Philadelphia University Industrial Design

Graduating students from both the undergrad (BSID) and master’s industrial design (MSID) programs are now displaying their Capstone Projects at The Senior Design Show.

The show is free and open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. today through Sunday, May 12 at the Bucky Harris Gymnasium in The Gallagher Athletic, Recreation & Convocation Center on the PhilaU campus. In addition to the regular hours, a public reception will be held this evening (Friday, May 10) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We encourage everyone to stop by and see the wide array of industrial design projects on display including:
Landshark – A Self-Balancing Electric Motorcycle
This motorcycle design is a collaborative project by Ken Reita, (MSID ’13), Howard Fang, MBA, and Corey Phillips, B.S.E. Using inverted pendulum mechanics and a reaction wheel, the team created a two-wheel, fully electric tandem vehicle. Users of the vehicle don’t need to place their feet on the ground when they stop due to the self-balancing feature, which also allows the cycle to be equipped with a removable roof and doors. The team envisions the cycle as a commuter vehicle, with such benefits as the low cost of charging the cycle on the residential power grid and energy efficiency comparable to 175 to 200 miles per gallon.
Terra-Grid – A Customizable Green Roof
Terra-Grid is a first-of-its kind, customizable retrofitted green roof, developed collaboratively by industrial design students Jared Lowman (MSID ’13) and Aakriti Chandra (MSID ’14) along with students from both the Architecture and MBA programs. The organic design guarantees a beautiful alternative to traditional green roofs.  With its low-maintenance modular plant system, the Terra-Grid brings green roof technology to buildings that would not otherwise be able to sustain a green roof system easily.

VX-42 – A Personal Cloud Server for the Home
Christian Ost (BSID ’13) has created a wall-mountable home server or “personal cloud” that allows users to access any of their digital media or data any time, as long as the location has an active internet connection. Ost’s case is ideal for users who have large amounts of data they’d like to access anywhere without having to rely on expensive, limited or unreliable public cloud services.

We hope to see you at the show!

Jordan and members of his design team in India.

Recent PhilaU ID grad Jordan Cammarata (BsID ‘12) is a prototype student of the new integrated Design, Engineering and Business curriculum. It shows in his work so far: Jordan is bringing the transformative VAX-D treatment to India. VAX-D is a non-invasive treatment for chronic back and neck pain due to disc and facet joint disease.

The story begins with Dinesh, an Indian gentleman suffering from a herniated disc, who is healed by the VAX-D treatment, which avoids surgical intervention. Grateful for his recovery, Dinesh wants to make the procedure available in India. Jordan applies the knowledge he gained at PhilaU to develop a business plan for a clinic in support of Dinesh’s desire. Jordan flies to India, comfortable managing unfamiliar logistics, thanks to the experiences he encountered during his semester studying abroad. The College Studies curriculum had prepared him to confidently field the cultural dynamics he encounters. They find willing investors. Jordan designs the interior spaces, including all furniture. Within two months the clinic is operating at capacity. These days Jordan travels to India for franchise consultations and to develop models for scaling the new business. Two weeks ago Jordan and his collaborators sold their first franchise.

PhilaU ID Grads Eliot Coven and Kris Pepper (both BsID ‘12) have applied their design expertise to the creation of a food truck and mobile farmer’s market that features sustainable, locally-sourced foods. Their simply-named Farm Truck has been garnering an array of positive reviews including coverage on the Zagat food blog. For more, check out this interview with Coven and Pepper that recently appeared in Grid Magazine.

The Gallagher Center was filled with students and employers last week for the 10th annual PhilaU DesignExpo.

The networking and portfolio-review event drew more than 60 employers and over 250 students. Employers pre-selected students for more than 600 scheduled portfolio reviews and interacted with students for additional reviews over the networking session.

This year’s group of employers included representatives from some of the top design firms in the U.S., including Knoll, DesignDesign, Stantec Architecture,  and many more (view the full list of employers on the PhilaU Career Services Center website). Junior and senior industrial design students, fourth- and fifth-year architecture students and graduate students were invited to participate in the career event, pairing PhilaU students with the employers of their choice.

In its 10th year on campus, DesignExpo 2013 drew 15 employers who have participated for at least five years. More than 60% of the employers have participated in at least one previous DesignExpo, with several new firms recruiting this year as well. Some of the new firms include: Armstrong Worldwide Industries, TerraCycle, Inc., Digitas Health, Morrissey Design and United by Blue.

“DesignExpo is a great way for our students to meet with and present their portfolios to employers in their field who are seeking to hire for full-time and internship positions,” said Trish Shafer, director of PhilaU Career Services. “It’s a great experience for our students, and the employers we talk to always come away impressed and eager to hire our graduates.”

The self-balancing electric motorcycle project by MSID student Ken Reita (MsID ’13) has been featured online by Philadelphia’s WHYY News. Click here for the full story of the design work being done by Ken and his team.

The Industrial Design department’s  “Maurice Kanbar Excellence in Design Competition” is entering its tenth year.  The award recognizes the year’s best Capstone industrial design projects from the Senior class with prizes of $1000, $1500 and $2000.  Winners are selected by a panel of visiting critics and by faculty in two separate four-hour presentation sessions. We invite you to come and enjoy the presentations on Wednesday and Friday of this week:

Dates – Wednesday, April 10th & Friday, April 12th
Time – 8AM to 11:45AM (arrive before 7:45AM for the briefing, if you can spend a morning with us)
Location – Hayward Hall Room 001B, the Green Cube.

Below is the lineup of presenters and their projects:
Monday, April 10th
BRIAN MCCLELLAN & TARA SISMAN – Exploring Organically Grown Products
RYAN HANUSCHAK – Video Game Controller
SEAN HANEY & DANTE PORCELLI – Pattern to Form: An Alternative Visual Vocabulary, Enabled by Technology.
RYAN WOELKERS – Device for Music Collaboration
STEVEN METZNER – Backpack for Photographers
MASSIMO GANDOLFO & CHRIS BOEHMER – HighValue Lounge Seating
CHRISTIAN OST – Enthusiast’s Computer Case
JIM DOMALEWSKI – Boat Feature for Towing Water Sports
MARTY PERKINS – Shoes for Travelers
MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ & THOMAS PIGOT – Water Tanks Repurposed

Wednesday, April 12th
ANTHONY LAND – Well-crafted Chair Design
STEVE BUCKO  –  Shipping Solution for Bicycles
JORDAN HAYNES  –  LED Photography Lights
KRISTI GAUDIO  –  Soft Goods for the Beach
KUBA KERNER  –   Micro Loudspeaker
CHRISTIAN LOOS & TARA RIDGEWAY – Urban Agriculture, Work Stool.
BRIAN CELENZA – Soft Goods for Travelers
LAUREN PFISTER & KEEGAN MCGOVERN  –  Toothbrush Design
LUKE HANEY  –  Modular Footwear
MICHAEL SHANNON  –  Desk for the Home
HAYDEN PROUTY – Portable Desktop

Following last semester’s collaborative project with the Köln International School of Design (KISD), a group of Philadelphia University ID students and faculty recently travelled to the school in Germany. While there, PhilaU and KISD students worked together researching design opportunities in the city of Cologne. The design teams investigated World Heritage sites such as the Cologne Cathedral –begun in 1248 – and experienced the annual city-wide festival called Carnival.

The end result was a range of city-specific collapsable tools that addressed the students’ insights about Cologne. Projects included an origami-type screen for hiding construction sites, a collapsable chart that compares a variety of transportation methods across seasons and a system of public bottle racks that aid recycling.

This project marks the beginning of an expanded relationship between the Industrial Design programs of PhilaU and KISD. We’re looking forward to an array of further collaborations in the coming semesters.

Project development continued throughout the weekend with input from a wide range of medical and technology professionals.

Last weekend graduate ID student Don Pancoe presented his Capstone Project at Startup Weekend – Health Philadelphia. Don’s system transforms the doctor/patient experience by seamlessly integrating electronic medical records with standard examination tools. The project received favorable reviews from the industry professionals in attendance and benefitted from collaborative advancement throughout the weekend. For the continuing story of the project, see Don’s blog here.

Talking with Richard Pettine of Siemens Healthcare