Design Autopsy, exhibited in October 2012, is the first annual exhibition of Alumni work from the RIT Industrial Design department. The exhibition design is inspired by the Vignelli Unigrid System.
This exhibit is meant to help reveal the diversity and process behind the profession of industrial design. Samples presented show a variety of areas that have been explored by Alumni and is not limited to final products.
![]( "2012 Design Autopsy")
![]( "2012 Design Autopsy")
![]( "2012 Design Autopsy")
![]( "2012 Design Autopsy")
Team:
Professor Josh Owen
Professor Bruce Meader
MFA Industrial Design Candidate, David Strauss
MFA Graphic Design Candidate, Casey Kelly
MFA Graphic Design Candidate, Rita Yu
Special Thank You:
RIT Industrial Design Alumni
RES Exhibit Services
id Signsystems
Bevier Gallery
ID Graduate Students
ID Faculty and Staff
Designers Featured in Design Autopsy 2012
![]( "Scott Wilson")
Scott Wilson is an accomplished designer and former Global Creative Director at Nike. Over his 20 year career he has led design organizations such as IDEO, Thomson Consumer Electronics, Fortune Brands, and Motorola and created some of the world’s most recognized consumer design icons.
Founded in 2007, his vision for MINIMAL has been to create a new hybrid design studio that combines his interests in consulting for design-centric Fortune 500 brands and his intense passion for self-manufacturing and entrepreneurial ventures.
One phenomenal example of this vision is Wilson’s TikTok+LunaTik Multi-Touch Kits for the iPod Nano, which have seen unprecedented success and support through online crowd funding platform Kickstarter.com.
This studio experiment raised nearly $1M in its 30 day pledge period, making it one of the highest funded projects in Kickstarter history and inspiring designers and entrepreneurs all over the world.
Scott Wilson’s work has been recognized with over 50 international design awards in the last decade and has been exhibited internationally at venues including the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Triennial, MoMA, MCA and Chicago Art Institute. Wilson has also been profiled in dozens of magazines including ID Magazine’s Top 40, Fast Company’s Masters of Design, Details Magzine and TIME Magazine’s Style+Design 100.
Year of Graduation: 1991
Current Position: Founder, MINIMAL
TikTok+LunaTik
Year of Release: 2010 by LUNATIK
“Having our 100 limited-edition Kickstarter ‘$500 Spread the Love Party Packs’ pledge level sell out in 2 days and Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak buying the 98th one.”
“Running into Apple head designer Jonathan Ive at the Clift Hotel bar in San Francisco and giving him the LunaTik off my friend’s wrist.”
“Being on Fox News during the TikTok+LunaTik Kickstarter campaign and getting asked why I didn’t run off to Mexico ?with the money.”
Background
After designing and engineering the pair of watch conversion kits himself, Wilson approached industry giants and retailers including Apple, all of which told him the product was too expensive, too hard to make and too niche. With that Wilson turned to Kickstarter.com to experiment with crowd-funding a commercial product on a platform that had to date been largely used for art projects, music, and film.
Leveraging his background creating end-to-end product experiences, over a weekend Wilson created a raw video pitch, photography of rough prototypes, enticing product imagery, a tiered reward strategy for his potential backers, and an initial social media plan to spread the word. Then he posted it online.
With an initial goal of $15,000 to cover manufacturing costs, the TikTok+LunaTik project shattered expectations and raised nearly $1 million in 30 days, launching a viral global brand overnight. Scott Wilson’s project is at the forefront and represents a game changing movement, one that empowers designers, entrepreneurs, DIY’ers and inventors around the world to tap into the open, crowd-funded world of social commerce.
Throughout the Kickstarter project, supporters and fans were informed and engaged on every phase of development and production, creating a totally transparent platform between the designer and the consumer.
In a project survey, a shocking 76% of TikTok+LunaTik owners bought an Apple Nano because of the watch designs, which is a rare if not unprecedented milestone of an accessory driving the sale of the core product. As a result, the designs have found their place in Apple retail stores across North America and Europe and the LUNATIK brand has garnered an incredibly loyal following of supporters around the world.
Wilson’s disruptive success with TikTok+LunaTik continues to inspire countless designers to see their ideas from conception to market and take full control of their future.
Awards/Achievements
Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, 2012
Edison Award, Silver Award in Product Design, 2012
iLounge Reader’s Choice Award: Accessory Maker of the Year, 2011
iLounge iPod Nano Case of the Year, 2011
IDSA IDEA Bronze Award, Personal Accessories, 2011
Core77 Design Awards, Runner Up in Products/Equipment, 2011
![]( "Scott Wilson Exhibition")
![]( "Joyce Thomas")
Joyce Thomas is an innovator and educator with a passion for design. As a professional industrial designer, she has worked across interdisciplinary boundaries and integrated marketing, engineering, and consumer needs into creative products for Electrolux, Euro-Pro, Bosch, Jarden Consumer Solutions, Sunbeam, Crock-Pot, and many others for 30+ years. She has employed the consumer as an active participant in the designing process, utilizing user-centered design, design ethnography, and empathic design research strategies to focus on enhancing quality of life for people through more intuitive and meaningful products.
Joyce discovered ID as a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology on a career day when a senior waxed poetic about product design. Never actually having considered that people designed things, Joyce discovered what would be her lifelong passion and career. She attributes her success to the great foundation given to her by RIT professors Craig McArt and Toby Thompson. “One short sentence that Toby told my class long ago has had a big influence on my career, the products I have developed, and what I tell my students. ‘I try not to know so much about what can be done (or how it can be done) that it stops me from trying to do it in a different way.’ It has helped fuel me to move past the ‘we already tried that’ mentality, and jump out of the easy part of the job (the research) into the hard part–the designing.”
Year of Graduation: 1975
Current Positions: Visiting Assistant Professor of Industrial Design and Visiting Research Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Director of Faculty and Curriculum, Institute of Arts Entrepreneurship in Chicago
President and Principal, Joyce Thomas Designs Chief Creative Office, ThomasSchumerGroup
Eureka QuickUp & BrushUp
Year of Release: 1984
“With the MiniMite handvac, in 1982 I neatly sidestepped the design and utility patents Black&Decker was protecting on its innovative Dustbuster cordless handvac. A year later I added a handle and a floor nozzle and Eureka scooped the market with the introduction of the very first light weight battery-operated upright cleaner. ”
Background
Introduced in 1984, this market became one of the fastest growing segments of the floor care industry. Black&Decker followed suit with their own product, but infringed on the QuickUp’s utility patents and ended up paying royalties to Eureka.
In addition to the home/consumer market, the airline and restaurant industries adopted use of this product for its size and convenience. This prompted the need for removable battery packs and the ability to charge multiple battery packs to extend the time usability.
“Appliance Manufacturer” awarded top honors to this product in its first annual Excellence in Design Award in 1987.
To keep pace with production requirements, the original design was updated in 1999.
This product line incorporates both battery-operated models and corded versions. Consideration for insert molding and utilization of existing parts (floor nozzle and stock hand grip) were primary criteria for the redesign. Rather than a simple face-lift of an existing product, new features were incorporated in the redesign both internally and externally to add to the functionality and perceived value of this product. The QuickUp continues to be produced today.
Awards/Achievements
59 United States and International Patents Awarded
Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2008 Rochester Institute of Technology, 1975
1st Annual Excellence in Design Award, Appliance Magazine—Top Honors 1987, Small Appliances Category—Eureka BrushUp.
![]( "Joyce Thomas Exhibition")
![]( "Francesca Pezze")
Francesca Pezze is a junior product designer at Poppin, a lifestyle office supply company based in New York City, where she has been working happily since the fall of 2011. She earned her BFA in Industrial Design and also completed her associate’s degree in graphic design while studying at the Rochester Institute of Technology. During her four year journey at RIT, she also had the opportunity to study abroad at Hochschule Anhalt in Dessau, Germany – which is within walking distance to the Bauhaus. Francesca graduated in 2011 with high honors and earned honorable mention in Metaproject01’s Wilsonart furniture challenge.
Her stool, The Nodule, from the Wilsonart Challenge was exhibited at the 2011 International Contemporary Furniture Fair held in NYC. The final prototype of The Nodule has since been archived in RIT’s permanent Cary Collection. Currently she is an aspiring junior product designer, discovering and developing her conceptual and creative abilities in the prominent mecca of the design world, NYC. She meshes nicely alongside the positive energy that the Poppin office environment permeates. With Poppin’s motto of workhappy.everyone.everywhere.everyday she strives to work happy while shaking up the stagnant office supply industry one stapler at a time. Her current endeavors are just a short distance from her hometown of Albany, NY, where her parents and
three older sisters reside.
Year of Graduation: 2011
Current Position: Junior Product Designer at Poppin, a lifestyle office supply company located in NYC
The Nodule
Year of Release: The Nodule was never released or manufactured. It is a prototype from Pezze’s senior year at RIT that was designed for Metaproject01 Wilsonart Furniture Challenge.
“It was an overwhelming task to apply laminate to curved surfaces, something laminate doesn’t take well to. To be more specific – for the interior red application on the smaller cones, I remember heating (baking more or less) the laminate in the my apartment oven. I was more concerned about whether or not is was going to hold when I was done – and less about the fumes it was emitting into the common space. The original idea was to use a kiln – but because of time constraints and the small sizes of the pieces it seemed like the best idea to use the oven at the time. This in turn worked out perfectly. Looking back, it was perhaps not the safest of approaches.”
Chair Statement
Naming the stool The Nodule goes back to original inspiration and a sketch that highly resembled a tree stump with branches coming off it. It represented a small, knobbly rock or an growth formed on roots, the word nodule seemed appropriate. Wilsonart’s laminate was perfect for this bathroom stool because of it’s durability and easy-to-sanitize surface. Bathrooms are a place where soft organic forms thrive, so one goal was to push the limits of laminate in order to fit it to the cone shapes that were repeated throughout the stool. The nodule enhances the processes of personal grooming which is often disregarded.
Product Description
A bathroom stool with varying height supports and storage compartments.
Product Background
The goal for this project was to design a seating device that enhances a cultural context and uses Wilsonart’s laminate. Stipulations for the project were that the chair had to hold 400 pounds, and only the laminate colors of red, black, or white could be used. Wilsonart’s red logo chip also had to be incorporated into the chair.
Awards/Achievements
Honorable Mention, Metaproject01 Wilsonart Furniture Challenge, 2011
Exhibited at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, 2011
Archived in RIT’s Cary Collection, 2011
![]( "Francesca Pezze Exhibition")
![]( "Patricia Moore")
Patricia Moore is an internationally renowned gerontologist and designer, serving as a leading authority on consumer lifespan behaviors and requirements. Her broad range of experience includes Communication Design, Research, Product Development and Design, Environmental Design, Package Design, Transportation Design, Market Analysis, and Product Positioning.
Moore is a frequent international lecturer, media guest, author of numerous articles; the books Disguised: A True Story, The Business of Aging (2013), and OUCH! Why Bad Design Hurts (upcoming).
She is co-author of the American National Standards Committee on Anthropometry, served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the American Physical Therapy Association, the Harrington Arthritis Research Center, the Herberger Center for Design Excellence at Arizona State University, the Advisory Board of CARF (Certifying Association of Rehabilitation Facilities), and The American Occupational Therapy Association Foundation.
Moore holds undergraduate degrees in Industrial & Environmental and Communication Design from Rochester Institute of Technology, completion of Advanced Studies in Biomechanics at New York University’s Medical School and Rusk Institute, graduate degrees in Psychology and Social Gerontology from Columbia University.
Year of Graduation: 1974
Current Position: Adjunct Professor of Industrial Design, Arizona State University
President, MooreDesign Associates
Disguised: A True Story
Year Published: 1985 by Word Books Publishing Group
“As a force for creation and change, designers need to step back, analyze our mission, and retake our role as responsible providers for the quality of life of consumers. The need for ‘humanism’ in design has never been more critical.”
Background
After graduating from RIT, Patricia Moore went to work in the New York City office of Raymond Loewy, one of the most prominent designers of the 20th century. It was a wonderful opportunity, but she admits to being something of a malcontent. She repeatedly questioned why products were being designed without consideration for people of different abilities. Could someone with arthritis operate that switch? Could someone in a wheelchair reach that handle? Could an older person open that door?
“Very quickly, I became known as the one who was looking after the disenfranchised,” says Moore, now an internationally renowned authority on inclusive design.
Moore’s sensitivity to the needs of people of all ages and abilities led to an extraordinary experiment. At age 26, she transformed herself into a range of women over the age of 80. The disguises involved more than makeup and clothing: She altered her body with prosthetics that blurred her vision, reduced her ability to hear and limited her motion. She relied on canes, walkers and a wheelchair. Her portrayals included the homeless and wealthy matrons, elders who were quite fit, and those who struggled with illness and the effects of time.
From 1979 to 1982, she was in the roles about every third day for as much as 20 hours at a time. The experiment took her to 116 cities in 14 states and two Canadian provinces. She says that as time went on, the project took on a life of its own.
“It was very rigorous,” Moore says. The makeup damaged her skin, and a severe mugging at the hands of a gang of youths left her with serious, permanent injuries. Ultimately, the undertaking set the stage for her life’s work. “My whole life is about applying that experience.”
Moore attributes her interest in the disenfranchised and older people to being raised with grandparents at home. She chose RIT “because I knew I couldn’t be too far away from my family.” Initially, she planned a major in medical illustration. But early in her studies, Leland Smith, a professor in the new industrial design program, saw Moore working on a metal sculpture. “He asked me if I knew what industrial design was and gave me a stack of ID Magazines.”
She decided to make a change. Smith and professors Toby Thompson and Craig McArt became her mentors. She could not have foreseen where her decision would lead, but she knew one thing: “I just loved it.”
Awards/Achievements
Fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America ID Magazine, The 40 Most Socially Conscious Designers
Syracuse University has selected Moore for a Honorary Doctorate, 2012
ABC World News, 50 Americans Defining the New Millennium
American Society of Interior Designers Humanitarian Award, 2006
American Occupational Therapists Association’s Leadership Award, 2005
The 100 Most Important Women in America, 2000
Professional Recognition Award by the Arizona Design Institute, 1997
Carnegie Mellon University Visiting Design Chair, 1996-1997
Community Service Award of the American Rehabilitation Association, 1996
American Hospital Association’s 1996 NOVA Award for the “Family Road” Care Centers
![]( "Patricia Moore Exhibition")
![]( "Efecan Kababulut")
Efecan Kababulut’s interest in design started at a young age. He was born and raised into a family of furniture manufacturers, spending most of his youth and young adult life in his family’s showrooms and factory in Ankara, Turkey. To further his interests and knowledge in design, Kababulut received an Industrial Design degree from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2009.
In the spring of 2010, Lazzoni USA Inc, a flagship store, was launched in the heart of Chelsea, New York City. Two years later, after great success and recognition in the industry, Lazzoni USA Inc., has opened their second U.S. store in Paramus, NJ with plans to expand throughout the continental U.S. and worldwide within the next few years.
In addition to Lazzoni, Kababulut has created nuev.com, an affordable online furniture retailer that targets young professionals and college students. Shortly after it launched, nuev.com has become one of Turkey’s best online retailers and most visited websites. Taking a hands on approach to design, Kababulut has designed and manufactured most of Lazzoni’s and Nuev’s products. His conceptual approach has always been form follows function, making this principal the center of his designs. Currently, Kababulut has spent five months abroad, developing and expanding his brand. He currently resides in NYC.
Year of Graduation: 2009
Current Position: CEO at Lazzoni USA Inc., CEO at nuev.com
Plus Desk
Year of Release: 2011
Background
The furniture industry is challenging in all of its components: designing, manufacturing, and selling. Nowhere is it more difficult than in NYC. In order to sell in this city, products must possess unique, practical features. Working and living in NYC for the last three years, Kababulut designed Plus Desk in hopes of creating the ideal workstation for New Yorkers in small spaces.
The desk has the following features:
Affordable: Priced at $200, the desk has a great price point and is ideal for any budget.
Well-made: Constructed of German Blum hardware, the desk is built to last. Its surface is built of Lazzoni’s patented Italian engineered wood, which is water and scratch resistant. The desk is ultimately resilient to the wear and tear of tasks performed at a workstation.
Modular: Shipped flat pack, this desk is delivered disassembled and can be built up in less than half an hour.
Space Saving: This desk hides all of its user’s clutter in the storage area located underneath the desk surface. Users can access the storage area by sliding the surface over. The bookcase leg and center shelf provide more opportunities for storage and display. The Plus Desk is ideal for any and every space, from dorm rooms and offices, to homes and apartments.
![]( "Efecan Kababulut Exhibition")
![]( "Rob Englert")
Rob Englert is the principal and founder of Ram Industrial Design, an award winning design consultancy specializing in consumer products, user interactions and experiences. Ram is focused on solving complex problems through critical thinking, design and technology. Rob taught at Syracuse University for ten years, is named on over forty patents and has designed everything from flashlights to aircraft seating. Rob has designed hundreds of products for clients such as Alcoa, Bose, Carrier, Energizer, Honeywell, Kodak, Safety 1st, and Welch Allyn.
In addition to an MFA from Rochester Institute of Technology, Rob also holds BFA in Industrial Design from the Columbus College of Art & Design. Rob has guest lectured on design and technology at several colleges and universities including Yale, SUNY ESF and most recently the University of Oregon. Rob is also the founder of D-Build an online marketplace for reclaimed materials and products made from them as well as a founding partner of the Adirondack FireStone Company.
Year of Graduation: 2009
Current Position: Founder and Principal Designer at Ram Industrial Design, Inc.
Maxi-Cosi Euro35
Year of Release: 2010
Awards/Achievements
Named on over forty patents
Guest lecturer at several colleges and universities
![]( "Rob Englert Exhibition")
![]( "Charles Cerankosky")
Charles Cerankosky is a hard-working person of much skill and ambition. Winner of the IDSA Merit Award, Charles graduated with highest honors from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003. Charles has several years of professional graphic and industrial design experience. Charles’ skills are excellent, punctuated by a strong leadership ability from five years in managing a large cafe operation.
Year of Graduation: 2003
Current Position: Self-employed, co-owner of the restaurants Good Luck and Cure, Freelance Graphic Design
Good Luck & Cure
“I think of restaurant design and ownership almost as live, perpetual industrial design performance art. A system has to be crafted for every facet of both the customers’ and employees’ experience – from the water temperature of the hot water in the ladies room, to the chart instructing the managers as to which lights are to dimmed in what ways during the course of the evening – design is everywhere in my restaurants. The typefaces of the menus look like the cocktails taste. The lighting designs glow the way the blanquette de veau smells…”
Awards/Achievements
IDSA Merit Award
![]( "Charles Cerankosky Exhibition")
![]( "Donald Carr")
Don Carr joined the Syracuse University IID faculty in 1995 after working as an industrial designer for firms in the U.S. and Europe. He served as the IID program coordinator from 1997–2010, creating a long-range plan for the program and establishing sponsored projects with such corporations as LG Electronics, Welch Allyn, Motorola, and Bose. He is also a design consultant with Carr+Lamb Design in Manlius, NY, where he specializes in product development and design research. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Design from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Industrial Design from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Carr’s numerous honors and awards include gold, silver and bronze International Design Excellence Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America; three Design Distinction Awards from ID Magazine; and the American Center for Design’s Beacon Award. He was also named one of DesignIntelligence’s Most Admired Educators of 2006 and one of ID Magazine’s top forty international designers in 1995. The Department of Design and COLAB, the department’s collaborative design laboratory, named him an inaugural Senior COLAB Faculty Fellow in 2010.
Year of Graduation: 1981
Current Positions: Professor of Industrial and Interaction Design at Syracuse University
Senior COLAB Fellow
K2 T:Nine All-Mountain Ski
Year of Release: 2009 by K2 Corporation
“I was pleased to see that this product was highlighted in FastCompany as part of an article about designing for women.”
Forget Shrink It and Pink It: the Femme Den Unleashed
By Kate Rockwood, October 1, 2009
“Companies recognize the need, but most are clumsy – if not patronizing–in their attempts to address it. This often leads to what the Femme Den calls the shrink it and pink it reflex, the kind of mindless design that produces such works of genius as mini pink tool kits and Dell’s pastel-saturated Della website, stocked with tips about finding recipes and counting calories.”
Background
Mod Monic–A Focused Mass Dampener
The Monic is a solid zinc mass that works in conjunction with the Mod structure to focus mass dampening at a targeted location.
Women’s-Specific Mod Monic
Although the location for this targeted mass dampening is consistent between our men’s and women’s models, the amount of focused mass is reduced in our women’s version. The women’s Mod Monic is designed to accent the overall look without sacrificing function.
Mod Technology
A High-Performance Suspension System
Mod functions by absorbing vibrations and impact loads along the entire ski, providing stronger edge-hold and a higher degree of power and control. Mod is a secondary core that flexes and moves on top of the primary core, allowing the overall ski flex to be unaffected.
Women’s-Specific Mod Structure
The optimum location and thickness of mass differs from men to women. The aesthetic look of the Mod shape has also been customized with a softened, more shaped appearance that graphically ties into the design of the skis.
Hybritech
Hybritech is a unique blend of sidewall and cap constructions. The construction combines the accuracy and power performance of sidewall underfoot with the lightweight characteristics and smooth turn initiation of cap construction.
Marker K2/ERS System
High-Performance Women’s-Specific System
Awards/Achievements
Gold, Silver, and Bronze – International Design Excellence Awards from the Industrial Designers Society of America
Three Design Distinction Awards from ID Magazine Beacon Award from American Center for Design
Most Admired Educator Award from DesignIntelligence, 2006
Named one of the top forty international designers from ID Magazine, 1995
Named Inaugural Senior COLAB Faculty Fellow from The Department of Design and COLAB, 2010
![]( "Donald Carr Exhibition")
![]( "Gregory Beylerian")
Gregory Beylerian was born and raised in New York City. He studied industrial design and photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and earned a master’s degree in design management from Domus Academy in Milano, Italy. He currently resides in Los Angeles and also maintains an atelier in Paris with his wife, couture designer Judith Bodart Beylerian.
Beylerian’s work is often described as a rich visual language that is inventive and unique. His love of various creative disciplines with emphasis on photography and painting, shape his visual vocabulary. “It is the desire to explore new ways of merging the mediums I love that keeps the inspiration flowing.”
The studio works on a diverse range of projects in various mediums and markets. From gallery exhibitions, private commissions and collaborative projects with companies and organizations, Beylerian encourages art and commerce as a vital societal value.
He has received numerous photography awards and certificates of recognition from the City of Los Angeles and has been featured on CNN, LA Times, Current TV and numerous fine art journals and other publications.
Year of Graduation: 1990
Current Position: Gregory Beylerian owns and operates his own creative studio
Jockey
Year of Release: 2012
“The objective was to create contemporary and provocative imagery that would bring a new and enticing energy to the Jockey brand identity program.”
Inspiration
The image above is from a series of photographs Beylerian created that documents the Pole Dance Movement. The lighting and style utilized in the creation of this photograph had the feel of the direction that Jockey wanted to go in creatively and was an inspiration reference for the creation of the Jockey Hero shot.
Imagery
Shown is a behind-the-scenes collection of photos of the crew working on set.
Awards/Achievements
Numerous photography awards and certificates of recognition from the City of Los Angeles
Featured on CNN, LA Times, Current TV, and numerous fine art journals and other publications
American Graphic Design Award for Jockey Sports Hang Tags, 2011
![]( "Gregory Beylerian Exhibition")
![]( "Sam Aquillano")
Sam Aquillano is a Co-Founder and Director of Design Museum Boston. With a passion for design, creativity, and learning, Sam creates a long term vision for the museum. He leads a dedicated team while managing key programs and day-to-day operations. Sam is also a practicing freelance designer and project manager as well as an adjunct professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology, where he brings his design experience to the next generation of designers. Sam is also an MBA candidate at Babson College and a Connector for Boston World Partnerships.
Year of Graduation: 2004
Current Position: Co-Founder/Director Design Museum Boston
Design Museum Boston
Year Founded: August 2009
“I started Design Museum Boston for a lot of reasons, one of the main reasons being a simple one: design is so ubiquitous – when you look around, you see a world full of buildings, graphics, products and experiences that were all originally visualized by designers – but not many people know the who, what, how, and why of design. My own parents are just starting to understand what I do and why I do it. At Design Museum Boston we want to demystify design and show people that we’re all designers, we all plan in some way – we can teach people tools like empathy, visualization, and prototyping to make them better planners. We can show best practices and case studies that are exciting, entertaining, and that prove good design can make ?the world a better place.”
Background
Design Museum Boston is a startup, nonprofit design museum for Boston and New England. We are the region’s first museum dedicated solely to design. Our mission is to educate the world on the role of design in our lives and to unite the Massachusetts design community in ways that enrich our collective work, make businesses more competitive, and solve real-world problems more creatively. After all, design has the power to make our everyday lives more comfortable, more efficient, more exciting, more rewarding, more… better.
We are inspired by revolutionary design: the fruitful result of thoughtful problem solving and a willingness to break with tradition. This is why our museum has no permanent address. Design Museum Boston is a decentralized network of physical and virtual exhibits. Whether in a gallery, retail environment, public spaces or on the web, our programming gives audiences new insights into the design process and the greater social, economic, and environmental contexts that both affect and are affected by design.
Awards/Achievements
Design Means Business exhibition opens at Reebok Headquarters, Canton, MA, 2010
Creative Capital: Designed in Boston exhibition opens at Boston City Hall, 2010
AIGA Best of New England Award Best Brand Identity, 2011
Retail: Retell. Recycle. Rethink. exhibition opens at Prudential Center Mall, Boston, 2011
National Endowment for the Arts Our Town Grant, 2011
AdClub NONAwards, Best Nonprofit Brand Identity, 2012
Getting There: Design for Travel in the Modern Age exhibition opens at Grand Circle Gallery, Boston, 2012
Semi-Finalist MassChallenge Startup Competition (still competing), 2012
![]( "Sam Aquillano Exhibition")
A birds eye view of students, faculty and guests meeting for the opening of Design Autopsy: Alumni Work from Industrial Design, on October 19th, 2012 at the Bevier Gallery – RIT.
Video by: Sunyoung Kim
A silent video slideshow of the process work that went into producing the 2012 Design Autopsy Exhibit at the RIT Bevier Gallery. The exhibit featured 10 RIT Industrial Design Alumni who have gone on to successful careers in and out of the industry.
Video by: David Strauss
