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From Toys that Teach Death to Furniture Made From Motorcycle Parts: A Look Inside SCAD’s 2019 Grad Show

We recently had the chance to visit SCAD in Savannah to check out their 2019 College of Art and Design (CAD) grad show. We focused mainly on industrial and product design projects during our visit, which were housed in SCAD’s The Shed building during the exhibition. Overall, we were very impressed by the quality of work the students had on display, so we weren’t too surprised to learn that in 2018, SACD’s CAD celebrated a whopping 99 percent of alumni employed—90 percent of which are working in a creative profession. We walked the entire show and came up with a list of projects we were most excited to learn about. So, let’s take a virtual walk through some recent SCAD grads’ work:

Stick & Fish by Alexia Maegli

Stick & Fish is a fishing reel toy designed to attach to any stick, allowing infinite possibilities for DIY fishing rods. Alexia Maegli’s original idea was to design a universal, easy-transport reel, but the concept later developed into a toy. Adjustable straps allow the system to be flexible and fit any form of stick—it’s primitive, fun and simple to use.

TocaTiles by Olivia Vieira (photography by Jenna Nabridge)

“How might I create a sanctuary for children where they can be themselves, be imaginative, create their own space and feel safe and secure?” asked designer Olivia Vieira. The result of this question is TocaTiles, a customizable play space consisting of connecting triangular forms, designed to help children cope with being alone and physically express their need for personal space. TocaTiles come in easy-to-store packaging that helps the child keep their tiles organized.

Parzialmente by Andrea Parziale

The Parzialmente collection by Andrea Parziale takes scrapped motorcycle parts and re-purposes them into customizable furniture—think bar stools made from the front shocks of Ducati Monsters, which use working hydraulics to create a more comfortable seating experience. Parziale sourced the motorcycle parts on ebay, the metal parts where CNC plasma cut by Universal Steel, and they did the leather upholstery, woodwork, welding and assembly themselves. Customers are able to customize most of the parts to their liking on the Parzialmente website.

Simple. Period. by Eduardo Dodge

After hearing a group of women tell stories about horrible PAP smears—freezing rooms, male doctors, steel tools—Eduardo Doge decided to research women’s healthcare to see if there is a way to improve the frustrating and uncomfortable PAP smear experience. Simple. Period. is a small personal device that uses menstrual blood to identify diseases such as cervical cancer and endometriosis. It does so using microfluidic chips that isolate cells by their size. Dodge’s goal with this project is to, “provide access to affordable healthcare for women in their homes and communities, promote the well-being of women and their families across the globe, and empower women through education, giving them more control over their health.”

In terms of cleanliness of the medical device, Dodge states that,“inside the device there is a pump that pulls the blood sample into the chip and pumps acetone or alcohol through it to sterilize it after the test is complete. An acetone container, a solenoid valve to switch between air and acetone, and a battery and bluetooth/wifi transceiver are also included so that the information can be sent to the doctor directly with the consent of the patient. Despite being able to sterilize itself” he continues, “it is also possible to discard the microfluidic chip by pushing the button on the bottom of the device.”

Namu Spirits by Tiffany Zhang

Namu Spirits is a toy designed to introduce the difficult reality of death to a kids. With every Spirit, the child receives a story book that explains what the Spirit is and how the relationship between the two can grow. The toy is comprised of three different layers of materials: the first layer is a thin layer of fabric. As the fabric falls away, it will reveal a paper pulp material infused with photochromic pigments that change color in UV light. As the child takes the spirit into the sun, it will change color and slowly decompose. As the child keeps interacting with its Namu Spirit, the final layer (made from coconut husk) will begin to reveal itself. Once this happens, the Namu Spirit is ready to be planted in the ground and nurtured into a real tree.

FrEyes by Mukund Asagodu

Anthropophobia is a fear for people and human company which leads to adverse effects on an individual’s psychological as well as physical being. As a way to ease anxiety for people experiencing Anthropophobia, Mukund Asagodu created FrEyes, a pair of simple AI assistive glasses that measures and analyzes the state of mind and level of comfort. In a series of three phases dependent on the user’s anxiety level, the glasses play the user’s favorite music to reduce anxiety, uses AI to activate real-time filters to eliminate eye contact (e.g. replacing peoples’ faces with french fries), and either attempts to calm the user by playing a relaxing video if the area is safe or calls the user’s emergency contact if they are under extreme stress.

Changé Pointe Shoe by Defne Öztürk

For the past 100 years, ballet shoes have been made using the exact same methods, with the same materials such as paper, cardboard and silk. Defne Öztürk created Changé ballet shoes to challenge the traditional ballet shoe by creating a more durable, customizable and comfortable solution. She believes that, “in the age of high-tech sneakers with innovative materials, ballet shoes can also benefit from the same technological advancements.”

Changé pointe shoes are modular, meaning the box and shank can be swapped out to allow the dancer to experiment with different levels of hardness without having to buy a new shoe. Changé is also the first pointe shoe to incorporate built-in toe support based on different toe types, so that the dancer can distribute their weight evenly on their toes.

Tilt Project by Zoye Ruehl

Tilt Project explores the idea of customized footwear dependent on arch type. With an adjustable boa lacing structure, the wearer is able to raise and lower the arch support setting to their specific needs. “Some people have one high and one low arch and require different support; some people have flat feet but still supinate; some people like more arch support during different times of the day,” says designer Zoye Ruehl. “No two feet are the same, and it’s time we stop making shoes as if they are.”