abstraction & the graham field project results . . .

“education is a social process; education is growth; education is not
a preparation for life but is life itself.” john dewey

graham field • pratt presentation

jeff kapec (along with sergio silva) emphasized that for this project, our id students utilize abstraction to explore design through physical and visual experience to discoverer ideas that transcend the commonplace &/or linear thinking expectations.

in the summer of 2008, jeffery kapec began conversations with larry de la haba, *vice president of marketing at graham field, about a possible creative design process project for industrial design department at pratt. jeffrey & larry had known each other and worked together, since 1985. in addition, it is also important to mention that both larry de la haba & jeff kapec hold good design in high regard to solving real problems in a product design context. larry and jeff decide to become stake holders in a new design exercise for graham field ( *founded in 1946, graham field is a rather large manufacturer of many, approximately 4,000, rehabilitation health care products, located in atlanta, georgia). jeff kapec, with the assistance from sergio silva, presented the initial design brief for lumex tub / shower seat(s). the lumex bath seats were the focus of this design exploration. the design students were asked, using pratt’s abstraction design methodology, to engage in a preliminary concept exploration of what a bath seat could be like if they approached it from the perspective of creative sensory design, a product concept that embraces disability, transforming the experience to one of beauty and dignity. jeff (along with sergio), emphasized that for this corporate sponsored project, our id students should utilize abstraction to explore design through physical and visual experience, to discoverer ideas that transcend the commonplace &/or linear thinking expectations.the project began in september & by the preliminary critique of concepts in october, work was presented by, among others, the following design students:

anna alriksson • evan dewhirst • max diamond • jack foley • jon gillen • sean gordon • yuri hwoang • jenny jernström • mary khoun • hyun joon kim • jiyoung ko • ryland kurshenoff • mackenzie leighton • michael liu • sarah story • aaron street • milos tzouflas • alvaro uribe

february 2009, the final presentation was made in the design center gallery. the pdf process file, shown here, documents the results of the students conceptual development. the grand prize for the design competition went to anna alriksson and jenny jernström

anna alriksson & jenny jernström’s gf process guide

• ← louise swärdshammar’s impressions of new york . . .
• peter keetman’s photographs of vw’s factory in wolfsburg →