The spread of COVID-19 in March almost looked like the end of WantedDesign’s plans for hosting their annual Design Schools Workshop. Usually an opportunity for different global design programs to come together in Industry City in Brooklyn to solve a problem using design, WantedDesign co-founders Odile Hainaut and Claire Pijoulat along with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, reimagined the event in response to New York by Design’s cancellation to fit a moment where work is grounded in virtual interaction. The team also picked a fitting topic, using this moment to convene the best young design minds in the world to tackle the problems associated with COVID-19.
The Design Schools Workshop then evolved into the Wanted French-American Online Design Schools Workshop, bringing together 34 international students from 11 American and French schools. The event is Presented by The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States, as part of Oui Design, in collaboration with WantedDesign.
French-American Online Design Schools Workshop from WANTEDDESIGN NYC on Vimeo.
The mission? Design solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the realms of healthcare, communications, mental health, mobility, and co-living. Within 48 hours, ten teams collaborated and designed ten separate solutions. Given the pandemic has affected us all, the experience affected students in unexpected ways. The WantedDesign team illustrates the two-day design sprint as “an intense and sometimes emotional time as the students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds came together to share their very personal experiences of the Pandemic and confinement time.”
The team who took home the win created a project titled “Still United”, a kit that can be used as a communication signal to offer aid to neighbors, whether it’s shopping for groceries, doing chores, or offering medical assistance (you can view the final presentation for their project here). We sat down virtually with the winning team members to learn more about them and their work within the Design Schools Workshop.
Meet the Team
Tell us a bit more about yourself
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
I have just completed a course in product design at ensaama and will start a Master’s degree at Sciences Po in Communication, Media and Creative Industries next term. This experience came at a key moment in my studies. Working in a team with students with different backgrounds and cultures gave me a glimpse of what the rest of my studies could be like and confirmed my desire to work in a team once I will enter professional life.
What is for you the best outcome of the the workshop experience?
I would say that the best outcome is the short time because it led us to decide very quickly and to get organized according to each one’s skills. Beyond that, it allowed us to have strong bonds within our team although we didn’t know each other at all and I am really grateful for that.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
During my confinement I had to work on my diploma project, which was particularly challenging in these circumstances. Having the opportunity to participate in this workshop allowed me to breathe about this long project and to get back to it afterwards.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
Although I study product design and am passionate about it, what motivates me and what matters most to me in this field is the ability to propose social innovation. I see myself participating in projects that, at their scale, will have a beneficial impact, whether it is about ecology, feminism, working conditions or other issues. My dream career would be to work in an agency like IDEO San Francisco. Whether it’s the way they work or the projects they carry out, I find this agency very inspiring. In fact, I was inspired by their method for my diploma project and I regularly look at what they are working on.
Where can we learn more about your work?
Check out my portfolio here.
Tell us a bit more about yourself
Hi, my name is Hadley! I am an artist/designer living in Brooklyn and a proud native New Yorker. I focus on using industrial design to explore how objects shape how we live, relate to one another and the self, and see the world. I design through these concepts, guided by a strong love of color and texture. Coming from an undergraduate background in chemistry and sculpture, I am drawn to a multi-disciplinary and material-based way of working. I love poetry and provocation.
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
I am in the MFA Industrial Design program at Parsons School of Design. I’m so happy I could be part of this workshop - it was quite the sprint! The time crunch really brought our team together quickly, and it’s exciting to feel connected to designers around the world. It also felt important to design for a timely topic such as communities during COVID-19.
What is for you the best outcome of the workshop experience?
I appreciate the lasting working relationships with other young designers built over the course of the workshop. I also have to shout-out our group’s mentors for their enthusiastic support and guidance! I’m so proud to have worked with this group on a visual communication system for people to signal they can help one another within a community, creating an easy system of mutual aid.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
The most difficult part for me has been missing the communal studio moments with my peers when impromptu conversations and critique inform your work. But at the same time, it has really allowed for time to deeply consider locality in processes, as well as social effects of objects and systems brought into the world, especially amidst the Black Lives Matter movement here in the US. Designers have a great responsibility.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
My dream future involves the following: things that work in small ways, things for people to live with, things for public space, things that are the most personal, things to have memories of.
Where can we learn more about your work?
You can follow me on instagram @hadley.thing or check out my portfolio on www.hadleyfeingold.com
Anton Blondeau is a student at Strate School of Design in Paris, France
Tell us a bit more about yourself
My name is Anton and I’m 21 years old. I am French-Russian and I have been living in Paris for 12 years, after having lived in Poland and Russia. I am passionate about science fiction, current trends, geopolitics and new technologies. I am studying Industrial Design with a specialization in Interaction Design at Strate, School of Design.
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
For the competition, I represented my school Strate, School of Design with Emilie Durand and Edouard Musumeci. Being part of this workshop allowed me to make my first international project. Being a representative in such a beautiful competition on a current theme is very stimulating and fun at the same time.
What is for you the best outcome of the the workshop experience?
What I remember from this workshop is the victory we won with our project “Still United” and the great and interesting group of people I had the chance to work with from different specializations. Everyone was able to bring their own designer’s point of view and that’s what allowed us to make a living project.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
During the lockdown, the hardest part was being alone in my room, not being able to see my friends and not being able to be anywhere but home. So during the lockdown, I took advantage of my free time to test new software by looking at a lot of tutorials which allowed me to do nice and fun little personal projects to practice.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
I would like to become a Political Designer in addition to being an Industrial Designer to serve the states and their communities with projects that will focus on the needs of the country for the benefit and will of its citizens nationally and internationally.
Within a few years, I intend to make this dream come true by creating my company which will focus on the positioning I want to adapt for the future.
Where can we learn more about your work?
You can add me and follow me on Linkedin to find all my information, follow the progress of my projects and discover soon my website with my works.
Tell us a bit more about yourself
I’m Alexiane, a 22-year-old graphic and digital designer. I study design with the intention of creating experiences that can allow people to interact with one another, to start an open-minded conversation.
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
I just graduated from the DSAA Design and Digital Creation in École Estienne. Being a part of this workshop was a unique way of creating. It was challenging at first, not knowing the people we were going to work with and not being able to connect in a normal way. But we soon got to know and understand each other’s mindset and way of seeing this particular time.
What is for you the best outcome of the workshop experience?
I think it was a thrilling experience, being able to make connections with designers with different backgrounds, meet people with similar ideas and ways of approaching design. Not only in my team, but every team had an interesting take on the subject, and the projects that emerged were filled with hopes for better times.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
During the confinement I was lucky enough to get to stay in a house in the countryside, which made it easy to walk around in nature. But having lived in an urban setting all of my life, it felt strange to be far from my usual life, far from the people I used to interact and work with every day. Keeping my collective’s spirit’s up was sometimes difficult, but I found a new way of communicating with them that made me understand the way they think a bit more.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
I see myself as a trans-disciplinary designer : I came to think of design as a tool to rethink the world we live in - especially in these trying times. I would like my design to be utterly optimistic, playful and mutual aid-centered. I would like to continue the work I started with the CAL—LAC collective this year for my diploma project, a digital monitoring luminous device that can help us understand and reduce our carbon footprint.
Where can we learn more about your work?
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
I am a third year student at École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. I will remember this workshop as my first experience working online with students from other schools, countries and departments.
What is for you the best outcome of the the workshop experience?
Some of the ways and clues that we had to work in a team, could not not be applied during this time. I believe having to rethink and reshape them assembled the project. The processes really linked the elements of this project.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
I had to rethink my creative processes, make myself clear via completely dematerialized tools. Making my usuals drawings or models was adding too much steps for such a quick online workshop. Being a creative helped me find the ways to densify the stages.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
I hope I will be able to keep the bold mindset from school, having the opportunity to try everything and stay curious of my surroundings.
I would really like to have my own studio, known to be spunky with a unique approach.
Where can we learn more about your work?
I am currently designing and coding my first website! You can also find me on Instagram @eugeniezuc
Tell us a bit more about yourself
Just another random expression of this Universe
Which school are you part of and what did it mean to be part of the French-American Online Schools Workshop?
I am currently working on my master’s degree in industrial design at the Pratt Institute In NYC.
For me is was a mental exercise of social understanding in an experimental scenario which illuminated how people and communities could possibly interact in the very near future. It brought home the unquestionable power of nature and increasing strain on resources and services all people have become accustomed to. It was fascinating to observe and reflect upon the trivial things that once seemed like the “ants” of daily life which tilted our human experience and changed the pulse of the world within weeks. It also brought home the level of influence technology has on EVERY aspect of our lives. We were forced to stay separated, isolated, and thoughtful about our surroundings and yet we found an endless avenue of visual information and connection virtually. All of these items were both inspiring and perplexing.
What is for you the best outcome of the the workshop experience?
Our project “StillUnited”. Since the beginning we wanted to focus on the positive aspects about the pandemic. The sense of community and togetherness that we assisted throughout this crisis, across the globe, was a beautiful thing that we wanted to capture into our design. I believe that ultimately we were the winning team because our design speaks about that human ability called compassion.
What was the most difficult part for you during the confinement and how being a creative may have help you?
Apart from sleeping on the floor of the living room for 3 months, I personally did not find many difficulties to be honest. Since I was a child, my family was always on the move, some kind of contemporary nomads, moving constantly between countries. I lived in many cities until now, changed many schools, and wore different hats. Being a kid having to constantly adapt to different cultures and people, I found myself struggling. I was constantly judging the places and people around me, place after place, always blaming everything outside my skin. I learned to stopped judging the surroundings and became more realistic. I start seeing things as they were, with no mind distortions, which personally, was great for my creative process.
I realized then it doesn’t really matter where you are physically, freedom for me is not about where you want to be or that ability to go anywhere, but being at ease with oneself not matter where you are. This pandemic allowed me to practice this at great level. So this confinement time, was not only a great opportunity to practice this lifestyle, but also to realize that after all freedom is within.
Where do you see yourself in the world of design and what will be your dream career?
Inspiring names, such as Neri Oxman, James Turrell and the one and only Ettore sottsass, are some interdisciplinary guru like figures that show what’s possible to achieve with passion and talent. Generally I tend to lean between that thin line of what’s beautiful and what’s actually necessary, and how to balance both in a design. However, I believe is not what I am interested in specifically, rather how’s my thinking and action process is improving. The design process is the engine, the way I look at things and then process them trough thinking and action , is what I value. When someone asks me what kind of design I do or like, I always feel incomplete answering. I want to be a designer that touches many areas of life, such as biology, architecture, music and art.
As for a dream career, it would not be a bad start for my thesis project to become something real. I am looking at the New York subway system, investigating the ins and outs, currently scratching the surface! The underground system carries a large number of unused or abandoned areas with very good potential to create interesting things. I am asking questions such as; can we commute differently under the surface, maybe with more individualistic transportation, or even can we create a more humane setting under the surface, maybe by bringing the outside inside, or perhaps could such a lifeless place become livable? who knows, the only is that I am very excited about this journey.
Where can we learn more about your work?
Here is a link to my portfolio.
Here is a Vimeo link to the Pietro short Interview Video that we posted on our site.
https://www.core77.com/posts/100869/WantedDesigns-2020-School-Workshop-Turns-Virtual-Explores-How-Design-Can-Tackle-Issues-Around-COVID-19