Check out this beautiful short on what Design for America is all about. Taken at the Leadership Studio 2012 at Northwestern in Chicago where all DFA Studio Leaders nationwide convened for a 3-day Design Challenge and Leadership Workshop.
Can you spot me, Saron & Baillie?!
Happy April!
Hey Case Western,
The sun is finally out, and Spring is slowly blossoming here in Cleveland.
Our Project Teams have been hard at work incorporating feedback from our Open Studio event in March.
We had an awesome ideation session last week, and even hosted a mad dash easter egg hunt.
And,….. drumroll….. We have two exciting announcements!
1) We found out today that we are officially an undergraduate club in CWRU. woot woot! Huge thank you to Lexi Schlif for spearheading this effort. This furthers our vision of a DFA-trifecta between the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Undergrads, and the Cleveland Institute of Art.
2) We are hosting our 2nd Open Studio of the semester! Join us on Sunday, April 14 at 5pm at CIA, Gund Building, room 105b. This will be our last public event of the semester. We hope to see you there!
RSVP here.
Cheers,
The DFA Team at CWRU+CIA
Mid-semester Open Studio Event Recap
Hi Everyone!
Hope you enjoyed our Open Studio Event! All of our teams did a great job preparing and presenting their projects.
Keep your eyes on the look out for the invite to our next Open Studio Event April 14th!!
Below is a recap of our current projects:
- Team Longevity
This team is tackling childhood obesity. They are looking into what motivates kids to exercise, and what has caused the shift to a more sedentary lifestyle over the past few decades.They have already heard back from Richard Louv, author of The Last Child in the Woods. Can’t wait to see where this project goes!
- Team ThinkER
This project is a continuation of last semester’s project on improving the Emergency Room experience. This semester, the team has new members and is looking at the experience as a process before, during, and after the ER visit. Using a questionnaire, the Team will continue to gather information and insight on both the patient and staff experience. Go ThinkERs!
- Team FoFo1oh6
This team, names after the zip code (44106) has been researching what makes University Circle unique, and how to increase desirability with specific attention given to the relations between the academic populations and the residents of East Cleveland. They are currently working on narrowing down their problem statement and defining the user. We are excited to see their impact on the community!
Get excited to see where these projects go!
Sunday Review
Firstly, A quick reminder:
DFA CWRU+CIA’s first Open Studio of the semester is THIS SUNDAY, March 3rd at 5pm in CIA’s Gund Building Room 105b! Come hear what DFA is all about and see what our studio is up to!
Secondly, our Sunday recap:
The group met at Mitchell’s Ice-Cream for a studio bonding experience prior to our regular studio meeting.
During the studio meeting, teams gave a weekly update on their progress with their projects. Below, Tom Tran presenting information for GembaCare.
We also gave a quick Presentation Tips Recap and showed pasted presentation materials to help the groups brainstorm for their own presentations for the Open Studio. We gave teams time to rough draft their information in a presentation style and then pitch it to the rest of the studio. It was a great time for feedback and practice. Below, images of GembaCare, Longevity Project, and FoFo1OH6 presenting the practice runs of their presentations.
What We’re Up To
This past week at DFA CWRU+CIA, our Chief Designer in Residence, Josh Lee, gave an amazing presentation on design, some design history, key ideas of design thinking, and tips on how you can be more creative. Paired with the presentation, were workshops exploring how to understand your user and how to analyze products. Josh did a great job of keeping the studio engaged and taught a lot of valuable information.
The University Circle Project Team started off exploring the location that encompasses “University Circle”, where our two universities are located. Funny how that works. Currently, the team is focusing on the emotional attachments and experiences that exist in a place and how students, faculty, and residence can engage with that experience to produce a heightened sense of community. The U Circle Team meets Thursdays 6:30 - 8:30pm in PBL.
Team Obesity has been researching information regarding obesity in children in Cleveland and exploring areas in which to reach out to the community. Currently, they have reached out to community partners involved in pediatrics as well as a community based organization who deals with childhood health. The Obesity Team meets on Wednesdays at 8pm at Phil’s apartment.
The ER Team, which is a continuing project from last semester, has picked back up with further researching with their new team members. Last week, the team went to University Hospitals to observe the ER environment with ‘fresh eyes’. From this experience, they have gained valuable insight through changes they saw. They are also currently working on developing better relationships with community partners. The ER Team meets on Mondays 6:30 - 8:30pm in CIA, 105B Gund.
Lastly, this past week we have a adopted two new special members to the group, Will Vandenburgh and Austin Mak from CWRU Undergrad, who will take on the role of Student Reps. They will be the faces of DFA CWRU+CIA in the undergrad realm and help with key recruitment facilitation and communication to our larger network.
Stay tuned for more updates next week!
Breaking news! You are invited to the DFA Open Studio on Sunday, March 3rd, 5 - 7pm at CIA, Room 105B, Gund Building.
RSVP here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5590318794
Welcome New Members!
Hey Case Western,
This past week DFA CWRU + CIA welcomed new members!! Recruits include both undergraduate Case Western and CIA students. Fall 2013 Studio Leaders and Spring 2013 Project Team Leaders were also announced.
New Studio Leader Phil and Childhood Obesity Project Team Leader Bill
Other team leads include Jessica for the Entertainment in University Circle project. We look forward to a very productive semester with our new DFA members!!
Check back soon for a quick summary of our projects and date for our Open Studio Exhibitions!
Recruiting
Hey Case Western,
Last Wednesday, we had an A-MA-ZING turnout for Spring 2013 DFA recruiting!
Both undergrad and grad students from lots of different majors turned out to learn more about DFA. Studio Leaders (Sara Mesing below) explained how DFA was founded and the social initiatives that are created through the club’s creative process.
We loved meeting everyone and look forward to working with you soon!
We Want You!
Hey Case Western+CIA,
Please join us Wednesday, January 23, in the Gund Building of CIA from 6 – 7:30 pm for our Spring 2013 recruiting event! You will have an opportunity to learn about this semester’s projects, which include:
· Improving wait times in the ER (continue from last semester)
· Reducing childhood obesity
· Increasing entertainment options in University Circle
We can’t wait to meet you and talk more about the projects. We plan on a fast-paced, educational semester of daring proportions! We hope to see you there!
DFA Applications // Apply Now!
Hey Case Western and CIA,
We’re looking for passionate, ambitious students (grads and undergrads) in all majors to apply for DFA. We’ll have 3 design teams again this semester, so please get your application in!
Deadline is 12noon, Sunday, Jan. 27.
We will be holding an info session the week of Jan. 20th (exact time and date tbd). Join us to find out what DFA is all about, meet current DFAers and hear about our projects for the semester. Snacks will be provided.
Application Instructions:
All DFA applications must answer the following questions:
- What does making a positive impact on the world mean to you?
- How do you show your passion for making an impact?
Please be as creative as possible (quality is better than quantity). We want this to be personal and enjoyable for you to produce. Don’t be shy, show us your personality and sense of humor.
Regardless of your background, you are needed in DFA!
Application Submission:
- 30 sec video or 3 slide presentation (max is 3 slides, can be a 1-pager)
- In your email submission, please note your major, graduation year, school (CWRU/CIA), and how you heard about DFA or fill out this link!
- All submissions should be sent to dfacwru@gmail.com no later than 12noon, Sunday, Jan. 27.
Last Studio Meeting of 2012
We finished up the semester with some tough questions.
Which projects are we going to continue? Which projects are we going to close out? How should we make that decision objectively?
Wait a sec, we’re all about using the design process in Business School. So, yeah, we made a 4x4 matrix.
Every person on each team voted with their name on a post-it and placed the post-it on the matrix based on feasibility and passion for the subject. We used access to users as the primary criteria for determining feasibility. All the more important because a general lack of user interaction was the biggest piece of feedback we received from the Open Studio.
The consensus was to close the Cleveland project and the Super Fresh project, but continue with Gemba Care. We took a quick survey of what kind of problems folks are interested in solving. 
We started planning for Spring semester.
To all my DFAers, thank you for an amazing semester! We jumped in together and learned a ton. You inspire me to work harder and reach higher. I love you all!
We had so much fun at the DFA End of Semester Bash. We need to keep playing sketch/telephone. Why don’t I have any photos of that?! What else did we learn, Phil? Always take the party with you.
Next time, the speakers are coming with us.
Open Studio - Post-roll
Hey Case Western,
We got slammed with finals and wrapping up projects that we neglected our tumblr!….ai. Here’s the recap.
We hosted our first 1st ever Open Studio in November! We invited students, faculty, and design professionals to visit our studio in the Gund Building and review the semester’s projects.
It was a big weekend for us. Our DFA Mentor, Kayla Matheus, flew in from Chicago for the event. We kicked off the evening with a short introduction of what DFA is all about (using Design for social change!) and how we got started here at Case (thank you @FredCollopy!).
We are delighted to have so many supporters!
Each project was displayed in a different corner of the room. Guests were encouraged to walk around, take a look at the exhibits, listen to our pitches, and offer feedback.
We captured verbal feedback and the posit note variety. <3
All in all, hosting the open house was incredibly productive for our studio. We were amazed with how quickly project teams could produce work in the face of looming deadlines! (hint, hint: we’ll have more of these next semester). It was good for each team to be pushed to answer questions from outside visitors who haven’t been thinking about these projects for months. None of the projects themselves were at the prototype and iterate phase, which was a bit disappointing for us. But, as a brand new studio, we’re proud of the support that we’ve garnered for DFA, the horizons we’ve broaden in educating folks about what design is, and the fact that a bunch of undergrads, MBAs and art students who didn’t know each other three months ago came together for this common purpose. For us, those are milestones worth celebrating.
And, celebrate we did! Abe hosted a potluck at his house where we enjoyed some delicious home-cooked grub!
Mockuptionary. Abe, Baillie, & Lauren. #keeping the tradition alive.
Mockuptionary. Saron, Tom & Lexi. #blurry
Story time with Kayla. Don’t be fooled. Tom & Bill look very serious in this photo, but we were hearing about all the exciting stuff going on at HQ. #deception
Chop that Kale. Alex & Saron.
All the cooks in the kitchen! #toomuchfun Thanks for hosting, Abe!
It’s Open Studio Time!!
Hey Case Western,
This Sunday, November 18th, the DFA teams will present concepts and prototypes in Open Studio!!! Open Studio will take place in the Gund Building of the Cleveland Institute of Art (right next to the Peter B. Lewis Building). Everyone is invited! Please RSVP here if you’d like to join us.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH TASK FORCE WARMS US UP
Thanks to Phil and Abe for organizing fun design warmups. Last week, small teams designed:
A full-body, collapsible umbrella
A longer umbrella where the metal goes all the way down to the edges of the umbrella
RECENT RESEARCH FRUITFUL!
- Retake the Lake – performed in-person interviews with Think[box] members and email surveys of the Weatherhead student population. We have some ideas as to what may be causing the brain drain and whether it’s really happening.
- Gemba Care – Visited the University Hospitals ER and will meet with the head of the UH ER in the near future!
- Super Fresh – Is asking themselves the question: “How can we better understand where the issues lie with first-year students experiencing homesickness?”
CHECK BACK NEXT WEEK FOR PICS FROM STUDIO CRITS!
Team Updates
This week in DFA CWRU + CIA:
- Teams provide each other with updates.
- All teams are close to identifying their final users!
- Observations and interviews are coming up this week!
A special thank you to Lauren and Christy of the Snack Attack task force. We love the snacks. DFA would not be the same without them!
