Fall 2018: That’s a Wrap
Written by Rebecca Sweeney, Marketing Associate for the Siebel Center for Design
As campus quickly becomes a ghost town, I sit in our brightly lit workspace within Noble Hall surrounded by Post-it notes of every color and the ambient sounds of construction on our soon-to-be building, attempting to piece together everything that has happened within the past sixteen weeks. Led by the inspiring Rachel Switzky, the small-but-mighty Siebel Center for Design team offered a myriad of experiences to the university community throughout Fall 2018 that are worth remembering.
August
Our first interaction with the campus took place on Quad Day. Being a new entity at the university, we wanted to do something different to really stand out to attendees. Instead of a typical Quad Day booth, we decided to ditch the standard folding table and opt for a hot pink couch in its place. We also created a display to showcase how students are involved in a variety of activities that don’t necessarily relate to their majors. Oh, and we had a (root beer) keg. This first interactive experience allowed us to start talking to students and explaining the process of Design Thinking and what the Siebel Center for Design is.
Being a two-time alum of Illinois, Rachel wanted a way to remind herself what it was like to be a freshman experiencing the university for the first time. To gain empathy for these first-year students, she decided to build a dorm room in her office. If you haven’t read her article on this experience yet, you should really check it out.
The first few weeks of classes weren’t only nerve-wracking for students; our team was also initiating the first prototypes of our courses and course collaborations. To the students in TE 401 (Intro to Design Thinking), Playful By Design, ENG 100, ENG 198, and the Lounge Challenge, we thank you for being a part of our first semester of teaching. In addition to the students involved, thank you to the instructors, assistants, and other collaborators that aided us in this process.
September
As students were settling into their weekly routines, we were looking for more ways to teach Design Thinking skills. One avenue we took to accomplish this was running Pop-Up Workshops. These workshops allowed students exposure to the Design Thinking process without needing to be enrolled in one of our courses. Our first Pop-Up took place one rainy Saturday morning at the Urbana Market at the Square. Though conditions weren’t ideal, all attendees eagerly participated and went home with many new insights.
Our second Pop-Up was a series of interviews with cat owners that had experienced issues with their cats not using their litter boxes. These interviews were in preparation for the College of Veterinary Medicine Hackathon which focused around this issue.
October
Rachel really wanted to engage more with students in more informal settings, so we decided to start the “AMA Coffee Hour with Rachel” series. Our first coffee hour took place in the Krannert Art Museum Espresso Royale, where Rachel was able to meet and chat with many motivated students.
With October being a favorite month of many on our team, we knew we wanted to host an event for Halloween. After several brainstorming sessions, we landed on the concept of the “Halloween House of HORRORible Fun!” We hosted this Halloween event at the CU Community Fab Lab and also partnered with Design For America, Industrial Designers Society of America, the Mannie L. Jackson Illinois Academic Enrichment and Leadership Program, and Illini Student Musicals. There was costume making, pumpkin decorating, a terrifying Haunted Basement, and fun had by all!
November
November led us to the second installment of Rachel’s AMA Coffee Hours, this time held in the Illini Union Courtyard Café. We also launched a campaign that had been in the works since August titled “Slash Student.” This campaign was created in order to recognize that students have many interests, and we wanted to highlight that you are made up of more than your major. Every student has a story, and this campaign allowed us to highlight a few. If you haven’t already, please give the Slash Student article, written by Darrien Rose, a read.
December
With the semester winding down, we still had a few more events planned. The first was our third Pop-Up Workshop, this one in collaboration with the Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) that focused on eating behaviors on campus. Attendees were so engaged that they ended up staying almost an hour after its scheduled end time!
Rachel then held one final coffee hour in the Business Instructional Facility to close out the fall semester.
We’ve come a long way since August, and we still have much more planned for next semester. Stay tuned for more coffee hours, more Pop-Ups, more Slash Students, a new campaign surrounding social innovation, a fun Valentine’s Day event, and much, much more!
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