This past week we had the awesome opportunity of working with UIUC Design for America and creating our very own solutions to given situations of helping people in need. Four of their members came to our class and talked about the different projects they were working on with their teams in DFA and it was all very interesting! Once again, I’m very glad I am taking this class as a freshman so I can learn more about the different opportunities our school has to offer.

My group chose to help out Brian, a blind entrepreneur who recently moved to Austin and is unfamiliar with the new environment. Brian claimed he felt nervous when meeting new clients and uncomfortable in the new city he had just moved to. While we had a few ideas in mind right away, DFA lead us on a multi step path that made our product turn out much better than we had anticipated. We started by listing the problems Brian was facing, we would later have to try to design a solution that would fulfill all of these problems so that Brian could be as successful as possible. After creating this list we began brainstorming product ideas on post it notes. After about 5 min our table was brightly colored with all of the ideas we had and we were feeling like we were reaching a consensus. Next, we created a “prototype” of our solution using pipe cleaners, wooden sticks, and clay. The design we had come up with was a pair of glasses that Brian could wear, on which there would a camera with a memory card that could access the internet. The camera would be able to let him know who he was speaking with based upon facial recognition through his Facebook friends or LinkedIn connections. We presented the product to the class afterwards and everyone seemed content with it, it was a really interesting idea that I wouldn’t think of after initially reading Brian’s situation.

DFA’s presentation to us was inspiring to me because I did not realize the impact they have upon so many college campuses. Their members are meeting every week to design and create new ideas, a concept that is becoming foreign to the average American according to Tim Brown’s article “Design Thinking.” He had claimed that people are now taking an idea that has already been made, and merely making jazzy modifications combined with flashy advertising to describe it as “new.” This class and DFA are against that mindset I believe, we are all here to create an idea that is originally our own.

Already by week 2 we have begun printing in class! I was very excited about this and didn’t expect it to be so easy. At the beginning of class we formed groups based on our buddies that we’ll be working with for the rest of the semester. My group was assigned to look at the Hyperbolic Planetary Gearset on thingiverse, and explore why it was created/ how it can be remixed. We concluded that it was most likely printed to show how gears can fit into one another and physically represent a model of simple gears. The file had different blueprints contained within it but it did not look difficult to assemble. After this we got to search Thingiverse for different objects and makes, I had no idea how large of a library Thingiverse contained! I decided to print a cover for my toothbrush however all printers were being used so I will do it at the beginning of class tomorrow. I got the blue prints for the make on Thingiverse here and am looking forward to having a customized cover.

After reading “How to Make Almost Anything” and “The Maker Mindset” this week, I wanted to talk about how motivated I was after reading “The Maker Mindset” by Dale Dougherty. The author describes making as once being a “core attribute of the American Middle Class” and how it has changed to no longer being the norm. He describes people who are not making as people who are just waiting to buy and consume and I could not agree more! I almost felt a little bit guilty because I had not thought of everyone being lazy before, however after seeing how easy it is to download Cura and share ideas on Thingiverse, everyone should be adding to it! This was a very eye-opening article for me.

Shower Head MK1

I would without a doubt use this shower head if I ever moved into an apartment or building that needed a replacement one. I chose this object because my older brother recently told me that they do not use the second bathroom in their apartment because they do not have a shower head and do not want to go out and buy one. To change this I think I would learn how to create a knob that would change the size of the holes which could then change the water pressure.

Strong Flex Carabiner

I use a carabiner for all of my different keychains, just because it is easy to keep track of and hook onto things. I found this by searching under some of the most popular makes and it makes a lot of sense that something so practical would be near the top. If I were to remix this make I might add a larger base, so that a phone number could be scratched into the side.

Grocery Bag Holder

This I believe is one of the examples Professor Sachdev used in class however I wanted to talk about it because I recently had a trip to walgreens this weekend where I wished that I had printed this in class. This item is very practical and is something I would definitely carry in my pocket when I go to the store. A small change I would make would be adding a hole on the side so that this could go on a keychain.

Smartphone Holder

This last object is something I could definitely see on my desk here at school. A smartphone holder is a great idea for someone who’s often playing music on their phone and streaming it to a bluetooth speaker. I would remix this make by adding more material on the base and adding a cutout so that a charger could go under it while the phone was in the stand.