At Parsons School of Design in NYC, space and time are often pointed to as the culprit of what holds students back from a better education.  But longer classes, more teachers and more space aren’t coming to the campus any time soon.  Looking at the problem not thru a space and resource lens but rather as a cultural issue opened up the doors to new possibilities. Designing a solution was not about brick and mortar, but rather about community management that connected technology, learning and conversation inside and out of the classroom.

This design challenge created an information graphic awareness campaign to discourage plastic bag use at the green farmer markets in NYC.  Jury and community winners awarded internships and chance to develop campaign idea for implementation in the green markets in summer 2012.

GROW NYC Design Challenge: A collaboration between Parsons School of Design Strategies, Grow NYC and Jovoto.com, NY, NY
Sophomore Undergraduate Design Studio, Parsons Department of Design & Management, NY, NY. Producer and coordinator of competition concept and execution. Spring 2011.

WHAT WE LEARNED:

INFORMAL LEARNING MAKES BETTER STUDENTS. Create ‘digital hallways’ and a competitive social media experience for disconnected design and business students and make them more connected and more engaged.

BE BETTER WITH GREAT COLLABORATORS. A close collaboration with Jovoto.com (crowd sourcing web platform) and the Parsons design faculty made this project concept and execution successful and fun.

PILOT PROJECTS ILLUMINATE LATENT NEEDS. Change does not often happen without sticking your neck out. This pilot project brought attention to the admin the academic cultural needs of students and faculty in a constructive way.