Projects and Principles

For this snapshot of what the current generation of product-design students is looking at and thinking about, Metropolis asked faculty members at eight schools in the United States and Europe to submit a few of their best student projects. We selected a handful that not only were compelling but also provided a window onto what’s going on in college curric­ula and a reflection of possible future directions in the related industries. Several of the products, including Jetske Verdonk’s and Pjotr Goessen’s playful medical devices for children, and Eddie Chiu’s motion-training toy for kids with cerebral palsy, suggest a strong interest in inclusive design. Others, such as Eric Burns’s Color Guard Mosquito Netting and the Rhode Island School of Design’s personal protective equipment for paramedics, simply try to do what good product design has always done: create user-friendly objects that function efficiently and improve people’s lives.