the DIY mask is tested comparable to a medical mask. With the origami method, it is more flexible, allowing users to adjust the size to fit their faces better.
We can create effective face masks with available materials at home to stop the spread of coronavirus and keep the community healthy in minutes.
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Feng Wei
Recent coronavirus outbreak results in a severe shortage of face masks and other medical products on a global scale. To prevent the spread of the contagious disease, wearing a face mask is an effective method. An alternative solution to make a face mask is in demand. An instruction has been designed to guide people to create an effective DIY mask with materials from daily goods.
A study on the manufacture of the medical mask indicates that three layers of fabric construct a medical face mask. The outer layer is a hydrophobic non-woven fabric, which prevents droplet transmission from others. The middle layer is a melt-blown electret non-woven fabric that contains electrified disordered fibers that effectively filter the virus. The hydrophilic non-woven fabric laying inside absorbs the moisture of breathing and the droplets from the mouth.
Although the term of the fabrics sounds unfamiliar, they can be easily found in daily goods. The hydrophobic non-woven fabrics could be found from non-woven fabric shopping bags or plant nursery bags. The substitute for the middle filter layer could be the filters of the furnace, vent, and air conditioner. The disinfecting kitchen wipes, the flooring mop sheets, and the cotton T-shirt works similarly as the inner hydrophilic non-woven fabric.
These alternative materials share the same functions as each layer correspondingly. Compared to the surged demand for masks, the products with substitutional materials are more accessible because they are not primary necessities or for medical purposes. At the same time, the filterability of the DIY mask is tested comparable to a medical mask. With the origami method, it is more flexible, allowing users to adjust the size to fit their faces better.
We can create effective face masks with available materials at home to stop the spread of coronavirus and keep the community healthy in minutes.
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Jeff Chen
Jeff Chen is a Brooklyn-based industrial designer. In this journey as a designer, he inspired by the beauty of human experience, interactions, and passion. Truly understanding people's needs and experiences are what allows him to design products with meaning and compassion. Jeff seek to constantly develop and hone my skills needed in integrating this beauty into my designs.
Urma is a shoulder brace product that primarily designed for the people suffering from "Swimming shoulder", an arthropathy that is commonly seen in groups of professional swimmers, who put their shoulder joint through a huge range of motion. Comparing to those existing brace products, Urma is not only focusing on healing and protecting swimmer's shoulder joints but also improving the simplicity and comfortability of wearing a brace. To lower the potential environmental pollution, Urma will be made out of eco-friendly athletic fabrics manufactured by Tencel™ Lyocell, an Austria Fabric firm that focus on producing affordable and sustainable fabric materials for years.
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Jeff Chen
Jeff Chen is a Brooklyn-based industrial designer. In this journey as a designer, he inspired by the beauty of human experience, interactions, and passion. Truly understanding people's needs and experiences are what allows him to design products with meaning and compassion. Jeff seek to constantly develop and hone my skills needed in integrating this beauty into my designs.
Urma is a shoulder brace product that primarily designed for the people suffering from "Swimming shoulder", an arthropathy that is commonly seen in groups of professional swimmers, who put their shoulder joint through a huge range of motion. Comparing to those existing brace products, Urma is not only focusing on healing and protecting swimmer's shoulder joints but also improving the simplicity and comfortability of wearing a brace. To lower the potential environmental pollution, Urma will be made out of eco-friendly athletic fabrics manufactured by Tencel™ Lyocell, an Austria Fabric firm that focus on producing affordable and sustainable fabric materials for years.
- Thumbnails
Xuechun Lu
Growing up in a multicultural environment, Xuechun is nurtured and inspired to develop great interests in curating contextualized social perspectives in her arts and designs. To her, exploring the possibilities of storytelling in working progress gives her the highest excitement. It is hard to overlook her ability to demonstrate work using a youthful, fashionable and fearless visual language.Besides her devotion in industrial design, Xuechun is also enthusiastic about exploring pronounced and subtle interactions among people, objects and space. She is proceeding her study on spatial design to prepare herself marching into a more multidisciplinary field in the future. She is open to all opportunities to learn and experience within real-life projects, in either commercial or non-profit direction.
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Gentlr
Specially for women, Gentlr is a urine collection pocket that is compatible with both pregnancy and ovulation test strips.
Gentlr is designed for various female urethral structures
Gentlr does not expect female users to aim accurately on a small target, bringing a neat and elegant experience. Simply pierce a test strip from the back into the pocket.
How to use Gentlr?
Users slide in a test strip into the slot from the back, dipping the target area into the pocket in the front. Hold the top part and urinate freely on Gentlr until the pocket holds an adequate amount of urine sample. Wait 10 seconds for the test strip to fully absorb urine. Release the remaining urine sample by pinching the top. The soft silicone material changes in shape, opening up the seam at the bottom. Wash Gentlr and store it.
Special moment: Gentlr brings no mess, no embarrassment, no shame
Simple and elegant shape allows women to use it closely. Intimate moments with urine can also be a neat and beautiful experience.
Sustainability: this is a habit without extra waste
Some women conduct ovulation tests continuously 20 days in a month, some use pregnancy tests once a month as a routine. Reusable Gentlr lowers the expense on overpriced plastic tests and offers a sustainable substitution.
Xuechun Lu
Growing up in a multicultural environment, Xuechun is nurtured and inspired to develop great interests in curating contextualized social perspectives in her arts and designs. To her, exploring the possibilities of storytelling in working progress gives her the highest excitement. It is hard to overlook her ability to demonstrate work using a youthful, fashionable and fearless visual language.Besides her devotion in industrial design, Xuechun is also enthusiastic about exploring pronounced and subtle interactions among people, objects and space. She is proceeding her study on spatial design to prepare herself marching into a more multidisciplinary field in the future. She is open to all opportunities to learn and experience within real-life projects, in either commercial or non-profit direction.
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Zijian Chen
Our ears always adapt to the ambient noise so we tend to turn up the volume without knowing it actually gets so loud that could damage our hearing. A special volume knob is designed to avoid such hurting. When the volume is turned up, the knob gets harder and harder to turn. It gently suggests users keeping the volume down to a healthier level.
The volume knob comes with a set of speakers with the same cubic, minimal design, completing a thoughtful and humane audio device.
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Volume Knob with Mechanical Feedback
Our ears always adapt to the ambient noise so we tend to turn up the volume without knowing it actually gets so loud that could damage our hearing. A special volume knob is designed to avoid such hurting. When the volume is turned up, the knob gets harder and harder to turn. It gently suggests users keeping the volume down to a healthier level.
Volume Knob with Mechanical Feedback
The relation of volume level and rotating friction is a whole new experience. It adds a new dimension to an everyday action, which is adjusting the volume. The haptic feedback is something very subtle yet effective to our senses. In this way, the user will learn the current volume level without looking at the device.
Early Test Models
Internal Structure: Worm Drive
This is more technical. The internal structure is inspired by the guitar head. When the volume is turned up and the spring is stretched, it gets tighter. With the worm drive structure, it won't bounce back when you are done adjusting the volume.
Wireless and Modularity
The cubic design and Bluetooth connection enabled the modularity. You can put them however you like and the speaker gill can face all kinds of directions. The audio input can go through either Bluetooth or audio jack. Audio and power are delivered through magnetic connectors on the sides of the cubes. Also, the left and right channels depend on the position of the knob when they are connected.
Zijian Chen
Our ears always adapt to the ambient noise so we tend to turn up the volume without knowing it actually gets so loud that could damage our hearing. A special volume knob is designed to avoid such hurting. When the volume is turned up, the knob gets harder and harder to turn. It gently suggests users keeping the volume down to a healthier level.
The volume knob comes with a set of speakers with the same cubic, minimal design, completing a thoughtful and humane audio device.
- Thumbnails