Student & Teacher Resources

Resources

Start by reviewing the design process. Remember, this process can vary and is not always a linear path. Designers often move between stages and even circle back to the start at different points.

• Design Process Tips and Cheat Sheet
• Smithsonian Learning Lab: Explore how designers have innovated to promote health and go step by step through coming up with your own design.
• Q&A Session on Entering the Competition: Watch Ellen Lupton, Cooper Hewitt’s Senior Curator of Contemporary Design, and Rachel Smith, designer and founder of Design to Combat COVID-19, as they share their insights on the design process and working within the health and design space.
• 2021 Design Competition Flyer

Use these resources to learn about the experiences of people in the field:

• Designing on the Front Lines video series of conversations with doctors and designers about topics related to Covid-19.
• Designing Healthy Equitable Cities video.
• How National Design Award Winners are Fighting the Pandemic. blog post.
• Health Design Thinking book.

Explore these examples of how designers are responding to the pandemic to help ignite your creative thinking:

• Zero Waste Scrub Set by Danielle Elsener.
• 3D Printed Mask by OESH.
• Mask and Hijab by Halima Aden for Anywear.
• Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2020 Change Collection by Viktor and Rolf.
• Black Lives Matter, Defund the Police Poster by Ernesto Yerena Montejano.
• Robot by UN Development Programme.
• nCoV2019.live website by teen Avi Schiffmann to track the early and ongoing spread of coronavirus.
• Butaro District Hospital by MASS Design Group.
• StoDistante by Caret Studio.
• Connected Units for Respiratory Ailments (CURA) by Carlo Ratti Architects.

BRAINSTORMING TIPS

• THINK ABOUT THE MANY FACTORS THAT CAN HELP CREATE A HEALTHIER AND EQUITABLE WORLD
  Start by considering the ways Covid-19 has impacted every aspect of daily life—from going to school and work to spending time with friends and family and in our communities; and even those beyond your immediate purview, from those with economic means to those who have financial struggles. So many aspects of our world are being redesigned—including personal space, public transportation, protective gear, home- and community-based health care, ventilation in buildings, assisted breathing devices, public health communication, and more. How can these and other aspects be further improved on or completely reimagined to create a healthier world for all? What barriers or opportunities exist in current models? How might you approach that in your design?
• WHO WILL USE YOUR DESIGN?
  Think about the specific user(s) who might experience your design, such as caregivers, nurses, and doctors; students, parents, and teachers; protesters; essential workers who provide food, sanitation, transit, and safety services; elderly people; people with disabilities; and people who live alone. It may help to start by thinking about people in your life—you, your family, your friends—who might you know who has faced a health-related obstacle and what could be done to improve their quality of life? Are there other people you might not be thinking about who would be impacted by your design?
• TALK TO YOUR AUDIENCE
  Is it possible to safely talk to your intended user(s) about their experiences and how they have been affected by the challenge you are looking at? How have you incorporated their needs into your design? Have you made any assumptions that should be considered? Could you share or test your design with your intended user(s) to gather feedback? Talking to your user(s) may lead to new ideas that you hadn’t thought about before.
• WHERE WILL YOUR DESIGN EXIST?
  Think about the experience you are designing for. What is it like for the user(s), from beginning to completion and even consider actions that take place before or after? What are the surroundings and does this change through the experience? Is there an aspect that can be improved on to create a healthier experience for your user(s) as well as others?

 

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Email us at DesignCompetition@si.edu to let us know that you’ll be entering the design competition or are planning to introduce it to your students. We’ll notify you of competition updates.